A PEP TOO FAR
Guardiola’s mission was to bring European success to the Etihad. Once again, he has been found wanting on the biggest stage
THERE has been much to admire about Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City this season and the stylish way in which they have marched towards the title.
Their majestic attacking fluency, ruthless demolition of opponents and refusal to compromise their manager’s football principles have made them a joy to watch throughout a remarkable Premier League campaign.
But for the second season running, under the spotlight of the Champions League – which the club’s hierarchy are so desperate to land – Guardiola and his players have been found wanting.
And after three successive defeats in an otherwise almost blemish-free season, Guardiola and his expensively-assembled squad have lost some of their lustre.
Tuesday’s chastening Champions League quarter-final exit to Liverpool showed that for all the money spent by billionaire owner Sheikh Mansour, City remain underachievers in Europe, the last frontier left for them to conquer.
Since Guardiola’s arrival in 2016, £448million has been spent to assemble a squad capable of going all the way in the Champions League, under a coach who has twice won the competition.
But his record since leading Barcelona to the second of those Champions League triumphs in 2011 points to a failing on the part of the Catalan without the gilded group of players he had at his disposal at the Nou Camp, including Lionel Messi.
Since that 3-1 win over Manchester United, when Sir Alex Ferguson rated Guardiola’s Barca the finest side he had faced, his record in Europe is decidedly ordinary.
In 30 Champions League knockout games, he has just 13 wins. He took Bayern Munich to three semi-finals but was unable to repeat the success at Barca. Last year, in his debut season with City, it was a last-16 exit.
City have arguably one of the best forward lines in Europe, led by Sergio Aguero (right), bafflingly only a sub on Tuesday. Yet Liverpool highlighted their defensive shortcomings against opponents of genuine quality.
Kyle Walker, Nicolas Otamendi and Aymeric Laporte are competent defenders, but over two legs against the Reds were exposed by the pace, guile and ruthless brilliance of Mo Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane.
And while City have spent huge amounts, including £130m on three fullbacks, it is likely they will embark on another shopping spree.
Guardiola’s decision to start Gabriel Jesus ahead of Aguero, when City’s alltime top scorer was fit and raring to go, only fuels a perception of mistrust. For all Guardiola’s praise of Aguero’s 30-goal haul this term and sustained excellence, there remains a feeling he is not fully convinced. Fatigue also looks to be an issue. Guardiola’s high-intensity approach to every game appears to be taking its toll. In the first 43 games of the season, City scored 41 times after 65 minutes. In their last eight games they did not score once after that time, suggesting players have little left in the tank. Guardiola’s predecessors, Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini, won the title, a feat the 47-year-old will soon match. But while they fell short in the Champions League, Guardiola was expected to make City one of Europe’s elite. That he has fallen short for the second year in a row will concern the board, despite their fawning over Guardiola and the swagger with which he has revolutionised English football this season.
City’s fans may prefer the domestic tribalism of the Premier League, but Europe means everything to the club’s Abu Dhabi hierarchy and is the ultimate prize by which Guardiola will be judged.