Seriously, who really thinks Pep Guardiola is deserving of criticism? Though confident going into their achampions League clash with Barcelona, who really expected the Citizens to win away at Camp Nou when they went down to ten men?
Though he is seemingly constantly criticized, Guardiola has constantly put up result after result throughout his career, and expressed that to reporters:
Pep's response to criticism of his style of play: "I've won 21 trophies in 7 years. Sorry, guys."
— City Watch (@City_Watch) October 21, 2016
Though it is true that Manchester City failed to live up to the hype against Barcelona, there was nothing Guardiola could do to prevent Claudio Bravo from being well, not so Bravo. Without the goalkeeper’s red card, the Citizens would have had a serious chance in the game and would not have had to abandon their game plan.
Everyone knows that Pep Guardiola has a set style, but not everyone knows that that style is. As Thierry Henry put it, he asks for complete discipline in the defensive and middle thirds, but allows total freedom in the final third. Watch as he explains and exemplifies Pep’s tactics:
Clearly Guardiola is a proven manager, and his tactical style is supported by some of the best players to ever play the game. To anyone watching the game, Manchester City were the more dangerous team for roughly 20 minutes leading up to Bravo’s send off, and it was only a matter of time until they tied the game.
It is no secret that Pep is a controversial manager, however his comments seem to indicate that maybe the English media is getting to him in ways the German and Spanish news did not. Regardless, one thing is certain: Pep doesn't have to take criticism from anyone as long as he continues to win trophies.
