Manchester City face Leeds in the Premier League today on the back of a week that has dented confidence at the Etihad.
Pep Guardiola hit back at suggestions he is gulty of overthinking team selections
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Pep Guardiola admitted he was aware of the potential consequences of making 10 changes to his Manchester City side against Bayer Leverkusen, but hit back at accusations he was overthinking his team selections. The City boss rang the changes for the midweek Champions League fixture but saw the gamble backfire.
He accused his players of playing with the handbrake on and not taking enough risks as they slumped to a 2-0 defeat that has complicated their European campaign. Guardiola has since accepted responsibility for making too many chances and vowed not to repeat that mistake in the Premier League or Champions League.
But ahead of Saturday's Etihad clash with Leeds, he revealed he was aware of the criticism that would come his way if his selection strategy didn't pay off. The brickbats have been coming the way of Guardiola and City after back-to-back defeats and that has raised the stakes ahead of the return to Premier League duty, but the 54-year-old said he wouldn't shy away from major decisions in the future, despite being bruised by events on Tuesday, citing the call to play Rico Lewis in Villarreal as an example, when the academy graduate came in from the cold to win the man of the match award.
"I take full responsibility," he said. "When I make 10 changes, I know the consequences are going to be bad. I know it. It happened. "And it is easy for me to put the same players, shrug my shoulders and go with Erling, Ruben, and Bernardo. No problems. Do you think I don’t think about when I put Rico [Lewis] in against Villarreal and it goes bad and everybody is going to say ‘what is Pep doing?’ I know my consequences but at the same time I’ve done it many times.
"People say he always thinks (too much). That is fine. That position is that if you think a lot it is a bad thing. But I know the consequences but I know as a team we have to do it.
"It is the team that we have with their quality that have to do it. We now have a game, then another in three days and another in three days. One day I will have make changes. But 10 is too much."
Overthinking team selections and tactical set-ups has been a charge that has followed Guardiola around in his nine years at the Etihad. Although it hasn't levelled at him as often recently, it was regularly raised as a criticism in his early years, especially in big Champions League fixtures as he sought to get City over the line in the competition he prized most.
Having raised the subject in his pre-match press conference ahead of facing Leeds, Guardiola defended himself against those accusations.
"I love it," he said. "Do you think that thinking is a problem, as a human being? I can make a list of when I think a lot and it works. After that I’m a genius.
"I take my decision for what is the best for the team in that moment, knowing it can be wrong. Accept it. I spoke with the players that it can happen and I support you, but I ask you to try. I only ask to try."