Manchester City have been eliminated from the competition by Lyon.
Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has hit out at Pep Guardiola for tweaking the tactics against Lyon in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
Man City eventually lost the game by 3-1, with the Ligue 1 club preventing Guardiola’s hopes of UCL glory.
Ferdinand has slammed City boss for changing the formation – the selection of Joao Cancelo – in the crucial encounter, insisting him to be self-reflective after the defeat.
The former Red Devils defender said,
“I think he’s going to have to have a look at himself in terms of his team selection,
“Getting behind teams is what Pep is all about. Overloading those wide areas and getting behind teams.
“Those areas behind the two wing-backs were perfect opportunities to try and get behind them, but you need creative players to draw people out, create space for runners to then get in and they didn’t do it enough in this game, definitely.”
The former English centre-back also spoke about the Spaniard’s conservative approach, which could be due to City’s lack of results at this stage in the previous editions of UCL.
It was Ferdinand who had heaped praises on Guardiola before the Champions League clash against Lyon.
Following the defeat, Guardiola stated that Man City would break the barriers in the continental competitions sooner rather than later.
City have endured an egregious season, which saw them not winning any of the titles.
