Pep Guardiola Stole The Champions League From Man City Fans – Matthaus

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Pep Guardiola Stole The Champions League From Man City Fans – Matthaus

Pep Guardiola “stole the Champions League” from Manchester City supporters, according to Lothar Matthaus, who says the head coach deserves “harsh criticism” for his team selection in the final.

City suffered a painful 1-0 defeat to Chelsea in their first European Cup final appearance on Saturday, with a first-half effort from Kai Havertz proving to be the difference between the two sides.

Guardiola opted to start the match without Rodri or Fernandinho occupying a holding midfield role and Matthaus believes his job at Etihad Stadium could be under threat after seeing a major tactical risk backfire.

“With his line-up he stole the Champions League from the club and the fans and he has to rightly listen to the harsh criticism from all sides,” the Bayern Munich legend said of Guardiola, who coached at Allianz Arena between 2012 and 2015, in his latest column for Sky Germany.

“I am sure that there will be internal discussions about whether to part with him. The players will doubt him since that final.

“He had to try something again, present an imaginary ingenuity at the worst possible moment and totally deserved to lose.

“How can you play without a defensive midfielder in the most important game in club history, who was on the pitch in almost every game of the season, who ensures the balance, who gives everyone involved the necessary security?

“Why did he leave Rodri and/or Fernandinho out, start six attacking players and also play without a centre-forward?”