Then, in a hint at what was to come in the final in 2021, Guardiola opted to use Gundogan, rather than Fernandinho, as his holding midfielder in the second leg, with City lacking their usual control as they crashed out on away goals following a crazy 4-3 win.Īrguably most damningly of all, there was the quarter-final loss to Lyon in 2020, played as a one-legged tie at a neutral venue, for which Guardiola named an uncharacteristically negative side, including five defenders and leaving out three of his most creative players in David Silva, Bernardo Silva and Riyad Mahrez, as City fell to a 3-1 defeat. Against Tottenham a year later, there was the controversial decision to omit Kevin De Bruyne for the first leg, which they lost 1-0.

Indeed, before the 2021 final defeat to Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea, there were earlier exits against Monaco, Liverpool, Tottenham and Lyon, all of which left the spotlight on Guardiola's decisions.Īgainst Liverpool in 2018, he asked Aymeric Laporte to play in an unfamiliar left-back role, only for Mohamed Salah to run riot, while also using Ilkay Gundogan on the right in place of Raheem Sterling. Guardiola's critics were quick to pounce on those perceived tactical errors and, with the overthinking narrative established, they found more opportunities after his move to Manchester City. Muller had been excellent that season, scoring 31 goals in 44 appearances in all competitions, but he was sacrificed for Thiago Alcantara and did not appear from the bench until the 70th minute, his threat missed as Bayern went down to a costly 1-0 loss. The same could be said of the decision to drop Thomas Muller in order to incorporate an extra midfielder for the first leg of their next semi-final, against Atletico Madrid, a year later. Guardiola reflects on Man City's third Premier League title in a row and admits they will probably have to win the Champions League to be considered a great team

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