Thierry Henry has delivered a passionate defense of his former manager Pep Guardiola. monday night footballBut the Manchester City manager has admitted he could be “interrogated” for the first time amid his poor form.
Henry was asked why Guardiola allowed free-scoring players like Riyad Mahrez, Julian Alvarez and Cole Palmer to leave the Etihad without a replacement and where the goals will come from when Erling Haaland is not firing on all cylinders.
City have lost eight of their last 12 games since Sunday’s 2-1 defeat in the Manchester derby, which has left them nine points adrift of the Premier League standings with one game more than leaders Liverpool.
Although they have slumped defensively in Rodri’s absence, Guardiola’s side have comfortably recorded their lowest points-per-game record of a season since his arrival.
“We all know that this is the first time and we can say that his decision has been challenged by letting go of Cole Palmer, Riyad Mahrez and Julian Alvarez,” Henry said.
“Ilkay Gundogan is back and it’s not the Gundogan who scored 17 goals a season.
“You are missing those goals. Erling Haaland is scoring a few fewer goals than he did in his first season, but he is doing what he normally does.
“I’ve seen him miss sitters every season, but where are the goals from Mahrez, Alvarez or Kevin De Bruyne, Gundogan? Where are those goals?”
Henry said he did not expect Guardiola to quit just weeks after signing a new two-year contract until June 2027. But he defended the manager he worked with in his first job at Barcelona for the level of consistency he has achieved. Since then.
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Pep Guardiola says Manchester City are ‘not good enough’ after suffering their fifth league defeat this season.
“One thing I want to say about this team is this is the first time something like this has happened in his career. Let’s not kill him or this team because of what’s happening,” he said.
“You can never say (that he can quit), but Pep is not that type of coach. He is really strong, mean and intense when you are winning because he wants to keep you there.
“And he was nicer when he was down. When the team wasn’t playing well, he would come out and say, ‘I love my team. They played really well tonight.’
“Sometimes you’ll see him come on the pitch and claim he was the one who missed the pass when his team was 3-0 up.
“I like that. When you get to the top, you change, and you try to change to stay there. Once you get here, it’s about trying to be a good person.”
Carra: This is the first Pep rebuild that feels like that.
Sergio Aguero scored 78 Premier League goals in Pep Guardiola’s first four seasons at Manchester City.
Jamie Carragher added that City’s problems have only highlighted the level of rebuilding needed under Guardiola, when the team’s progress has appeared smoother over the past few years despite having to replace club legends such as Sergio Aguero, David Silva and Vincent Kompany.
He said: “This is the first time it has felt like a rebuild. Even though it has happened, they have been so successful that they haven’t lost the players you’re talking about.”
“This is what every club has gone through. If you look at Manchester United a few years ago with Jurgen Klopp and Sir Alex Ferguson, I think it will take them years to get back to their old form.
“Pep is as good as he is, so even though he was rebuilding, it never felt like he was rebuilding.
