PEP GUARDIOLA FACES SQUAD SELECTION BACKLASH AFTER SUBS DELAYED UNTIL 80TH MINUTE
Pep Guardiola sticks to his wingless system despite pressure, while Erling Haaland struggles with clinical finishing late on.
No matter how close Pep Guardiola might be to the end of his tenure, he’s still steadfastly sticking to his methods. This week, after spending a significant amount of time defending his team selections following that 3-0 loss to Real Madrid, he showed up against West Ham without wingers, yet Manchester City still played like the side we’ve known over the past decade.
Teams have started launching the ball high from kickoff, but City kept their composure, dominating possession. In the first 15 minutes, they completed a hundred passes before West Ham even hit double digits. It’s another Guardiola team with a clear identity, grinding its way through the title race. But the big question remains: will it be enough to outpace Arsenal?
If Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal has anything to say about it, probably not. Two late goals for the Gunners at home against Everton, coming as City were preparing for their own game, felt like a stark reminder of the uphill battle ahead. After faltering at the Bernabeu when they needed to be resolute, City simply couldn’t afford anything less than a win at the London Stadium, even if possession stats were on their side.
Bernardo Silva set the tone, opening the scoring just past the half-hour with a delicate chip that might not have been intended but was perfectly executed. Things seemed on track. Then, just three minutes later, sloppy defending invited a West Ham corner. Donnarumma misread the situation, and Mavropanos headed in to erase City’s advantage in an instant.
Defensive blunders have been a recurring problem. Last week’s mistake against Forest probably ended their Champions League hopes, and these issues aren’t going away anytime soon. It doesn’t matter what formation you’re playing if your defending and attacking aren’t sharp, a reality City faced in a tough fortnight that has jeopardised their aspirations across multiple competitions.
The city's prolonged pursuit of a quadruple had been impressive until March, but this recent dip is hard to explain and clearly trickles down from the top. For the second league match running, substitutions were lined up but then postponed this time, involving Reijnders and Foden, both told to keep warming up well past the hour mark.
By then, Doku and Cherki were already on, trying to spark a comeback. The team pressured possession with plenty of urgency, but didn’t trouble West Ham’s keeper Hermansen enough. Nuno Espirito Santo, sitting out that suspension, watched calmly from the stands, perhaps sensing the tension.
When Reijnders finally entered the fray, he made an immediate impact, forcing Hermansen to tip a free-kick onto the crossbar. The city's best chance fell to the man they counted on: Haaland. Frustrated, he watched a cross evade him just before Doku cut the ball back low, setting Haaland up for a shot.
But under pressure, the finish was hurried and off target. At this crucial stage of the season, both Haaland and City have come up short of their goals.
Pep will keep doing things his way, and there’s still time for silverware this season. However, prospects of clinching the Premier League or Champions League seem increasingly distant.
MANCHESTER CITY CONDEMN RACIST ABUSE OF STARS SEMENYO AND GUEHI
Following swift stadium action, Manchester City pledge full support to Semenyo and Guéhi amid shocking discriminatory abuse.
Manchester City didn’t hold back after Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi faced racist abuse during and after their wild 3-3 draw with Everton. The game itself was a rollercoaster; City managed to scrape a point thanks to Erling Haaland and Jeremy Doku, who nailed a jaw-dropping equaliser in the 96th minute.
Doku actually got City off to a great start, putting them up before halftime. But Everton flipped the script after the break, scoring three and having everyone on edge with ten minutes left. City defender Guehi made a costly error on Everton’s first goal, his misjudged back pass handing the ball to Thierno Barry, who didn’t think twice about putting it away.
Since then, City put out a statement confirming that Guehi was targeted with disgusting racist messages online, while Semenyo, who played most of the match at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, endured abuse in the stadium itself. City’s statement was straightforward: they’re outraged by the abuse and thanked Everton and the police for acting fast to identify the person responsible. They made it clear they're sticking by Guehi and Semenyo and won’t tolerate discrimination in football.
Right after the game, Guehi posted on social media, owning up to his mistake but keeping his head up. He thanked City fans and leaned on his faith, writing, “I need to do better, but we keep going & focused on the next. Thank you for your support as always! Thank you, Jesus!”
Racism in football keeps getting worse, on and off the pitch, and there’s a growing call for authorities to actually step up and fight discriminatory abuse wherever it shows up.
Both Guehi and Semenyo have made an immediate impact at City. Guehi came from Crystal Palace in January for £20 million, fitting right into Guardiola’s defence and looking sharp until Monday’s mishap. He’s already played 16 times for City. Semenyo arrived from Bournemouth for £64 million, has 22 appearances, and has made himself a regular threat, scoring eight goals with three assists, moving smoothly between central and wide positions.
They’re both expected to be in the lineup when City faces Brentford at home on Saturday as Guardiola’s team hangs onto their faint hopes of defending the title.
PEP GUARDIOLA REFUSES TO GUARANTEE RODRI’S RETURN FOR MONDAY’S PREMIER LEAGUE CLASH
Pep Guardiola provides the latest injury news on Rodri, Ruben Dias, and Josko Gvardiol ahead of a crucial title race clash at Everton.
Pep Guardiola has shared the latest on Manchester City's injury situation ahead of Monday’s Premier League match against Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
City is in good form right now. They came from behind to beat Southampton 2-1 in the FA Cup semi-final last weekend, making it six wins in a row across all competitions.
But they’ve had to do it without Rodri. He's missed their last two matches, including a tight 1-0 win at Burnley, after hurting his groin against Arsenal a couple of weeks back. Guardiola recently told reporters that Rodri is getting better, but the team’s been cautious and isn’t rushing him back.
At his latest press conference on Friday, Guardiola said Rodri still hasn’t returned to training, so they’re just taking it day by day. There's hope, but Guardiola wouldn’t give any guarantees about Rodri’s chances of playing against Everton. "He’s getting better. Still, he didn't train with us, so we’ll see in the next few days,” he said. When pressed about his confidence, Pep just replied, “I am always confident.”
With Rodri still not training, it sounds like a last-minute decision on whether he’ll play. A start against Everton seems unlikely. That probably means Nico González, who scored the winner against Southampton, will keep his spot in midfield next to Bernardo Silva. Maybe Nico O’Reilly slides into central midfield, too, if he isn’t covering at left-back.
It’s not all good news in defence either. Ruben Dias is still out with the ankle injury that’s kept him sidelined for the last six games, and Josko Gvardiol is recovering from the tibial fracture he picked up in January. Both are working their way back, and Guardiola says they’re improving, but there’s no sign of a return just yet.
Turning to the Everton game, City could head into it trailing Arsenal by six points if the Gunners beat Fulham on Saturday. With the title race this tight, City can’t afford to slip up.
Guardiola knows Monday will be tough. “Everton have always been tough,” he said. “Old Everton was so cool and so British, and I loved to go there, but in the new stadium, they are defending really well, and it has always been tough." He’s not taking recent Everton results lightly, adding, 'They're fighting for a place in Europe. We won with two or three actions here, but we were not good at that moment. We can’t have any result but win, win, win.”
Everton won’t be easy, especially away, but City can at least take confidence from their strong record of 17 league games unbeaten against the Toffees. They won the reverse fixture 2-0, with Haaland scoring both goals. Still, Guardiola isn’t expecting it to be straightforward.
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