[인터풋볼] Reporter Dong-Hoon Shin = Director Pep Guardiola criticized ‘veteran’ Kyle Walker.
Manchester City 1 on the 8th at 2:45 am (Korean time) at the Red Bull Arena in Leipzig, Germany, in the UEFA Champions League Group A Group 6 Game 6 of the 2021-22 season -2 lost. Manchester City, who had already secured tickets to the tournament, lost but maintained their first place in the group.
Regardless of the result of the match against Leipzig, it was confirmed that they would advance to the round of 16 as the first place in the group, and a large rotation was expected because it was Manchester City on an away road. It was expected that Cole Palmer and other youth resources and non-starters would be included in the starting line, but Guardiola made minimal changes. With the exception of Jack Steffen, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Nathan Ake, and Fernandinho, those who have often been given opportunities have been selected as starters.
Kevin de Bruyne and Riyad Marez took the lead and attacked Leipzig, but it was not finished. Then, in the 24th minute of the first half, Dominic Soboslay opened the scoring for Manchester City. As the attack did not work out, Manchester City replaced Phil Foden with Raheem Sterling at the start of the second half. But the goal came from the Leipzig side. In the 26th minute of the second half, Andre Silva finished a pass to Emil Forsbury, making it 2-0.
Marez scored the goal with Zinchenko Krosr’s header. Manchester City struggled to equalize and Leipzig added Benjamin Henrich and Brian Brovi to gain mobility. A major bad news occurred for Manchester City in the tense flow. It was Walker’s exit.
Walker kicked the ball without regard to the ball while Silva was dribbling in the 37th minute of the second half. Silva collapsed complaining of pain, and the Leipzig players rushed to Walker due to his deliberate action. In a situation that created a harsh atmosphere, the referee announced that Walker was sent off directly. Man City, who were outnumbered, failed to equalize and eventually lost 1-2.
The 7-game winning streak ended. Although the result was meaningless, it was a result that could lose strength for Manchester City. The reason was that the physical distribution of the main players failed, they did not give the youth a chance, and they failed to raise the condition of the non-primary resources.
Coach Guardiola gave a tip to the ’31-year-old’ veteran full-back Walker. In a post-match interview, he said, “Walker is an important player, but it’s not a good thing to be sent off like this. This red card will make us sick in the round of 16. I hope Walker learns something by sending off today.”
photo = ESPN
