Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has criticised his rotated squad for being overly cautious during their 2-0 Champions League defeat to Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday, saying his players “didn’t try” and were focused on avoiding mistakes rather than winning the match.
Guardiola made 10 changes to his usual starting line-up for the fixture at the Etihad Stadium, a gamble that backfired as City fell to their second straight defeat after last week’s Premier League loss to Newcastle. The manager said the performance lacked ambition, conviction and attacking purpose.
“We didn’t try,” Guardiola said. “In football, when you step onto the pitch, you have to try things and we didn’t try. They played not to make mistakes, not to do something, that is so difficult. In football you have to play offensive and take risks, but they played to be safe.”
The City boss suggested the heavily rotated group appeared short on belief, despite his own faith in their ability. “I have a lot of confidence in them. I value them highly,maybe even more than they value themselves,” he added.
City will look to respond on Saturday when they host struggling Leeds United. The champions remain without influential midfielder Rodri, though Guardiola confirmed the Spaniard is nearing a return.
Manchester City currently sit third in the Premier League table, seven points adrift of leaders Arsenal, and will be under pressure to regain momentum as the busy festive period approaches.
Source: AFP
Written By Rodney Mbua
