Pep Guardiola hopes to clinch an historic treble for Manchester City in the Champions League final having been accused of ‘overthinking’ his tactics in the past; follow Man City vs Inter Milan live on Sky Sports’ digital platforms from 6pm on Saturday; kick-off 8pm Nigeria time.
Manchester City are one game away from greatness, so it is curious that the manager who has taken them to this point is also seen by many as a potential obstacle at the finish line.
Such is the narrative that has built up around Pep Guardiola overthinking his tactics in big games. Manchester City head into the Champions League final having already won a domestic double but, in this competition, they – and their manager – have baggage.
Much of it comes from their last appearance in the final. City were strong favourites to beat Chelsea in 2021, just as they are against Inter Milan now, but instead suffered a loss which felt self-inflicted as Guardiola opted to start without a natural holding midfielder.
It was just the latest in a long line of surprising tactical changes by Guardiola on the European stage and fed into a reputation for over-elaborating which at once amuses and frustrates him. “I love to overthink and create stupid tactics,” he said sarcastically last year.
Much of it comes from their last appearance in the final. City were strong favourites to beat Chelsea in 2021, just as they are against Inter Milan now, but instead suffered a loss which felt self-inflicted as Guardiola opted to start without a natural holding midfielder. Ahead of their clash in the Champions League final on Saturday, Pep Guardiola says Manchester City cannot deny the ‘qualities’ of opponents Inter Milan
The accusations of overthinking actually began during his time in charge of Bayern Munich, where he started to mix things up more readily, having rarely deviated from his preferred 4-3-3 formation while at Barcelona, winning two Champions Leagues in four years. The increased tactical flexibility helped Bayern dominate domestically, but it came to be seen as a flaw in Europe, starting in his first season, when he opted to play four forwards, rather than three, for the home leg of their semi-final against Real Madrid.
The decision had disastrous consequences, with Bayern, beaten only 1-0 in the first leg, suffering a chastening 4-0 loss at the Allianz Arena and Guardiola describing his decision to switch to a 4-2-4 formation, having resisted it all season, as “a complete lines up”.
Guardiola continues to innovate, of course, with John Stones effectively playing as an out-and-out central midfielder, rather than a hybrid right-back, in City’s FA Cup final win over Manchester United last weekend. But there is also a feeling that his team is far more settled than in previous years in terms of personnel.
In both of the ties against Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, he used the same line-ups in the first and second legs, with the only change seeing Kyle Walker replace Nathan Ake for the semifinal.
Erling Haaland has provided a focal point where previously there was flexibility, while Jack Grealish, Gundogan, De Bruyne and Silva are clearly favoured to support him in the biggest games. Maybe, then, this is the year it all goes off exactly as expected. Guardiola has already steered Manchester City two thirds of the way to an historic treble. This time, the possibility of any self-inflicted damage at the finish line feels slimmer than ever.
