Man City star, Guardiola clash on Juventus loss as boss rejects honest assessment – ‘Sorry? No’
Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola disagreed with one of his “disappointed” players after he claimed they were “careless” in the 2-0 loss to Juventus.
Man City‘s ongoing crisis worsened on Wednesday evening as they lost 2-0 to Juventus in the Champions League group stages.
Dusan Vlahovic and Weston McKennie scored for the Serie A giants, leaving Guardiola‘s side 22nd in the table with two group games remaining.
Now, their attention turns to Sunday’s Manchester derby against Man Utd at the Etihad. Ahead of this match, City are 19th in the Premier League form table and eight points adrift of table-toppers Liverpool, who have a game in hand.
Man City have won just one of their previous ten matches across all competitions and produced another disappointing display against Juventus. Speaking post-match, midfielder Ilkay Gundogan admitted it feels they are “careless with duels” and “every” conceded attack is “so dangerous”.
“It’s very disappointing. We had chances to score a few goals but at the moment it feels like every attack we concede is just so dangerous,” Gundogan said post-match.
“I have a feeling sometimes we are a bit careless with duels, instead of playing simple we overcomplicate things and we missed the right timing to release the ball. Just lose the ball and give them counterattacks.
“We are built for possession, keep the ball, be strong, if you can’t do anything don’t lose it. At the moment it’s not working out for us.”
Responding to these comments, Guardiola refuted Gundogan’s claims as Man City “performance” was “there” against Juventus.
“He said we don’t need…sorry? No, no, we have done it today, other days, no, but today we have done it, we have done it really well,” Guardiola responded.
MORE MAN CITY COVERAGE ON F365…
👉 Pep Guardiola, Ruben Dias embarrassed as Juventus prey on rudderless Man City
👉 Man City to ‘include’ two ‘dispensable’ stars in ‘offer’ for ‘bombshell’ signing after Guardiola ‘agrees’
👉 Man City ‘choose’ to replace ‘liability’ in ‘desperate trouble’ with £25m ‘top-class’ signing
“We didn’t lose many balls as happened in the past, we tried to arrive in the [best] positions. Italian teams defend so deep they are so compact, they are the master of these situations.
“Even with that, we played like who we are. We missed the result but the performance is there.”
Guardiola has also admitted that he is “questioning himself” during this run, but he “loves” his team.
“Of course I question myself but I’m stable in good moments and bad moments,” Guardiola added.
“I try to find a way to do it. I’m incredibly honest. If we play good [I say] we played good and today I thought we played good.
“Our game will save us. We can do it. We conceded few chances compared to the Nottingham Forest game that we won. We’re making the right tempo.
“We missed the last pass, did not arrive in the six-yard box [at the right time] or have the composure at the right moment.
“But I love my team. This is life, it happens. Sometimes you have a bad period but I’m going to insist until we’re there.”
