Pep Guardiola often confuses Man City fans at times when his team is under pressure or at a dead end but still has no replacement. The Spanish strategist has certain conservative points, but over the years, he has been remarkably successful. Gradually, such actions are considered the norm for Pep and are sometimes considered a measure of the tactical ability of each coach.
"It's a new version of me. Before, I was criticized quite a lot for sometimes not using any of the available 5 substitutions. Now, I only like to change at half-time. In the next match against Arsenal on Sunday, I will probably continue to do that" - Pep Guardiola shared after the draw with Inter in the Champions League.
In the match against Brentford last week in the Premier League, Pep brought Josko Gvardiol and Rodri on to replace Rico Lewis and Mateo Kovacic. The Citizens' captain's aim was to stop Brentford's threat with long balls and one-on-one duels. Thomas Frank himself admitted after the match that this was the way Pep Guardiola used to increase Man City's strength.
Against Inter in the Champions League, Pep also made two substitutions after the break. Phil Foden and Ilkay Gundogan are in the lineup to replace Kevin De Bruyne and Savinho. De Bruyne suffered an injury of unknown severity. Meanwhile, Savinho's fitness may not be guaranteed as the Brazilian star was also withdrawn in the final minutes of the match against Brentford last weekend.
"The reason I replaced De Bruyne was not necessarily because he had a slight injury. When facing an opponent using a 5-3-2 formation, when the ball is in part of the pitch, Man City may have to face 5 Inter players who are surrounding it. We can't create a connection with Rodri so we need players who can operate within a narrow range. Lewis, Foden and Gundogan are very suitable for this.
When I looked at the way Inter defended, after about 35-40 minutes of the first half, I thought it was time to change. After what happened to De Bruyne, the doctor said he was not ready to continue playing, so I also withdrew when the first half ended" - Pep shared.
When asked if he likes to use a fixed formation for each match, Pep said he would consider it, as long as efficiency is the priority.
"Sometimes I like to use weapons on the bench. Man City need to break Inter's 5-3-2 structure. Mehdi taremi and Lautaro Martinez always make Rodri work hard. They didn't let us find the same gaps as in many other games. That is why I need many players with different roles to appear" - Pep shared.
That is also the reason why Pep sometimes does not want to change players, even though basically, those who watch the match all want to. Sometimes Pep is willing to accept the progress of the match, not right at that time when Man City is in the best form.
The clearest proof is the 0-0 draw on Crystal Palace's field in March 2022, while the championship race with Liverpool is very tense. Man City needed to win to win but they were at a dead end. However, Pep Guardiola still did not change players and said that match was fine because there was almost no risk of conceding.
About a year later, in the 1-1 draw with Leipzig in the Champions League, Pep still did not change players despite many times when Man City was under great pressure by the opponent. The Spaniard believes that bringing the players on the bench to the pitch at that time could only make the club's counter-attacking situation worse.
Upcoming Man City opponents can look at how Inter have applied. That is also a challenge for Pep to be more flexible in changing players so that The Citizens are always a virtual team, thereby not easily breaking the playing style.
