Mick McCarthy has said that Manchester City were affected by the absence of Pep Guardiola after their 2-1 loss against Wolves.
Speaking to City’s YouTube channel after the contest, the former Blackpool boss gave his two cents on his thoughts on the £378,846-a-week man sitting in the stands during the contest after his touchline ban.
While many would simply argue that Manchester City should have beaten Wolves regardless, Mick McCarthy believes that the absence of Pep Guardiola led to the visitors faltering at the Molineux Stadium.
Mick McCarthy says Pep Guardiola touchline ban affected Manchester City as they lost to Wolves
Branded as ‘unbelievable’ by Owen Hargreaves (via Manchester Evening News), the Catalan boss witnessed his side put in a nightmarish display against Gary O’Neil’s side.
Despite Julian Alvarez’s stunning free-kick levelling the scores after Ruben Dias’ initial own goal, Hwang Hee-Chan’s late winner meant City’s winning start to the season came to an end.
When quizzed about whether Manchester City missed Pep Guardiola on the touchline during their loss to Wolves, Mick McCarthy, having had years of experience as a manager himself certainly thinks so.
“Well, yes.”
“I do think it has an effect.”
“It can have an influence on the other bench. Just him being there. Just his presence, you’re stood next to this great manager and they have got this presence.”
Pep Guardiola or not, the treble-winners were simply not good enough
Even if Mick McCarthy has a point, the fact of the matter is that even Pep Guardiola would likely agree that Manchester City simply were not at the races against Wolves.
In possession, the Sky Blues were shambolic, failing to progress the ball centrally while their one-note attacking approach was simply to hand Jeremy Doku the ball and rely on him to create a moment of magic.
Defensively, City conceded far too many turnovers, which led to the likes of Pedro Neto terrorising them in transition.
Regardless of whether Guardiola’s presence and tactical instructions on the touchline would have been an influencing factor, the league leaders were undeniably abysmal on the day.
