When Pep Guardiola’s team selection baffles fans and pundits alike, it’s proven time and time again to be a stroke of genius. Not this time.
Don’t out-think the room. This piece of advice has proven incredibly valuable time and time again in nearly every facet of life, and especially in the world of sports. Experts and fans value innovation; the concept that a manger could buck nearly every trend to shock the world with a stunning display of tactical knowledge is why they are more-than-fairly compensated.
Pep Guardiola has revolutionized the game countless times, staring tradition in the face and walking away with results in the most unique of ways. It was Guardiola who developed Lionel Messi into the quintessential “False Nine” at Barcelona, before even turning to a 2-3-5 formation at times during his tenure at Bayern Munich. Countless times, the Catalan has come out with an odd pre-match team sheet and fans have been taught to simply trust in their manager as their side walked away with a victory.
He’s one of the smartest, most tactically aware, and successful managers in history. But he deserves the lion’s share of the blame for Manchester City’s 1-0 Champions League quarterfinal first leg loss to Tottenham Hotspur in North London on Tuesday.
City were in flying form heading into the tie, with 14 consecutive games unbeaten under their belt and stars returning to full fitness. With the Blues entering the most critical part of the campaign, looking to capture an unprecedented “quadruple”, the City boss handicapped his side on Tuesday night with his odd team selection as the Citizens were unable to click into gear.
At left-back, Fabian Delph struggled heavily and the former midfielder has not featured regularly since a red card helped lead to a 2-1 defeat at the King Power Stadium on Boxing Day. The main issue, however, came in the middle of the park and attack, where key figures Kevin de Bruyne, Leroy Sané, and Bernardo Silva were held out in favor of İlkay Gündoğan and the struggling Riyad Mahrez.
Tottenham looked dominant throughout much of the match, creating countless chances before Heung-Min Son capitalized on Delph stopping to appeal to the referee that the ball had gone out of play to slot the game’s only goal past Ederson.
City failed to create much of anything in attack outside of Sergio Agüero’s missed penalty early in the match. They simply did not look themselves, failing to impose their will upon the game in any phase.
Speaking post-match about De Bruyne’s exclusion until an 88th-minute substitution, Guardiola defended his team selection and remained adamant that his side were set up to get a result.
"“I decided to play with two holding midfielders in that position – [Ilkay] Gundogan and Fernandinho – to be a bit more solid. It’s not the issue. I know it’s tough for him but we have the second leg. We spoke about that. It’s 180 minutes."
For his immense success, the Catalan has a poor record in Champions League knockout away games, having not won an away fixture in the quarterfinals onward since the Barcelona’s 2010-11 semi-final victory over Real Madrid.
Even though the match represents a poor result for City, there remains a chance to advance with the second leg coming back to the Etihad. Without an away goal, however, City will need to win by two in order to advance.
In order for City to overcome the deficit, they will need to unleash their full arsenal of talent against Spurs in the second leg. With Harry Kane potentially missing the rest of the campaign for Tottenham, City and Guardiola will be expected to not overthink things and show that they are the better side to keep their dream of four trophies alive.