“He deserves it” – Pep Guardiola defends Julian Alvarez selection decision amid recent criticism

Redaction Willow Austin with Harry Winters
Published on 2024-02-18 22:32:00

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has come to the defense of his decision to consistently include Julian Alvarez in the midfield.

Despite facing recent criticism, the 24-year-old has contributed to 25 goals in 35 appearances this season, scoring in the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, and Emirates FA Cup for Manchester City.

Alvarez, who typically plays as a striker, has been deployed in an advanced midfield role for Guardiola’s team due to the absence of Kevin De Bruyne, who has only recently returned from hamstring surgery.

In the midst of a challenging 1-1 draw with Chelsea, Alvarez was replaced by Bernardo Silva as Rodri’s 83rd minute goal secured a point for City.

Despite creating 31 attempts on goal, Manchester City fell short of securing a victory against Chelsea, hindering their pursuit of both Liverpool and Arsenal in the Premier League title race.

The team has the opportunity to move ahead of Arsenal and close the gap to within one point of Liverpool with a win over Brentford on Tuesday.

However, their draw against Chelsea has prevented them from reaching the top of the table midweek. This was City’s second draw in a row against Chelsea, following a 4-4 draw in November.

Alvarez has been in the starting lineup for both games against Chelsea and has started in 30 matches across all competitions this season, stepping up in the absence of De Bruyne and Erling Haaland.

Guardiola defended his selection of Alvarez, emphasizing the player’s goal-scoring abilities and importance to the team, especially in Haaland’s absence.

“He’s a guy with a sense of goal,” said Guardiola.

“[Alvarez’s] movements between lines and we have another guy when the teams defend so, so deep and it happens quite often, we have a guy with a sense of goal which is important.

“And I think he plays because he deserves it and in the absence of Erling (Haaland) for two months he was a key, key point with Phil (Foden). Yeah really good in that terms.”

Looking ahead, Manchester City is set to face Brentford in the Premier League on Tuesday before matches against Bournemouth and Luton Town, leading up to a crucial clash against Manchester United on Sunday, March 3rd. While Alvarez has previously scored against Bournemouth, he has yet to score in a Manchester derby.

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