EPL 2016/17: Tackles win titles, says Mark Lawrenson; slams Pep Guardiola

Guardiola’s side have looked vulnerable at the back

Liverpool legend Mark Lawrenson has criticised Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola’s tactical approach and the 59-year-old remarked that having a solid defence is the key to winning championships. Manchester City’s defence was breached seven times in their last two league games and the Citizens have subsequently lost both the games. 

Despite his side leaking too many goals, Guardiola has defended his managerial philosophy. “I'm not a coach for the tackles," he said during the press conference after the game against Leicester City. "So I don't train for tackles. What I want is to try to play well and score goals. What's tackles?"

However, it is no doubt that without a strong backline, the Premier League title would prove to be elusive and Lawrenson, who won 5 league titles with Liverpool, pointed out the importance of having a stable defence.

“Go through the champions in the Premier League,” he said. “Chelsea under Jose Mourinho? John Terry, Ricardo Carvalho, Gary Cahill and Claude Makelele. What about Manchester United? Roy Keane, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville, Nemanja Vidic. All those Arsenal teams. Unless you are a Real Madrid or Barcelona, if you can't defend, you won't win the Champions League. And unless you are playing in an average domestic league, you won't win a title if you can't defend.”

Guardiola’s side have conceded 19 goals in their 15 league games and the Citizen’s are missing club captain Vincent Kompany big time. "City are a completely different team with Vincent Kompany in, " Lawrenson added. "He has had his injury problems but for two and a half years he made them so competitive. He was sensational. The problem is now everyone wants to play (out), don't they?"

Guardiola’s philosophy found out, says Ron Harris

Former Chelsea player Ron Harris opined that the rest of the sides in the Premier league have discovered how to set up against Guardiola’s Manchester City. "I can't knock Guardiola,” he said.

“He's been at two of the biggest clubs and I've never been a manager, but maybe his philosophy has been found out with the way his side's conceding goals. Let's be fair: the Premier League has six or seven teams who could win it. It's not like Germany and Spain. There's some competition here instead of two or three sides guaranteed to win it."

The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager has certainly realised the degree of competitiveness in England and it won’t be surprising if the Spaniard decides to bolster his defence when the transfer window opens next month. The Citizens have been linked with a host of defenders including Juventus’s Leonardo Bonucci.