NICOLAS OTAMENDI suffered a horror Benfica debut as he gave away two goals and a penalty.
The Argentine defender, 32, ended his five-year spell at Manchester City when he joined the Portuguese giants for £13million.
Nicolas Otamendi had a nightmare Benfica debut as he gave away two goals and a penaltyCredit: EPA
Ruben Dias headed the other way in a record-breaking £64.5m deal.
But he failed to impress against the Primeira Liga’s bottom side Farense on Sunday – following the likes of Thiago Silva and Gonzalo Higuain who struggled in their opening matches for their new sides.
Otamendi started off by giving away a penalty for a foul on Serbian striker Nikola Stojiljkovic – earning a yellow card in the process – but the spot kick was wasted by Scottish midfielder Ryan Gauld.
However ex-Dundee United star Gauld later set up Jonatan Lucca to outjump Otamendi for Farense’s equaliser.
Then, with Benfica leading 3-1 into added time, the former City man dallied on the ball to let striker Patrick pick his pocket and race through to score the visitors’ second goal.
Otamendi came in for a shower of abuse after tweeting: “Very happy with my debut and to win the three points.”
Comments included: “Did you want to lose?”, “Waste of money” and “You had a truly s*** game”.
Another user wrote: “Gave away a penalty and was at fault for two goals, but first half he looked like prime Maldini.”
He committed a foul to hand Farense a penalty and also picked up a yellow cardCredit: Getty Images – Getty
The former Manchester City defender was tackled in the last minute as Patrick raced through to scoreCredit: Getty Images – Getty
A frustrated punter said: “You made me lose 300 euros with the goal you gave away at the end.”
Otamendi made 210 City appearances, scoring 11 goals, following his £32m arrival from Valencia in 2015.
The Argentine defender won two Premier League titles, four League Cups and an FA Cup with the Etihad club.
Nicolas Otamendi creates a lego model of a Bugatti Chiron in speeded up video on Instagram
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
