‘Pep Guardiola crumbles under pressure at Man City after bizarre Nunes update’
Pep Guardiola’s bizarre recent comments about Matheus Nunes suggest the Man City manager’s grip on the situation is slipping under pressure this season.
Having dropped points once again last time out, this time against city-rivals Man United, the Sky Blues now find themselves 21 points behind league leaders, Liverpool.
Following the draw, Guardiola took the unusual approach of singling out Nunes, making comments on the midfielder’s capabilities, or lack thereof.
It is not the first time the former Wolves midfielder has been singled out by the City manager, as Guardiola said he was not one of the best players in the world last season, but whilst the undertones of those comments were jovial and delivered amid overall praise, his post-match thoughts after the draw at Old Trafford seemed anything but.
Pep Guardiola says Matheus Nunes ‘not clever enough’
The Spanish manager told reporters after the Manchester derby on Sunday, via ESPN (6 April): “He [Nunes] can become a good right-back for his physicality.
“I think he’s not a player to play in midfield because he’s not clever enough, in the composure, but he has incredible skills and he’s learning a lot.”
Guardiola’s decision to consistently single out a player playing out of position feels harsh, Nunes has been far from City’s least impressive player this season.
Others, such as Phil Foden who has failed to carry over his form from last season, have escaped the Spaniard’s wrath.
However, those comments made by the ex-Barcelona man may be more symptomatic of City’s disastrous transfer strategy in recent windows, which has led to the Sky Blues sitting sixth in the Premier League table.
Man City fail to rebuild after four consecutive Premier League titles
Richard Keys, ever-reliable for an I-told-you-so, posted in his blog on Monday (7 April), reminding us that he had called the Sky Blues’ demise months earlier.
However, the presenter’s points are solid, as City have absolutely failed to rebuild their squad off the back of a fourth consecutive Premier League title.
This is surprising, given the Sky Blues have never been hesitant to invest, even after successful campaigns, with the only major incomings made in the summer being Savio and a return for the aging Ilkay Gundogan.
Whilst the injury to Ballon d’Or winner Rodri was an huge unpredictable event, City went into the season without a viable alternative, with the Kalvin Phillips experiment having long since failed.
| Man City signings in January | Bought from | Reported fee according to transfermarkt |
| Omar Marmoush | Eintracht Frankfurt | £65million |
| Nico Gonzalez | FC Porto | £52million |
| Abdukodir Khusanov | RC Lens | £34.5million |
| Vitor Reis | Palmeiras | £31.9million |
| Juma Bah | Real Valladolid | £5.1million |
The same can be said for the right-back position. Whilst Kyle Walker asking to leave came as a shock, the Sky Blues seemed wholly unprepared for the departure of the 35-year-old, a surprising oversight from a club usually so prepared.
As such, City’s flurry of activity in January was a reactionary move, with the Premier League champions looking to fix several years of stagnation in one window.
Now, the team looks lopsided: Nunes is being used as a makeshift right-back, Omar Marmoush is playing as a left-winger as Man City have failed to figure out what to do with Jack Grealish, and January signing Abdukodir Khusanov has been thrown in straight away, looking unconfident and unready when featuring for City.
Pep Guardiola failing to deal with pressure as Man City face another key transfer window
The squad issues don’t end there. Kevin De Bruyne, so often the man to rescue Guardiola when all else fails, will leave the club this summer, whilst Gundogan also seems destined for the Etihad exit.
City, although they are trying to avoid acknowledging it with their patchwork approach, are in a rebuild.
A major issue though is rebuilds, especially when poorly accounted for, create immense pressure on the manager tasked with guiding the club through them, and pressure is something Guardiola has struggled to deal with in the past.
Following his time with Barcelona, the Spaniard was forced to take a sabbatical year after the mental warfare with then-Real Madrid manager, Jose Mourinho, even after enjoying huge success in charge of Lionel Messi and company at the Camp Nou.
Guardiola’s next role took him to Germany, but the Spanish boss once again shied away from a fight having failed to meet expectations with his inability to win the Champions League.
Time will always tell best, but with his comments on Nunes and fading gravitas in the dugout, the signs are pointing towards the ex-Bayern boss struggling to cope with the pressure of adversity caused by his side no longer being the best.
The worry for City fans now will be whether the Spaniard stays for a draining rebuild, or if history will repeat itself with Guardiola choosing to step away now that he is no longer nominally on top.