“This loss against Real Madrid is probably the worst” – Simon Jordan blasts Guardiola for lack of ‘compromise’ that led to Manchester City collapse
Former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan has blasted Pep Guardiola following Manchester City's capitulation to Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday.
The Cityzens seemed to be sailing towards a second consecutive Champions League final when Riyad Mahrez struck in the 73rd minute.
That goal had put Manchester City two goals clear of Madrid with an aggregate score of 5-3. But in the dying embers of a relentless semi-final second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu, Los Blancos found a way through.
Two goals from Rodrygo in added time took the tie to extra-time before Karim Benzema's penalty sealed a monumental comeback victory for Madrid.
Jordan has criticized Guardiola for not changing his philosophy with a need to see out the game as Real Madrid piled the pressure on.
He spoke on talkSPORT and said (via Express):
"(City) lost it last year because of tactical errors and misjudgements of how to play against Chelsea. They've lost previous games with a little bit of misfortune."
"This loss against Real Madrid is probably the worst of the lot because they had it in their hand four times during the series of 180 or 190 minutes. And each time, seemingly, game management or ability to be able to overcome the obstacle, had evaded them."
And that has to be the coach's thinking. It's one thing sticking to your principles, it's one thing saying we won't compromise because we don't believe in compromise and we will always overcome obstacles by continuing to believe in a philosophy, there is another thing having that extra one per cent of nouse."
Manchester City were in control for a large portion of the tie but their consistent lack of being able to finish games off came back to haunt them once again.
Jordan alluded to this, saying:
"There's no way with due respect to Real Madrid, that besides their livery and their 17 times in the Champions League final, that on a pound-for-pound basis, that they should have beaten Man City in these two games."
“Manchester City probably are the best team in Europe.”✅ “Manchester City probably are the best team in Europe.”
🤯 “So it’s unfathomable how they keep finding themselves in this situation!”
🤦♂️ “No way should Real Madrid have beaten City over the two legs.”
Simon Jordan reacts to #MCFC’s failure to win the #UCL once again. https://t.co/LLDd9ToFtJ
Will Pep Guardiola ever win the Champions League with Manchester City?
Pep Guardiola has been in charge of Manchester City for six years.
The closest he has come to bringing a long-awaited Champions League trophy to the Etihad Stadium was last year when the Cityzens lost 1-0 to Chelsea in the final.
Prior to that defeat, Manchester City had only made it to the quarter-finals of the previous three campaigns.
No manager has lost more Champions League semifinals than Pep Guardiola (6) 💀 https://t.co/8SzPYcF4YU
In those three European outings, City were guilty of collapsing from promising positions, especially against Tottenham Hotspur in 2019.
Question marks remain over Guardiola's ability to bring the European title to City, as the Spaniard hasn't won the trophy since 2011, as a Barcelona manager.