Pep Guardiola has launched a staunch defence of his team selection after Manchester City were humbled 3-0 at the Bernabeu insisting his bold calls were the right ones .
City arrived in Madrid as favourites to progress, but left with a mountain to climb after a first half masterclass from Fede Valverde and co . The decision to start three wingers behind Erling Haaland raised eyebrows before kick off. By half time, those eyebrows were on the floor.
THE SELECTION GAMBLE
Guardiola opted for Jeremy Doku, Savinho and Omar Marmoush in support of Haaland, with Rayan Cherki also in the mix . It was a departure from the systems that had got City this far and it backfired spectacularly.
Doku was lively on the left, but City were carved open three times in the first half . Defensively, they were all over the place. At half time, Savinho made way for Tijjani Reijnders, but the damage was done.
GUARDIOLA’S DEFENCE
When asked if his changes impacted width and midfield protection, Guardiola wasn’t having it.
“How many times has Nico O’Reilly played left back this season? The only adjustment was Khusanov in that areas because Vinicius arrives in those areas and you have to control that,” he said.
“The rest? Wingers were injured for two months, and they played incredible Savinho at Newcastle and Jeremy was an incredible threat here.”
He pointed to the Newcastle game, where he made 10 changes and it worked fine . The logic: rotation works until it doesn’t.
THE THREAT
Guardiola insisted City carried enough danger. They arrived in the final third “many times.” They just couldn’t score.
“We arrived many times to have the sense that we could score a goal and try to see what happened in the second, but they arrived three times and scored three goals.”
That’s the difference at this level. Madrid were clinical. City were not.
THE ADJUSTMENT
“They adjusted, they put five in the back, and sometimes transitions was good and sometimes not,” Guardiola added. “Real Madrid are a good quality team with good quality players and we couldn’t score the goal that we needed.”
No excuses. Just acknowledgment that Madrid are good.
THE VERDICT
Guardiola stands by his decisions. He made changes that have worked before. They didn’t work at the Bernabeu. That’s football.
But 3-0 is a brutal scoreline. City now need a miracle at the Etihad. And Guardiola’s gamble will be dissected until then.
