Rico Lewis has crammed a career's worth of ups-and-downs into half a season this year.

He's fought his way into the starting XI, looked brilliant in his roaming role, forced Kyle Walker to leave and scored some important goals. He's also lost his place, been overplayed, been overlooked for a midfielder and now he's had a nightmare against Real Madrid.

Better players have and will suffer like he did against Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr.

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So when Manchester City fans are directing frustrations at Lewis for his ragged second half against Real, it feels more like an outlet for the general frustrations of another collapse.

Lewis wasn't supposed to be up against Vinicius. Guardiola brought in Manu Akanji on the right, rushing back Nathan Ake to replace him in the centre and offering John Stones in support.

The five centre-backs in a back five worked in the first half and City were stifling their opponents, but when Akanji went off that system fell apart. Lewis had to come on, and Real smelled blood.

Immediately, Mbappe moved over to Madrid's left to join Vinicius and create an overload. Stones, who had been helping out Akanji, was no longer offering assistance and Savinho was absent too, as was Phil Foden when on that side. It was a collective failing to adapt to the injury blows with Jack Grealish having also been forced off in the first half.

From Vinicius' first opportunity to get at Lewis, he beat the City defender easily and crossed for Jude Bellingham who missed the target unmarked from 10 yards.

When Ake had to go off, Stones went back into defence and Mateo Kovacic came on. It was Kovacic's brainless lump back towards his own goal that put Lewis in trouble against Vinicius in the last minute and the Real ace benefitted from Ederson's rash decision to race out for a ball he was never going to win.

Lewis, of course, should have taken one for the team and stopped Vinicius from getting to the ball by any means necessary. That's down to inexperience, lack of games recently and the general mentality issue that City can't shake. And also Real's ruthless tactics to target him.

For his part, Lewis looked furious as he left the Etihad past a pack of Spanish cameras. Usually open for a chat to reporters, there was no chance here as he made his exit.

Spanish media labelled City fragile in Wednesday's newspapers and took aim at their ageing squad yet it was the injuries that killed them on Tuesday night as much as the mental jitters returning. This was City's fifth late collapse from a winning position this season - they had four in four seasons before that.

Lewis was poor but he wasn't the only one.