When Manchester City was led 3-0 by Real Madrid before the second leg of the UEFA Champions League round of 16, many people may think that Pep Guardiola will spend all his preparation time at the Etihad stadium to adjust tactics and ignite the spirit of his players in an effort to come back.
However, reality is completely opposite. Earlier this week, Guardiola unexpectedly gave the whole team rest, a decision that shows the difference in his approach compared to the rest.
Unique football style has helped Guardiola become one of the most successful coaches of all time. However, in the context that Man City is losing the advantage over Arsenal in the Premier League title race, and facing the risk of being eliminated from the European arena, the personnel and tactical decisions of the Spanish strategist are under increasing scrutiny.
As pressure increases and the results are no longer as expected, opinions have emerged that people who have shaped the art of coaching for the past two decades may be gradually losing their "magic".
Guardiola has broken the stable 4-man defense system including Rayan Ait-Nouri, Marc Guehi, Ruben Dias and Matheus Nunes - names who have started together in the last 4 Premier League matches. He also shuffled the trio of midfielders Nico O'Reilly, Bernardo Silva and Rodri, which were the foundation for an impressive performance streak, including 6 consecutive wins in February.
O'Reilly - the first time returning to play left-back after 2 months - quickly revealed limitations when he was constantly exploited by Federico Valverde, leading to the opening goal. Meanwhile, Real Madrid easily penetrated Man City's loose midfield every time they organized an attack.
However, Guardiola still refused to admit the mistake. He emphasized that the team controlled the game in the first 20 minutes and believed that the opponent only scored from rare shots on target.
However, statistics show that the home team had up to seven shots on target compared to four for Man City. Even Vinicius Junior missed the opportunity to finish the match when he missed a penalty in the second half.
Guardiola cannot continue to make more mistakes in the upcoming crucial period. Man City must face Real Madrid, Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final, Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-finals, before playing away at Chelsea's stadium and entering the final of the Premier League title race against Arsenal.
Just a few weeks ago, Man City's season was still full of promise. But now, everything could collapse in just one month. In the context of many speculations that Guardiola may leave Etihad in June, a failed ending will cast a shadow over his glorious decade at Man City.
Not only is the club's title ambition threatened, but Guardiola's legacy as one of the greatest strategists in modern football is also facing challenges.
He deserves to close his journey in glory. However, if he continues to pursue unexpected but wrong experiments in decisive matches, Guardiola is completely at risk of tarnishing his own legacy.
