Pep Guardiola’s blatant jab at Manchester United star. David de Gea, a standout for Manchester United, was criticized by Pep Guardiola for his distribution style before Manchester City’s victory over Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League on June 10.
On June 3, the Cityzens defeated the Red Devils 2-1 in the FA Cup final at Wembley. Ilkay Gundogan’s second goal of the match was mostly De Gea’s fault, and Guardiola also appeared unconcerned with the Spaniard when he had the ball.
In his remarks before the Champions League championship match against I Nerazzurri, Guardiola criticized De Gea for his too-long passes. Instead, he was concerned about Inter because of the opportunities Andre Onana gave them when they had the ball.
The Spanish strategist spoke over the metro: “When you have that keeper, it’s challenging to effectively high press. With [Romelu] Lukaku, [Lautaro] Martinez, and [Edin] Dzeko linking to the striker in man-to-man situations, they are masters at maintaining possession of the ball. For instance, when United is involved, the ball is played long, but Rashford and the other player don’t keep it.”
He added: “These Inter boys keep it up. After linking it, they then flee. That is why you need to consider your options. Wow, Inter is, really, very good on the ball; it’s the reason they’re in the Champions League final.”
Inter finally suffered a 1-0 defeat to the Cityzens in the championship game. Onana has 55 touches, three saves, and eight recoveries to his name. Despite his weaknesses, De Gea is close to signing a contract extension with Manchester United. The 32-year-old’s current contract is up the following month.
Erik ten Hag is praised by Paul Scholes for introducing leaders to Manchester United:
In particular, Paul Scholes lauded summer signings Lisandro Martinez and Casemiro for adding leaders to Manchester United.
Martinez, 25, cost the Red Devils £56.7 million whereas the Brazilian international cost £70 million when he joined last summer from Real Madrid. Both of them have frequently been selected for Ten Hag’s starting XI.
In their first season in Manchester, they have combined to play in 98 matches across all competitions. Scholes commented on the club’s official website: “This team has allegedly been weak in leaders for at least two or three years. I believe the team has a few leaders. When you consider Martinez’s experience, Casemiro comes to mind. Martinez is a terrific character with charisma. And I believe that everything has been somewhat altered. They have faith in them as well.”
The form has improved. Manchester United won the EFL Cup in February and finished third this season, three places better than they did the year before.
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