ESPN pundit Craig Burley believes Josko Gvardiol is ‘not a full-back’ following his display for Manchester City against Chelsea yesterday.
Pep Guardiola’s side played out a highly entertaining 4-4 draw with the Blues at Stamford Bridge in what was one of the games of the season so far.
The game was furious and frenetic and in the end, a point apiece was probably fair.
City were uncharacteristically sloppy at the back, which may concern Guardiola.
It is not very often at all that City ship four goals, but the backline was shaky yesterday and Ruben Dias in particular has come in for a bit of criticism for his display.
Josko Gvardiol also struggled at times. Sky commentator Jamie Carragher suggested that Pep wouldn’t be particularly happy with his defending on the first Chelsea goal.
In the eyes of Burley though, the Croatia international isn’t currently being played in his best position…
Craig Burley insists Josko Gvardiol is ‘not a full-back’ for Manchester City
Burley gave his thoughts about the game in a video for the ESPN YouTube channel.
Like many others, he was surprised to see how weak City looked defensively on the day. It is definitely not something people associate with Pep’s side.
He then spoke about Gvardiol. He insisted: “Gvardiol’s a good player. But he’s not a full-back. The way he got his body shape (for the first Chelsea goal) there was just all wrong. Just all wrong. He’s not the only one, (Nathan) Ake’s been put out there. Akanji’s been out there. I would say it’s a problem area, but it’s maybe a little bit of a weak point in this City team.”
Gvardiol may well have done better for the opening Chelsea goal. But the same can be said of Dias, who was out of position and could not get back to mop up for the former RB Leipzig man.
Despite a tough day at the office though, Gvardiol did still use the ball well. He had 94% passing accuracy (51/54). He also made three tackles, three blocks and won 5/8 duels (Sofascore).
A rare struggle for Gvardiol
This was probably Gvardiol’s worst outing for City since his big-money move in the summer.
But some of the criticism for him has been a little ridiculous.
Before this game with Chelsea, £130,000-a-week star Gvardiol had been very impressive in a City shirt operating on that left side. In previous games, he has showcased brilliant technical ability and has been solid defensively.
Ultimately, Gvardiol is still a young player and that perhaps gets forgotten because of how comfortable and mature comes across.
He is going to have these kinds of games from time to time, in what is his first season in English football.
You have to give credit to the likes of Raheem Sterling and Reece James. They both made life uncomfortable for Gvardiol. But he’ll learn from this and emerge a better player as a result.
