The Spanish media are running out of ways to react to Pep Guardiola’s failures at Manchester City. At the beginning of season, Guardiola teaching his brand of football to England was celebrated, but then the early run ended.
The club’s failures were blamed on several things, and at the beginning of January Catalan newspaper Sport said the criticism of Guardiola in England ‘has a lot of Brexit’ about it.
Guardiola was described as ‘brave’ for taking on Manchester City and trying to make them look like a proper football team. Any excuse that could be found, was found, but now they’re starting to run out.
Criticism towards Man City’s Guardiola ‘has a lot of Brexit’ about it, according to Catalan newspaper. #MCFC https://t.co/aO0aTBeiV9
— Sport Witness (@Sport_Witness) January 3, 2017
On Monday, instead of implying xenophobia, whilst at the same time insinuating English football is backwards, the general consensus is Manchester City’s struggles are down to their defence being rubbish.
That’s what Sport have covered, with the midfield also getting something of a kicking too. Guardiola simply doesn’t have the tools available to do his job.
Sport especially focus on John Stones, who they say lived a ‘hell’ on his return to Goodison Park. It’s safe to say they weren’t impressed with the central defender, and they add Stones was ‘overwhelmed on numerous occasions and failed in three of the four goals conceded’.
Marca, a Madrid leaning sport newspaper, state these are ‘the worst days of Guardiola’, and that Claudio Bravo ‘seems to have forgotten’ how to stop the ball going into the back of the net.
El Confidencial say that recent Manchester City defeats ‘have been embarrassing for a club that aspires not only to win the league, but to win everything’, and unlike some others in Spain they accept the Premier League is proving what a tough test it is.
Guardiola is even questioned about not having a back-up plan if his Plan A doesn’t work.
Several Spanish newspaper sent a journalist to live in Manchester and, as they’ll have expected, to cover Guardiola’s triumphs. It’s not quite working out that way at the moment.
