Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has lavished praise upon Kalvin Phillips for his performance against Newcastle United.
After his side’s 1-0 defeat to Eddie Howe and Co. in the Carabao Cup, the Catalan tactician was quizzed (via City’s official website) about the £42 million (The Athletic) man’s showing in a rare start for him.
Pep Guardiola seemed to be best pleased with how Kalvin Phillips performed for Manchester City against Newcastle United.
Pep Guardiola raves about ‘really good’ Kalvin Phillips after Manchester City get beaten by Newcastle
Branded as ‘intelligent’ by Guardiola in the past, the Englishman was handed a lifeline to rescue his Sky Blues career after Rodri’s three-game suspension.
As a result, Phillips started from the off against the Magpies on Wednesday in his usual defensive midfield role in a display that split opinion.
However, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola believes Kalvin Phillips fared well against Newcastle at St. James’ Park.
“Kalvin played really well. It’s not easy when you have a lack of rhythm and tempo. He did it and he was really good”, he said.
Kalvin Phillips did not take his chance well enough
Whether Pep Guardiola genuinely believes Kalvin Phillips stepped up against Newcastle or not is a mystery but he may well have seen his Manchester City career end after his display in the Carabao Cup.
The Spaniard is right in saying that it is challenging for the former Leeds midfielder to simply come in and look at his brilliant best considering his lack of match sharpness.
However, while Kalvin Phillips was far from poor, he did not exactly make an impression as well.
In possession, Phillips simply misplaced the pass far too many times, which is sacrilege for any midfielder at the club.
Even defensively, the 27-year-old struggled to cover large spaces and win back possession on a number of occasions, especially in transition.
While Kalvin Phillips is a quality player, whether he is at the level to play for Manchester City is the question mark and the answer may be no at this point.
