Chronicle Editor
LEICESTER. — Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola gave a truly bizarre reponse when asked about his side’s poor tackling after Saturday’s 4-2 defeat at English Premiership soccer champions Leicester City.
The Spaniard saw his side crumble at the hands of the Foxes, who went 3-0 up after just 20 minutes at the King Power Stadium on their way to a comfortable victory.
City seemed to have no answer to Leicester’s fast attacks, though Guardiola didn’t seem to think it was anything to do with his players’ lack of tackles won in the opening 35 minutes.
The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss responded by saying he doesn’t coach tackling, before asking what it even was.
“I’m not coaching tackles. I’m not training for tackles … what’s tackles?” he said when quizzed after the game.
Despite an impressive trophy haul during his time in Spain’s La Liga and the German Bundesliga, many will feel vindicated in their view that Guardiola is struggling in the more competitive English Premier League, and without the calibre of player he had available to him, particularly at the Nou Camp.
With one of the most expensive defences in the league, City fans will be rightly concerned that their manager is not coaching them to do the basics such as winning their tackles.
Meanwhile, Guardiola said his team had been undone by “long balls” after they crashed to a 4-2 defeat at English Premier League champions Leicester City on Saturday.
Jamie Vardy scored a hat-trick as Leicester scored three times in the first 20 minutes and then went 4-0 up, before late goals from Aleksandar Kolarov and Nolito added an air of respectability to the scoreline.
City had previously fallen to a 3-1 home defeat by Chelsea.
“Four minutes, 2-0, is not easy,” Guardiola told BT Sport. — AFP.
Online Reporter