Lothar Matthaus has launched a scathing attack on Pep Guardiola by insisting that he stole the Champions League trophy from Manchester City because of his team selection for the final.
Boss Guardiola has been accused on several occasions of tinkering with a winning formula, moves that have proved costly in several crunch ties during his Etihad tenure, and he has come under fresh fire after the defeat in Porto.
Leading the way with his criticism is Bayern Munich and Germany great Matthaus, who has savaged Guardiola’s team choices as ‘inexplicable and unforgiveable’ and even claimed his time at City may now be over.
Having opted to field no recognised defensive midfielder, and favouring a false nine, Guardiola was left helpless on the touchline as his City team failed to break down Chelsea, who went on to win through Kai Havertz’s first-half goal.
The surprisingly limp display from the Premier League champions saw plenty of the blame pinned on Guardiola, and Matthaus has suggested the manner of the loss may spark discontent in the dressing room.
In his column for Sky, Matthaus wrote: ‘He stole the Champions League from the club and the fans through his line-up and he has to rightly hear the harsh criticism from all sides now.’
He then went on to add: ‘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.’
With no Fernandinho or Rodri to anchor down City in the centre of the field, Chelsea looked comfortable in large parts of the game and defended superbly after half-time to seal their second success in the competition.
And, despite City still winning two trophies this season, Guardiola’s credentials have been heavily scrutinised by Matthaus, who believes he was guilty of making a coach’s ‘worst’ mistake at the weekend.
‘Some of the players on the field didn’t even know where they were going because he placed them in positions that were unfamiliar to them,’ Matthaus added.
‘That’s the worst thing a coach can do. Inexplicable and unforgivable. He’s guaranteed to have lost a lot of credit for everyone, both internally and externally. Most of all with his players. And that can hardly be regained.
‘I wouldn’t be surprised if Pep Guardiola’s time at Manchester City is over now.’
This is not the first time that Matthaus has openly taken aim at former Bayern Munich boss Guardiola, however. City’s shock Champions League exit at the hands of Lyon last season led to similar criticism.
‘Pep Guardiola weakened the team because he wanted to do something special again,’ Matthaus had said. ‘This has happened to him a lot in the past.’
After City’s defeat by Chelsea saw their wait for a first Champions League trophy extended for at least another season, former Tottenham man Jamie O’Hara labelled Guardiola’s approach a ‘disgrace’.
‘I couldn’t believe what I was watching,’ O’Hara told talkSPORT. ‘It’s one of the worst performances I’ve seen from Manchester City in a long time. Bottle jobs. And an absolute disaster of a team selection from Pep Guardiola.’
He soon added: ‘It was a disgrace from Pep Guardiola.’
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