What Lloyd Kelly did against Man City in the Club World Cup hasn’t gone unnoticed by the Italian media

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Former Newcastle United player Lloyd Kelly played the full 90 minutes in Juventus’ final group game of the Club World Cup against Manchester City.

The first two games were almost certain wins for the Old Lady, but Thursday night’s game was a big test for Lloyd Kelly against Premier League competition.

Newcastle United have played a blinder in the transfer market for the 26-year-old, bagging around £20m for him after he signed on a free transfer in 2024. Kelly was not having a good time at Newcastle, playing just a handful of games in the Premier League due to Dan Burn and Lewis Hall’s brilliant form. However, he has found more minutes at Juventus due to long-term injuries for their usual starting centre-backs.

Kelly played in both of Juventus’ Club World Cup group games, winning against Al Ain and Wydad FC. However, Kelly was criticised by the Italian media for his performance against Wydad, being blamed for their only goal.

With the group stage now over and Juventus through to the knockout stages, we look at how Kelly performed against Manchester City.

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Former Newcastle United player Lloyd Kelly plays poorly against Manchester City

Unfortunately, it was not the result Juventus were hoping for to solidify their place at the top of their Club World Cup group. The Englishman played the full 90 minutes against Man City, but conceded five goals against a side full of quality.

Kelly is one of four former Newcastle players in the Club World Cup, and looks to be the only one going through to the knockout rounds. However, both he and Juventus must put in a better performance than they did on Thursday night.

The game finished 5-2 to Man City, with the likes of Erling Haaland and Phil Foden getting on the scoresheet. It was a bad performance, and the Italian media have let Juventus know that.

SportsDunia rated Kelly 5/10, saying: “Defended the box, but there were runners creeping in behind him. He was very weak on the ball as well under Manchester City’s press.”

Elsewhere, Football Italia rated Kelly a troubling 4/10, they said: “Pep Guardiola’s strikers kept coming from all over the place and the ex-Newcastle man hardly found a way to stop them.”

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Lloyd Kelly’s performance against Manchester City by numbers

Kelly took a wage cut to join Juventus, but it has been tough for him since he left Newcastle. While appearances have been more frequent, Kelly has been blasted by the Italian media on many occasions.

On his debut, Kelly was criticised despite Juventus winning 2-1, while his Champions League debut was one he would rather forget.

Kelly will become a Juventus player on a permanent basis in a few days’ time, but his future is already looking bleak.

Reports suggest Kelly could leave Juventus, with Crystal Palace interested. The 26-year-old has stated that he is 100% committed to the Old Lady, but with over two months left in the transfer window, anything can happen.