Jeremy Doku’s attempted skill deep in Belgium’s half proved to be a nightmare come true as Slovakia stunned everyone by opening the score in Monday’s Euro 2024 match.

The Manchester City player, who has established himself as a regular starter for Belgium, was at fault in the seventh minute when he gave Slovakia an easy goal against the run of play with a terrible pass across the box.

Doku was eager to get his hands on the ball, so he retraced his steps for a throw-in close to the corner flag, gained possession, and then hesitated to take another shot as the opponent pushed.

Ultimately, he decided to move the ball to the side in an attempt to create an angle, and he made a clumsy pass into the middle of Belgium’s box. 

Defences were caught off guard by Doku’s ball, which was easily intercepted. Koen Casteels first stopped the follow-up attempt, but Ivan Schranz scored from close range when the rebound was tapped in.

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Jeremy Doku was at fault after his mistaken pass gifted Slovakia an easy opening goal against Belgium

The 22-year-old, who has excelled under Pep Guardiola’s direction since joining the Premier League winners last year, made a rare mistake on defence.

Doku struggled after making a poor pass that cost him the game. He had sprung out of the starting blocks with his typical attacking flair, showing off his ability to race down the flank.

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Doku (right) tried to play a pass back across his own goal that was intercepted by Slovakia’s attackers

Online, Doku’s misstep was swiftly attacked by detractors. One post on X, which examined the issue, said, “We’ve just seen why Jeremy Doku is so good and yet so frustrating in the first 8 minutes of this game.” Very innocent, but unplayable.

Another similarly comical comment added: ‘Doku assist…to Slovakia. What was that….’

Rival fans of Man City also joined in by highlighting the Belgian’s mistake with one Man United fan account adding: ‘Doku created Solvakia’s goal’.

Another post on social media commented: ‘What a Assist by Doku, world class player indeed.’