Mario Melchiot has been speaking about Kyle Walker after Manchester City recorded a 3-2 win over Newcastle on Saturday.
The 47-year-old made the comments when chatting to ESPN.
So, what was said about Kyle Walker? Let’s take a look…
What Mario Melchiot said about Kyle Walker
Well, the Dutchman believes the 33-year-old will be “so angry” with himself after Saturday’s performance on Tyneside.
Melchiot said: “If you saw the first two goals they scored, they went on the inside on their strong right foot against Walker. Walker, for me, is one of the key right-backs, but he allowed players to go inside. He probably must have been so angry, because Gordon did it to him, and Isak did it to him.”
In our view – while the ESPN pundit is right – his comments lack context.
Pep Guardiola had clearly asked Walker to push up high down the right flank, and that approach paid off when the Manchester City No.2 crossed for Bernardo Silva to open the scoring.
Ally McCoist even claimed on TNT Sports that he had never seen a defender playing so high up the field.
Therefore – as quick as Walker is – he was always going to be left vulnerable, especially against talents such as Anthony Gordon and Alexander Isak.
Something to learn from for Pep Guardiola and Manchester City
Guardiola is a deep tactical thinker, and we are almost certain that the Spaniard will be racking his brains over the fact Newcastle basically scored the same goal twice.
The 52-year-old will not want to lose Walker’s attacking qualities, but he will be keen to ensure things become a little tighter down the right flank next time out.
In our view, this could see Rico Lewis come into the starting XI – the England international can play in midfield or on the right of defence, so Guardiola may ask him to slot in and cover when Walker pushes on.
Whatever happens next, Walker should not be angry with his performance – the £50m man largely played well on an evening where Guardiola’s tactical approach asked a lot of him.
