Manchester City are in a decent position to progress to the Champions League semi-finals in a week’s time after a 1-0 home win over Atletico. Pep Guardiola also patted himself on the back after a tough 90 minutes.
Guardiola was not without a large helping of sarcasm in the run-up to the comparison with Diego Simeone. In the past, the Catalan – especially when he was Bayern coach – had repeatedly undertaken tactical experiments at crucial moments in the top flight. Asked about this on Monday, Guardiola replied: “It would be boring if I always played the same way. That’s why I think too much and come up with stupid tactics. Tomorrow I will use an unbelievable one: We’ll play with twelve players!”
On Tuesday evening, Guardiola used tried-and-tested tactics in the 1-0 win, with which the Skyblues were unable to break down a concrete-stirring Atletico for a long time. But the ManCity coach had an ace up his sleeve – three, to be precise. After 68 minutes, Guardiola made his only three changes of the evening, bringing on Jack Graelish, Gabriel Jesus and Phil Foden.
The decision proved to be the right one just two minutes later, as the ball-playing Foden took Rodrigo’s sharp ball perfectly and sent it just as vertically towards Kevin De Bruyne. The Belgian remained ice-cold from a half-right position and scored the decisive 1:0.
“If we make a change, then only … “
“When we make a change, it’s only when we think it could be a touch better,” Guardiola told “BT Sport” afterwards. “Sometimes it works, sometimes not. The boys did well, but we knew Gabriel and Phil had a special energy and Jack can keep the ball. Today City had a very clever coach.”
Also a kind of satisfaction for Guardiola, who had been criticised all too often in the past for his decisions in knockout games. He could not be completely satisfied with regard to the difficult second leg at the Wanda Metropolitano: “We had chances to score a second or even third goal. But it is not easy to play against such an experienced team in this competition. But we are going to Madrid to score and to win again. “
De Bruyne expects nothing less in Madrid
That it will be another tough nut to crack in Spain is something goalscorer De Bruyne is already certain of. “They have operated with five players in defence and five more in midfield. It’s extremely difficult to find gaps,” said the Belgian, unsurprisingly voted Man of the Match, after the game: “But we did well because we didn’t give anything away. You have to stay calm, stay patient and keep looking for the gap.” De Bruyne expects a similar approach from Atletico in the second leg.
But in between, there is still the home game against Liverpool on Sunday, which could be crucial in the English championship battle. “We have five days until Sunday – both teams played today,” De Bruyne said. “It’s a big game that everyone is looking forward to, including us players. “
Within a week, ManCity can raise hopes of two more titles, but they can also fall badly on their faces. A possibly decisive parameter here: Guardiola’s tactics.
