Manchester City star Josko Gvardiol endured a tough night against Feyenoord, but what Pep Guardiola has said about him is absolutely right.
Manchester City threw away a three-goal lead last night in their Champions League clash with Feyenoord, and rival fans have had a real field day about it.
This was potentially the worst result of the season so far for City.
While it may not have been another defeat, the nature of the capitulation was just shocking, and absolutely not needed ahead of a huge game with Liverpool this weekend.
City were 3-0 up and cruising, but then threw it away and Josko Gvardiol had a hand in all three.
But Guardiola spoke about him after the game, and the Manchester City manager was right in what he said.
What Pep Guardiola said about Josko Gvardiol after Feyenoord draw
Guardiola said that Man City are ‘not stable’ right now, after the 3-3 draw with Feyenoord.
City have been so poor defensively this season, and even when the team are in a good position, such as last night, the issues are still there.
Gvardiol was playing well in the game, but his mistakes ended up costing City. After the game though, Guardiola backed his player.
He said as quoted by the Evening Standard: “He is so young, he’ll learn. I’ll be so wrong if I point specific things at him. He’s a fantastic player, fantastic boy and more than ever must be helped.”
Guardiola is right about Gvardiol
It’s a tough moment for Gvardiol right now.
At the moment little lapses are creeping into his game, which is a shame as he started the season quite strongly and was actually probably one of City’s best performers before this six-game winless run.
It’s been a pretty heavy past few days for Gvardiol between the Tottenham and Feyenoord games.
The mistakes will probably be playing on his mind and Guardiola is spot on – the player needs support now, not criticism.
There can be sympathy with Gvardiol, because he has played a lot of football recently.
There have been no real opportunities for the manager to rotate him out of the team given all the injuries, meaning Gvardiol is actually the third most-used player this season for City.
He looks to be crying out for a rest, with pundit Tim Sherwood suggesting Gvardiol ‘looks shattered’ right now.
Given the maturity with which he plays, it’s very easy to forget sometimes that Gvardiol is still a very young player at the age of 22.
The pressures of top-level football can be extreme, and fans must get behind the star in this tough moment.
Guardiola says he’d be ‘so wrong’ to point out the mistakes to Gvardiol, and he’s absolutely right. The player knows full well what he did wrong and doesn’t even need telling. The correct response is to support.
that said, Gvardiol dropping out of the team while he’s in this period may not be the worst thing, as it’d give him a chance to rest up, refocus and recalibrate.
