'Didn't like' - Pep Guardiola explains Claudio Echeverri decision in Man City defeat

Yahoo

18-05-2025

Pep Guardiola defended his decision to hand Claudio Echeverri his Manchester City debut in the FA Cup final. The winter arrival from River Plate had not made a matchday squad before Saturday but earned a place among the replacements ahead of more established teammates and then came off the bench ahead of Jack Grealish and Ilkay Gundogan.
Echeverri had a lively cameo, going close with a couple of shots and earning a booking for a heavy challenge in his 25 minutes on the pitch. The young Argentine made more of an impact than Phil Foden, who was brought on at the same time.
However, it was still a decision that took many by surprise and City left Wembley defeated after being unable to respond to Eberechi Eze's first-half goal. Guardiola was happy with the performance both from Echeverri and his whole team, just rueful that they could not take any of the chances that they created.
READ MORE: Pep Guardiola breaks silence on his Dean Henderson flashpoint as Man City boss maintains VAR stance
READ MORE: Man City player ratings vs Crystal Palace with six 5/10s in FA Cup final woe
"That was not a bad decision, the way he played," said Guardiola. "He had three chances in small spaces.
"I saw him in training sessions since then. Khusanov, Vitor (Reis) and him the last four or five games in the tribune, I didn't like that.
"He's moving really well in small spaces, so creative and I thought within the game that the last minutes to find something in these type of games. Dribble once, shoot and score a goal or cross.
"He had the first shot that normally he is so clever there and so precise. He had one ore two more like Nico (O'Reilly) did and Kevin and Erling. We had the chances but unfortunately we could not score."
Guardiola started a very attacking team expecting Palace to defend deep in a similar manner to Southampton, and felt vindicated by the way the final panned out. He left Wembley feeling a lot better about his team than he did a week ago, only without any major silverware for the season.
"With 11 players in the penalty box, we created a lot," he said "In the last month we fixed the problem we had all season defensively and scoring goals.
"We gave away a lot of goals and in the last period we were so stable, we conceded five goals in nine games so we were stable, they didn't create much.
"I'm not saying it's easy against Southampton and 11 players but we learn for many years we need good crosses, good people in the box. I thought the game would be quite similar to Southampton and that's why we put players in the box with proper wingers.
"Savinho was brilliant for the first ten minutes of the second half and Jeremy all game was brilliant, we had Erling and Omar in the box and some actions from Nico arriving. We created much more in that position.
"Sometimes it is difficult to come back but the chances were there. Southampton they were not. The chance were there but we could not score. It's football, it happens."
---
Here at the Manchester Evening News, we're dedicated to bringing you the best Manchester City coverage and analysis.
Make sure you don't miss out on the latest City news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe.
You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day's biggest stories.
And finally, if you'd rather listen to our expert analysis then make sure to check out our Talking City podcast. Our shows are available on all podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and you can also watch along on YouTube.