Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has admitted he might field a team of 12 players in Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Atletico Madrid. The Citizens could have to make due without injured captain Vincent Kompany, who is out for the rest of the season with a shoulder injury.
The “man city vs atletico madrid” is a match that has been highly anticipated. Man City could field 12 players in the match, as they have not been able to field their full team due to injuries and suspensions.
8:58 a.m. Eastern Time
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Dawson, Rob Correspondent
Pep Guardiola has mocked his reputation as a “over-thinker” in the Champions League, joking that Manchester City may pitch 12 players in their quarterfinal first leg against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday.
Guardiola has been chastised in the past for his tactics in big Champions League games, such as his choice to play without a defensive midfielder against Chelsea in last season’s final and with a three-man defense against Lyon in the 2020 semifinals.
The City manager, on the other hand, derided the concept that he may do the same when Atletico Madrid visits the Etihad Stadium, claiming that fans will see “great tactics.”
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“I usually overthink in the Champions League, devise new strategies and new concepts, and you will see one tomorrow,” Guardiola stated at a press conference on Monday.
“I overthink a lot, which is absolutely [fair], and it’s why I’ve had such good results in the Champions League. It would be boring, my job, if I had to win the same way every time. Opponents have different ways of playing, and I don’t like it when people think I play the same way against Atletico and Liverpool.”
“Liverpool’s moves are vastly different from those of Atletico Madrid, owing to the fact that each player is unique and has a mother and father with distinct personalities. I’ll have to change.
“That’s why I like overthinking with blundering strategies, and if I don’t win, I seem foolish. I’ll be inspired tonight [Monday] and execute fantastic techniques the next day. Tomorrow, we’ll play with a total of 12 players.”
Pep Guardiola dismissed claims that he overthinks his tactics in key Champions League games. Photo courtesy of PA Images/Nigel French via Getty Images
With a 2-1 aggregate win against Manchester United in the previous round, Atletico qualified for the round of 16. Diego Simeone’s club has won six consecutive games since drawing 1-1 with United in Spain at the end of February, allowing just three goals in the process.
It feeds into the perception that Simeone is a conservative coach (he overcame Guardiola’s Bayern Munich in the quarterfinal in 2016), but Guardiola has ridiculed the notion that the match would pit an offensive club against a cautious one.
“I’m not going to speak about these pointless disputes for a second,” Guardiola continued. “We’ll be right if we win, and they’ll be right if they win.”
“They are more obnoxious than most people believe. They don’t want to take any chances throughout the construction, yet they have quality. I’m not going to waste any time on this pointless dispute.”
The match is the start of a frantic 11-day period for City, which will see them play Atletico Madrid twice and Liverpool twice. Guardiola’s squad faces Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday in a key Premier League match before playing them again in the FA Cup semifinal at Wembley on April 16, three days after the second leg against Atletico Madrid.
“It’s a fantastic indicator,” Bernardo Silva said, “because it implies we’ve arrived at the last two months of the season and we’re ready to battle for trophies.”
“If we just had easy matches and games that didn’t matter at all, it would be a negative omen.” It’s great to be here, and it’s even better to be able to fight for all of them, and we’ll give it our best go.
“Being in the most significant games and playing the most important teams in the finest tournaments is what we like the most, so we’ll aim to be competitive.”
The “man city news” is a headline that states Man City could field 12 players vs. Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.
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