Man City just stopped at the round of 16 of the League Cup after a 1-2 defeat to Tottenham away. In the last 8 matches in this arena, The Citizens have lost 4. They have won 23 of their 24 games so far. That achievement also explains why Pep Guardiola is the coach who has won the most League Cups in history. There was a period when he and Man City won the championship for 4 consecutive years (2018 - 2021).
After entering the press conference room at Tottenham Stadium, the Spanish strategist did not seem too sad about the defeat. He had said he would not "waste energy" on this game at some point more than a month ago. The City captain prayed to the gods to protect his team from injury. However, in the loss to Spurs, Man City lost two more players with injuries to Manuel Akanji and Savinho.
The matches that have been dragging on, from week to week with very heavy intensity, have become a nightmare for all coaches. The League Cup championship does not receive any reward other than £100,000. For a top team, aiming to win the Premier League and Champions League like Man City, the League Cup is a burden. Pep's suggestion of wanting to let the League Cup go also shows that the quality of this tournament is declining, no longer a place for quality teams to compete.
From a more negative perspective for the tournament organizers, Man City having to travel to London to play the League Cup with Tottenham is no different from depriving Pep Guardiola and his team of a precious day off. The injured squad of the defending English champions is getting heavier and heavier, each match that does not have much meaning is now like a disaster.
Including the recent loss to Tottenham, Man City have played 7 matches in the last 20 days. Savinho's injury was the fourth such injury for the team in that run. Pep once hinted that he would never push Erling Haaland into those types of matches.
Man City fans understand the current situation of the club and are no longer so hungry for titles that they have to pressure the players under the plow in the League Cup. After the final whistle, the winning Tottenham did not feel too happy while Man City fans stood up to applaud the players and left. They witnessed a defeat as a release for the players and for themselves.
Many of Man City's matches in the League Cup have not brought joy before. A 9-0 win over a team likeampton Albion does not linger in the memories of The Citizens fans. Or the 2021 final, Man City played at Wembley in front of about half the audience at Wembley.
Although Pep has never said that the League Cup is not worth playing for, on-field practice shows that this strategist considers the second-tier tournament of the foggy country as just a place to play. Against Spurs, he made 6 changes to the starting lineup since last weekend's win over Southampton, that number is 9 compared to the match against Watford. During his coaching career at Man City, Pep has changed his squad an average of 6.8 times in League Cup matches, compared to about 4.3 times in Champions League matches.
Now, the League Cup is just a place for Pep to test young players. Phil Foden, Cole Palmer, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Liam Delap and Tommy Doyle all made their debuts in this playground.
"This tournament is really good for testing players from the academy. Nico plays like the version we saw in pre-season. Jacob played well and Jahmai was very special in the minutes he played in the center-back position. As for James McAtee, he was great" - Pep shared.
No one wants to give up a title, especially for " greedy" people like Pep Guardiola. However, with an arena that has won too many titles and is too small in stature compared to the main tournaments, Man City's decision to give up is understandable.
