After Manchester City’s 0-1 loss to Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final, manager Pep Guardiola addressed the media and shared his thoughts on goalkeeper Dean Henderson’s time-wasting tactics.
On Henderson’s time-wasting:
Guardiola said:
“He’s defending his team’s interests, just like we are. It’s time-wasting—I understand it in the final minutes—but from the first couple of minutes? He’s English, and in English football, you have to play the game.”
“I’m sorry—everyone can do what they want. We had to score. We didn’t lose because of Henderson’s time-wasting. In the final minutes, I understand it.”
“The referee gave us 9 or 10 minutes of added time, but the issue is rhythm. The fans are there to see 22 players constantly playing. When you watch Barcelona today, when they’re behind, they attack, attack, attack—and the other team attacks too. That makes for a brilliant match.”
“But I understand Henderson’s position. This is a matter for the referee, not me. We couldn’t find the rhythm. I get time-wasting in the 86th, 87th, or 92nd minute—but we never found our rhythm today.”
On his team’s playing style:
“My teams—I never try to do that (time-waste). I want the match to go on the way the spectators want it to. That said, congratulations to Palace—they defended very, very well, and we couldn’t score.”
Bamzie007
31
I think Pep was being biased here, but that's fine - he's only human and can err once in a while. Despite managing teams that can afford his attacking game play, I have watched more than a couple of games where Pep's teams (Barcelona, Bayern Munich & Manchester City) have wasted time, when the need called for it. I'm an Inter Milan fan, and I say plainly that in UCL 2023, towards the end, the defence line of City wasted time - Ederson won't take the goal kick on time, Stones would stall before playing a short indirect free kick as a pass back to the defence line. That said, Pep should admit that the plate he was served was bitter, after all, he had dished out the same meal in times past. Cheers to Palace!
QueriisFiasi
8
ManCity is a pretty bore to watch. They are so obsessed with just possessing the ball. It looks like they have no idea about how to attack the opponents goal. Their wingers and attacking mids are so afraid of getting in crosses or trying through balls or passes over the defense line. It seems like they are only looking for the perfect opportunity to try and find their forwards. If Pep still thinks that is attacking football, he must surely revisit his tactics. Nowadays it is much easier to defend against teams like ManCity.