Pep Guardiola must be disappointed that his Manchester City side could not give a better account of themselves as they drew 0-0 against Manchester United on Sunday.
Gary Lineker questioned Manchester City’s mentality against United as he suspected that perhaps the players have been so accustomed to winning that it affected their display because the game in question had no bearing on a potential trophy-defining outcome.
The reason behind why Manchester City looked as lifeless against Ruben Amorim’s side is a mystery.
However, City’s latest outing sums up why Pep Guardiola has a massive challenge to build this side back into a winning team again.
However, Guardiola was not completely blameless as well for Manchester City’s disappointing display against Manchester United either — taking the puzzling decision to not start either Jeremy Doku or Savinho.
Photo by Carl Recine/Getty ImagesPep Guardiola made a blunder by not starting Jeremy Doku and Savinho for Man City vs Man United
Doku and Savinho watched on as Manchester City lacked little no spark in attack despite proving that they could give any defence a nightmare and Manchester United’s backline has certainly not inspired much confidence at Old Trafford this season.
Pep Guardiola’s rationale seems to be that especially in Doku and Savinho’s case, their propensity to take risks on the ball especially when they try to take players on could mean they lose possession and the Sky Blues are exposed on the counter-attack defensively.
Guardiola did not start wingers against Newcastle when they drew 1-1 to Newcastle United as well and it cost them. Similarly, the six-time Premier League winner also made the same call against Liverpool at Anfield and against Aston Villa — two games where they lost.
But the flaw in Guardiola’s seeming logic is that Manchester City lacked any threat out wide against Manchester United, which made it a walk in the park for the hosts’ narrow 5-4-1 defensive setup to tame their attack as it was set out to defend the visitors’ threat from central zones.
Phil Foden and Omar Marmoush played out wide but were tasked to roam centrally — which forced Manchester City to rely on a moment of magic centrally at all times — making their attacking ideas as predictable as one has perhaps ever seen during Pep Guardiola’s reign at the Etihad Stadium.
Savinho revealed Pep Guardiola encourages him to take risks while the Manchester City boss has always admired Doku and yet, the blistering pair were not unleashed against Manchester United.
Jeremy Doku and Savinho’s record starting together vs ‘Big Six’ this season
The Premier League champions’ conservative approach also pegged them back in their hunt for securing Champions League football.
Newcastle United could now leapfrog City in fifth place with a win against Leicester City on Monday night.
While there is no guarantee that Doku and Savinho would have led Manchester City to a certain victory against Manchester United, even Pep Guardiola is aware that their record against the Premier League’s ‘Big Six’ is encouraging.
The dynamic duo have only lost once in four starts against the English top-flight’s biggest clubs and yet, Guardiola chose to keep them on the bench — a mistake he must stopping making as it is not helping City’s case whatsoever.
When Manchester City won the treble, Pep Guardiola prioritised ball-to-feet wingers such as Jack Grealish and Bernardo Silva — a tactic that only worked because they had match-winners such as Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan operating at the peak of their powers.
But that is no longer the case and Guardiola must adapt.
Surely, Doku and Savinho have earned their places in Manchester City’s XI as they prepare to go toe-to-toe against Crystal Palace on Saturday.