When Pep Guardiola signed for managing Manchester City, he must have known in advance that he was venturing into a hostile environment like none other and would need to acclimatise to it in the blink of an eye. What has transpired so far must have given him an indication that maintaining his yardstick in the Premier League will not b easy and he is definitely bound to face sterner tests which lie ahead of him.
One of the strongest decisions from the Spaniard was loaning out Manchester City’s prodigal son, Joe Hart, to Torino. The 29-year-old had cemented his stature as the trusted one with the gloves but after the arrival of Guardiola, the entire scenario changed. The 46-year-old gaffer rather went for something audacious and brought Claudio Bravo from FC Barcelona in the summer and shipped Hart out of his side. Unfortunately, his trick backfired as the blue half of Manchester are pining to get their favourite back between the two posts.
Bravo had a howler at the Goodison Park last week as Everton humiliated them by a thumping 4-0 win over them. He allowed the infiltration of four goals, was exploited and persecuted by the Romelu Lukaku and his companions. The Chile international was reduced to the stature of a laughing material, absolutely bereft of confidence in the Manchester City shirt and unlike the presumptions that were made just prior to his arrival, he has failed to inspire his side to any extent.
Bravo ranks 14th in the shot-to-save ratio standings in the Premier League after conceding 14 goals from the last 22 shots, which is miserable, to be honest. It might sound too harsh, but the 33-year-old is nowhere near the benchmark Hart had set during his stay at the Etihad Stadium. He has been shaky, leaky and absolutely unpardonable with the gloves and Willy Caballero isn’t quite the option Guardiola can trust at the moment.
Quite contrarily, under his new employers, Hart has been solid and quite spectacular. In a total of 18 appearances, the English international has bagged 5 clean sheets, saving goals at the rate of 2.72 goals per game. His consistency and pedigree has improved, so have his distribution, reflexes and positional sense as well. It would not be wrong to say that Hart was iffy at times but that doesn’t take away the shot-stopping prowess and remarkable calmness that he possesses.
Haven’t Manchester City made a serious blunder in the summer?
Statistics Credits: Squawka.
