Pep Guardiola and Ilkay Gundogan offered contrasting views on Man City’s 2-0 loss to Juventus in the Champions League. Gundogan voiced concerns about the team’s mentality, suggesting they need to “sacrifice more” and simplify their playstyle. He criticized City for overcomplicating their approach, losing possession in transitions, and struggling against counter-attacks.
Guardiola, however, maintained a positive outlook, commending the team’s performance despite the defeat. He disagreed with Gundogan’s assessment, emphasizing that City handled complexity well in the match and performed admirably against Juventus’ defensive strategies.
The loss is City’s seventh in 10 games across all competitions, putting their Champions League campaign in jeopardy. Their next fixtures include an away game against Paris Saint-Germain and a home match against Club Brugge.
Reflecting on the defeat, Gundogan remarked, “It’s very disappointing. We had chances to score a few goals, but it feels like every attack we concede is so dangerous. Sometimes we’re a bit careless in duels. Instead of playing simple, we overcomplicate things, missing the right timing to release the ball, losing possession, and giving away counter-attacks. We’re built for possession, to keep the ball, be strong, and not lose it unnecessarily. At the moment, it’s just not working for us.”
When Guardiola was informed of Gundogan’s remarks, he responded, “He said we don’t need…sorry? No, no. Today, we did it. On other days, maybe not, but today we did it really well. We didn’t lose many balls like we have in the past. We tried to get into the best positions. Italian teams defend very deep, they’re compact, and they excel in these situations. Even so, we played true to ourselves. We didn’t get the result, but the performance was there.”
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