Guardiola’s alarming admission after Leicester thumping
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola made the startling confession that he doesn’t train his side to tackle, following their 4-2 humbling at Leicester.
The Citizens found themselves 3-0 down after 20 minutes against a Leicester side that has been struggling in the Premier League, despite their performances in the Champions League.
City’s defenders were at fault for two out of the first three goals Leicester scored, and when asked why his side didn’t win a tackle in the first 35 minutes, Guardiola’s provided an insight into the problem.
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“I am not a coach for the tackles so I don’t train the tackles,” Guardiola said.
“What I want is to try and play good and score goals and arrive more [in the box].
“Yes the duels you have to win that’s true. But normally when you play good you win a lot of tackles but after four minutes 2-0 in the mind of the players [they say] ‘what’s going on, what happened’ and it’s not easy for them.
“That’s why it’s another aspect of the football but in the end we’re not going to win or lose for the tackles.”
Football pundit and former Liverpool star Jamie Carragher pulled no punches after the Leicester game, claiming City’s defenders were simply not up to scratch.
Defensively Man City are one of the worst teams in the league, all over the place. Spent 100's millions on defenders not one good enough.
— Jamie Carragher (@Carra23) December 10, 2016
Guardiola’s problems have not been limited to his defenders, with many critics slamming his decision to replace England goalkeeper and fan favourite, Joe Hart with Claudio Bravo.
The Chilean was brought in by Guardiola because of his ability to play out from the back, but after failing to prevent any of the Leicester goals, his shot-stopping abilities are again coming under scrutiny with many fans calling for Hart’s return.
Claudio Bravo has yet to save a shot on goal in 3 games now.
Joe Hart is averaging a save every 8 minutes.
Mistake?— David (@TekkaBooSon) December 10, 2016
Former Leicester player Robbie Savage weighed in on the debate by taking aim at Guardiola, who he believes may only now realise the magnitude of the task ahead of him at City.
“21 trophies in seven seasons, he’s obviously a fantastic manager. But it is his hardest job,” Savage told BT Sport.
“He might be a genius, but at the minute the performances I’m seeing [aren’t good enough].
“Tony Pulis came here and won the game tactically - and Tony Pulis gets hammered for boring football. But he does the job.
“If that was other managers there, they’d be getting hammered.”
After starting his City career with 10 straight wins, Guardiola’s side have now won just four of their last 15 games in all competitions, ,and are in real danger of slipping out of the top four in the league.