Pep Guardiola - 2023/24

[Rammy Blue]

I am not sure Pep can be faulted for his selection as much as his reluctance to change it once it was obvious it wasn’t working.

Alvarez in the high press and build up role could have worked well, but it was pretty clear it wasn’t by halftime. It was actually having the opposite effect after the restart (we were a poorer side with him in it at that point), and Pep’s stubbornness to acknowledge and correct it was his real mistake.

Kovacic should have come on for Alvarez on 50 minutes. In retrospect, I am sure Pep knows that.

Nah, not for me, it was an error in initial selection that most of us wouldn’t have made, imo.

 

[SebastianBlue]

Nah, not for me, it was an error in initial selection that most of us wouldn’t have made, imo.

Fair enough.

Personally, I assume Pep has considerably more information than I do ahead of matches, so I defer to him on selection and tactics, even beyond him obviously being an infinitely better manager than I could ever hope to be.

Once the match starts, I think the gap between the information he has versus what the fans have starts to close, given that is largely based on what is actually happening on the pitch at that point, so I am a bit more comfortable being critical of his decisions (or lack there of) during matches.

Which is why I will always fault him more for what I consider poor choices during the match than perceived ones prior to it. Especially as I have been wrong far more often when questioning his selections than with his substitutes or tactical changes.

 

[alexmcity]

Nah, not for me, it was an error in initial selection that most of us wouldn’t have made, imo.

Who could have played at LW if Pep had started Kova instead of Alvarez? The logical answer is Foden. But that would mean to put Bernie at RW. Pep wanted Bernie in midfield as Kova is still new to the team. Kova takes more risks than Bernie as he loves to dribble through the middle.

I don't know whether Pep made a mistake, but Liverpool's weak link was the right side of their defence and Alvarez isn't a winger. Maybe Pep should have played Foden on the left and Alvarez or Nunes on the right. That was maybe a bigger mistake, if there was such at all, than going with Bernie in midfield rather than Kovacic.

 

[bluegaz13]

The performance v Real Madrid was as close as you could get to perfection…………9 of those starters were available today and we have Foden instead of Grealish and maybe Kova instead of Gundognan ( a downgrade granted)

The defence last season looked impregnable…….why Change

 

[alexmcity]

The performance v Real Madrid was as close as you could get to perfection…………9 of those starters were available today and we have Foden instead of Grealish and maybe Kova instead of Gundognan ( a downgrade granted)

The defence last season looked impregnable…….why Change

You mean, why not play Akanji at LB, as Ake missed both legs vs Madrid due to injury and Akanji played at LB instead of Ake?

 

[HaalandEffect]

Should go back to a 4-3-3 now, and instead of 4-2-3-1?

 

[WallyA]

Should go back to a 4-3-3 now, and instead of 4-2-3-1?

Formation doesnt matter.

We have been attacking as a 3241 with the ball for a while now.

The problem is where the players started and their performance.

A formation change out of the ball, we 442 without the ball, isnt the problem.

 

[Fordyboy46]

The fact Pep said we were better when Kova was on sums up his selection mistake today, Kova should have started in place of Alvarez today.

And i bet Pep is regretting that now

 

[Phil1]

Pretty sure he wasn’t expecting Alverez to play as terrible as a weekend in Grimsby.
That said, be interesting to know if there’s a reason so many looked off it today.
Makes no sense.

 

[meeesh]

Who could have played at LW if Pep had started Kova instead of Alvarez? The logical answer is Foden. But that would mean to put Bernie at RW. Pep wanted Bernie in midfield as Kova is still new to the team. Kova takes more risks than Bernie as he loves to dribble through the middle.

I don't know whether Pep made a mistake, but Liverpool's weak link was the right side of their defence and Alvarez isn't a winger. Maybe Pep should have played Foden on the left and Alvarez or Nunes on the right. That was maybe a bigger mistake, if there was such at all, than going with Bernie in midfield rather than Kovacic.

Nunes is fucking garbage, forget him going forward