Thierry Henry has passionately defended his former coach Pep Guardiola Monday night footballbut admitted the Manchester City manager may be “questioned” for the first time amid a poor run of form.
Henry questioned why Guardiola had allowed free-scorers such as Riyad Mahrez, Julian Alvarez and Cole Palmer to leave the Etihad without being replaced and questioned where the goals will come from when Erling Haaland is not firing on all cylinders.
City are on a run of eight defeats from their last 12 games after Sunday’s 2-1 defeat in the Manchester derby left them nine points off the top of the Premier League table, having played a game more than leaders Liverpool .
Although they have struggled defensively in Rodri’s absence, Guardiola’s side have also comfortably recorded their lowest goals per game of any season since his arrival.
“We all know, it’s the first time and we’re allowed to say it, that we can question his decisions in the way he’s going to let Cole Palmer, Riyad Mahrez, Julian Alvarez go,” Henry said.
“Ilkay Gundogan is back and he’s not the same Gundogan who scored 17 goals this season.
“You miss those goals. Erling Haaland is scoring the same goals, a few less than his first season, but doing what he usually does.
“I’ve seen him missing every season but where are the goals of Mahrez, Alvarez or Kevin De Bruyne, Gundogan – where are those goals?”
Henry said he did not expect Guardiola to quit, just weeks after signing a new two-year contract until June 2027, but defended the manager he worked with at Barcelona in his first job for the level of consistency he has achieved. since.
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Pep Guardiola says he is “not good enough” after Manchester City lost for the fifth time in the league this season.
“One thing I’ll say about this team, it’s the first time this has happened to him in his career. Let’s not kill the guy or this team because of what’s going on,” he said.
“You can never say never (that he could quit) – but Pep is not that type of manager. He’s really, really tough and mean and intense when you win because he wants to keep you there.
“And he’s nicer when he’s down. You can see when the team wasn’t playing well, he’ll come out and say, ‘I love my team, they played really well tonight.’
“And sometimes he comes on the pitch and comes with his team when they were winning 3-0, you can see him arguing that someone who missed a pass.
“I like that. You change when you’re at the top, you try to change so you can stay there. Once you’re here, you try to be the good guy now.”
Carra: This is Pep’s first rebuild that looks like one
Sergio Aguero scored 78 Premier League goals in Pep Guardiola’s first four seasons at Manchester City.
Jamie Carragher added that City’s problems only highlighted the level of rebuilding required when their squad’s development had been more seamless in previous years, despite having to replace legends such as Sergio Aguero, David Silva and Vincent Kompany against during Guardiola’s time at the club.
He said: “It’s the first time it feels like a rebuild, even though there has been one, but they’ve been so successful that they haven’t had the players you’re talking about.
“That’s something every club has been through. You look at Jurgen Klopp a few years ago, Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson, where you see that and you think it’s going to take them a few years to get back to where they were. .
“Because Pep is so good, you never felt it was a rebuild, even though it was.
