In the 196th Manchester Derby between the two age-old rivals, Manchester City and Manchester United played out a forgettable 0-0 draw at Old Trafford.
Pep Guardiola would have been hoping that City win the game for Kevin De Bruyne’s sake as he announced his exit a day before the contest.
However, on the balance of play, it could be argued that Manchester City not to lose as the hosts caused them a number of problems on the break and looked much more threatening throughout the clash.
The Sky Blues were tame and out of ideas as it looked like they were more fearful of potentially losing than winning.
Manchester City fans aimed their frustrations towards Pep Guardiola, especially for not starting both Savinho and Jeremy Doku against Manchester United.
Man City fans blast Pep Guardiola for Jeremy Doku and Savinho omissions vs Manchester United
One Manchester City fan simply asked the rationale behind Guardiola’s decision against Manchester United, writing: “I just want to know the reasoning for not starting [Nico] Gonzalez, Doku and Savinho.”
Another frustrated Manchester City fan accused Pep Guardiola of “negligence” for not naming Doku and Savinho in his lineup against Manchester United: “Not starting Savinho or Doku is just negligence man. KDB [Kevin De Bruyne] also showing why he wasn’t offered a contract either.”
A third City supporter questioned the Catalan’s decision-making as well: “Not starting either of Savinho or Doku is just inept at this point.”
A fourth Manchester City fan asked why Doku, Savinho and Nico did not start against Manchester United and Pep Guardiola favoured the likes of Mateo Kovacic and Bernardo Silva: “What did Nico, Doku, and Savinho do to deserve getting benched in favour of Kovacic and Bernardo? Please enlighten me.”
A fifth City fan agreed, adding: “Just like in UCL [UEFA Champions League] away matches, Pep wanting utter control to keep the crows out the matches.”
Finally, a sixth Manchester City fan’s conclusion from his side’s latest outing against Manchester United was that Pep Guardiola needs to start Savinho and Doku in the remaining games of the season: “Yeah, we need Doku and savinho to start the rest of our games.”
Embarrassing Man City stat emerges that proves Pep Guardiola had a howler
Pep Guardiola is a tactical genius and more often than not, he is often right on the money.
But as several Manchester City fans claimed, Guardiola made a mistake by not starting either Doku or Savinho against Manchester United.
The two-time treble-winning manager’s decision to start Phil Foden and Omar Marmoush as his wingers was one that did not work whatsoever, considering both players drifted inside and City had no threat from wide areas.
Manchester City accumulated an xG (Expected Goals) of 0.49 against Manchester United, which exposes Pep Guardiola’s error in judgment and had he started Savinho as well Doku from the off, the visitors would have been less predictable in the final third at the very least.
However, Guardiola only managed to bring Doku on and that too, late into proceedings.
The worry for Manchester City is that they could miss out on a place in the Champions League next season if they do not get their act together quickly.
For that to be the case, Pep Guardiola will have to throw caution to the wind as his side does not have many goals in them in any case, especially after Erling Haaland’s injury.
