"we all know what our strongest lineup & formation was..." is the last refuge of those who don't like the result and decide to take it out on the manager. You aren't, and no-one on this thread is in any way qualified to sit in judgement on Pep. The sad fact is that it doesn't matter who had started on Saturday night would have made little difference, whether it had been Ferna or Rodri or both. I'm afraid that from the very first minutes it was evident that the occasion was simply too big and that the team were leaden legged and too slow in thought and execution so that basic ball control was missing, passes were misplaced and we hardly won a single second ball. Ferna actually made no difference when he came on and Chelsea continued to cause havoc with simple through balls straight down the middle. This was because Stones showed an uncertainty and nerviness not seen all season, Dias showed he is a long way from being Vinnie on the biggest of occasions and Zinchenko had a turbulent evening, most notably when failing to follow Havertz. Ferna is a great player and leader but he isn't a miracle worker. Nor does he solve the problem we had up front where we did have our "strongest line up". Jesus and Aguero made little impact basically because we had no idea what we were doing. Sterling got nothing out of James and his touch was heavy and passing poor and Mahrez was kept wide so that he never posed any problems for Chilwell. Rarely did we get into their area and even more rarely did we have anyone in there to take advantage if we had. The problem on Saturday night was that no-one on that field performed anything like up to standard, nowhere near, and the idea that Ferna or Rodri would have turned that onto a winning performance is quite frankly a massive delusion. In my opinion those lads were not ready to carry the weight of the almost Messianic belief that these were the lads who were going to lead City out of the desert after a ten year journey to the paradise of champions league glory and they choked. This is one we can put down to experience. And my consolation is that next year "our best line up" will be a little different but much more experienced and there'll be no mistake.
Mate, very much like Pep, you're over-complicating a straightforward scenario. I'll spell it out for you.
Ederson, Walker, Stones, Dias, Zinchenko, Fernandinho/Rodri, Gundog, Silva, Mahrez, KDB & Foden. 4-3-3.
This is essentially the team which proved itself toward the final. The team which neutered Haaland, Mbappé & Neymar. The team almost every City fan wanted, & the team almost everyone expected to start.
Like I said, you can split hairs all you like micro analysing our performance down to the minutiae of who's not as good as Vinny, what Chilwell did from what he didn't do. The plain fact is this team did something no other City team in history has achieved; they got us to the final of Europe's premier football final & deserved the opportunity to complete the job.
We did so as joint top scorers, & with the joint best defence. The team was modified throughout the season based on rotation, form & injury, but come the quarter final, it was becoming clear which players were performing best, & which formation was working best for us. It seems the whole world could see this for the final bar Guardiola & yourself.
And yes, I'm taking my frustration out on our great manager, as he picked the team for the final, as everyone held their breath wondering if he'd have another brain fart at this crucial moment. He did & as many of us feared it cost us a potential victory.
Why not start with the team & formation most expected, & make changes if & when necessary? That would have been the smart thing to do in my opinion, but what do I, or the hundreds of thousands of City fans, opposition fans, pundits & media watchers know. In your world no one can question Pep, well hey, allow me to be the first...
Pep approached a CL Final without either one of our preferred CDM's. It's the first time all season he's played a match without one or the other, & he chose the most prestigious match in European football to try it out. Pep got it wrong. We lost. :-|
