Another year, another disappointment for Pep Guardiola and Manchester City in the Champions League. Despite being on pace to win their fourth EPL title in five years, that European glory still evades the Citizens. Guardiola will be back with City next year and Erling Haaland was just added to the squad, so they will be attacking this Champions League trophy with more might than before.
However, the issue might be in Guardiola, rather than the players. Here are three reasons why Pep Guardiola is not the right coach to bring Manchester City a Champions League title.
Why Pep Guardiola is not the right guy for Manchester CityÂ
He does not seem to have a Plan B
Unfortunately for Manchester City, they were unable to overcome a two-minute explosion by Real Madrid in the second leg. One stat says that Man City had the lead in 178 out of 180 minutes of regular play. To have this kind of lead and still lose is incredible in certain regards, but it is nothing unusual for Pep Guardiola. His last few eliminations from the Champions League, excluding the final last year against Chelsea, mostly came from goals in quick succession. More indicatively, his sides had absolutely no response to the goals, and that is mostly why they stunned his teams so much.
This is part of a bigger issue. Clearly, the revolution Guardiola brought to the game is monumental. His tiki-taka playstyle perfected in Barcelona, capped off with two Champions League titles, was iconic.
However, when that does not work, it seems like Guardiola and his teams just collapse. It was visible in City's match versus Atletico Madrid in the second leg. After Atletico assumed control, the presumed best team in the world, Manchester City, were scrambling to control the game, choosing to waste time, rather than create opportunities. It is apparent that, when the control of the match shifts, Guardiola's teams are unaware of what exactly to do. Unfortunately for City, it seems to be too late in Guardiola's career for him to change up the approach.
He does not allow for leadership on his teamsÂ
As said many times since the collapse in Madrid, Manchester City do not have a leader. Having no leader on the field is okay in the EPL, where collapses on occasion can be overcome, but the Champions League knockout stages have much higher stakes. If you collapse at the wrong time, you're out of the tournament.
That collapse for City was two-pronged and started with the aforementioned second leg against Atletico Madrid, but it was fully exploited by a Real Madrid side that did not stop trying even after going a goal down. That is because this Madrid side has at least three or four players on the field at any time who are ready to be the coach on the field. In Guardiola's case, that is completely different.
As Manchester United legend Patrice Evra recently stated, Pep Guardiola does not really allow a ton of personality in his team. Many, including Yaya Toure, have been transferred out of his teams, reportedly for being a challenge to his authority.
Of course, a coach needs to have authority, but he is not the team's babysitter, but rather the guidance  the players need. They need the autonomy to express themselves and need leadership on the field to help them overcome adversity as it happens. Unless this changes in the near future, Guardiola will keep experiencing collapses with his teams in major European games.
He is too stubborn with his tactics
Despite his tactics being revolutionary in modern football, Pep Guardiola's control-obsessed setup is somewhat exposed in European football. It seems like teams such as Real Madrid and Atletico will simply wait out their opportunities, rely on defensive stability and their goalkeepers, and seek their shot in counterattacks. While not every club has the facilities to wait out a ton of attacks, especially now that their line is bolstered by Erling Haaland, not every club is in the semifinal of the Champions League. Most clubs that reach that deep in the knockout stages will be able to withstand a lot of attacking might.
Yet, faced with another elimination by a team that completely countered his style of football, Guardiola will once again not change. He will say that it was a lack of a clinical striker or just the experience of Real Madrid players, but the fact of the matter is that Guardiola's teams are susceptible to counterplay, as soon as teams can take a longer look at their style of play.
In the EPL, many teams simply do not have the time or the quality to deal with how Guardiola's City sets up, but the detail in which the teams are analyzed in the latter stages of the Champions League will give the chance to any team to plan effectively for Guardiola and his style of play. It has happened before and it will continue happening since Guardiola is way too stubborn to change things up.
Follow Us
Subscribe
