Has Manchester City returned to a crisis of results as significant as that of last year at this time? A priori no, but the two consecutive defeats conceded by Pep Guardiola’s Cityzens in the space of three days annoyed the English press. Beyond the result, it was also the attitude of the Spanish coach which provoked a wave of criticism.
To begin with, there was this setback conceded on Saturday at Newcastle (2-1, 12th day of the Premier League). Visibly exasperated by the defeat of his men, Pep Guardiola failed to calm his nerves and attacked a cameraman whom he considered a little too close to him. Two days later, the tactician admitted to having behaved badly: “I feel embarrassed and ashamed when I see the images. »
But on Tuesday evening, his decision to field a largely overhauled team against Bayer Leverkusen reignited criticism against him. The defeat conceded to the Etihad against Bayer Leverkusen (0-2, 5th day of the Champions League) remained in the throat of the local media. For the MirrorPep Guardiola is neither more nor less past “from disappointment to humiliation”.
Pep Guardiola and City expected to face Leeds
Most of the English media mainly felt that the former Bayern Munich coach had shot himself in the foot with this tactical choice against Bayer. BBC Sport explained that it had “self-inflicted”
this failure in C1. Despite this first defeat in five Champions League matches this season, Manchester City is not worried about the race for qualification.
And this is probably the reason for Pep Guardiola’s daring choice to rest several executives while giving playing time to those who are usually substitutes. The choice did not pay off. It is now up to the Manchester City coach and his players to react. It could be this Saturday when Leeds host the league. History of silencing the critics.
