Josep Guardiola is in good form after Manchester City lost 3-0 to Real Madrid at the Bernabéu ahead of Saturday night’s game against West Ham.
Guardiola hits back at critics (Image: Getty Images)
Manchester City manager Josep Guardiola has hit back at his critics after the Blues lost to Real Madrid in the Champions League, claiming he was “slaughtered”. City lost 3-0 at the Bernabéu thanks to a hat-trick from Federico Valverde, leaving them with a long way to go in the quarter-finals.
Guardiola faced criticism for his team selection, but he pointed to the changes he made in the lead-up to last weekend’s FA Cup victory over Newcastle, and was also questioned about his tactics before kick-off.
The Spaniard used two out-and-out wingers on Tyneside in Jeremy Doku and Savinho, with Nico O’Reilly returning to left-back.
“How many times have you heard ‘Pep is a genius’ when it comes to team selection?” he asked. “It would be genius to win. What happened at Newcastle? Did you read the comments on social media before the game about my team selection?”
read more: Josep Guardiola warns Man City stars, insists title race could end this weekread more: Paul Merson boldly predicts the title battle between Arsenal and Man City: “Game over!”
“Why doesn’t Rodri play? Why doesn’t Bernardo (Silva) play? Why don’t we play this player? How do we leave Erling at home? We won 3-1. After that, it was like, ‘Oh, Pep, how good you are.’
Guardiola went on to address the criticism he received after City lost to Chelsea in the 2021 Champions League final and the controversial appointment of Ilkay Gundogan hit the headlines.
“I’ve been coaching this tournament for 17 years, and every time we lose, boom, pew, pew, pew,” the critic said, simulating firing a gun.
“I was massacred. Listen, I played the Champions League final against Chelsea with Fernandinho and Rodri as holding midfielders. Do you think that’s normal? No, honestly. Gundogan played in that moment. I was destroyed.”
“I knew how Rodri and Fernandinho were playing, but it wasn’t Rodri that I met after that, and in other positions there are often so many decisions made over and over again for so many reasons, like how to deal with pressure and other reasons.
“I can explain that, but will you be able to convince me next time?”
City suffered a heavy defeat at the Bernabéu (Image: Getty Images)
Guardiola has warned his struggling stars that the title race will be over this weekend unless they beat West Ham on Saturday night and Arsenal beat Everton at tea-time kick-off.
The Blues’ attackers are not firing on all cylinders, with Erling Haaland scoring from open play just twice in his last 17 appearances for City. The Norwegian struggled to make an impact at the Bernabéu and was substituted in the second half.
“They have to move better,” Guardiola added. “The players in the box have to make a move before passing to sniff out where the ball is going.
“It’s guts and nose, that’s the question for them, that’s it. You make the moves, you beat them before the ball is (played) and you score. Make the moves. We insist.
“It’s a matter of improving, improving, improving, but maybe next time we’ll be better.”
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive Mirror Football content every day. Community members also receive special offers, promotions, and advertisements from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can always check out. If you are interested, please read our privacy notice.
