Pep Guardiola fires back at Evra and Berbatov saying they were ‘destroyed’ by his Barcelona team
- Planet Sport writer
- 13 May 2022
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has hit back at Patrice Evra and Dimitar Berbatov after the former Man United duo criticised the Citizens for their Champions League exit.
Evra irked the City boss after suggesting his team lacked personality and leadership during the semi-final loss to Real Madrid.
Berbatov, on the other hand, questioned the concentration and focus of City players after they surrendered a 5-3 aggregate lead in the final minutes of the European tie.
Since their defeat in Madrid, Guardiola's men have come back strong and scored 10 goals in two games to take a major step towards their fourth Premier League crown in five years.
The Spaniard - who was also irritated by comments from former Real Madrid star Clarence Seedorf - claimed that Evra and Berbatov showed character which lacked at Man United during their defeats to Guardiola's Barcelona teams in the 2009 and 2011 Champions League finals.
Patrice Evra: "Manchester City need leaders but Pep Guardiola doesn't want leaders. He doesn't want personality. He's the leader. That's why when they're in trouble they don't want to step up. He builds teams like that, he can't coach people with personality." pic.twitter.com/Xg5B2ovxUE
— SPORTbible (@sportbible) May 10, 2022
He said: "It's the same character and personality that lost in Madrid that we have had for the last years.
"Special former players like Berbatov, Seedorf and Evra, and these types of people, weren't there. I've played against them, and I didn't see this kind of personality when we destroyed United in the Champions League final.
"You cannot have personality because you concede two goals in one minute after you have had chances to score? And in the last four (league) games we've scored 19 goals, so we have incredible personality.
"I'm sorry but I completely disagree. Personality is what we have done in the last five years, every three days, in all competitions.
"Maybe Liverpool are going to win all four titles or maybe just one. But am I going to say that they don't have personality and character, that they didn't do an incredible season, even if they lose the Premier League by one or two points to us?
"Don't they have character and personality? Of course they do.
"Sometimes, football is like this and it just happens. We cannot control many things but when you always arrive in the last stages for four or five years, this is incredible."
City take on West Ham at the London stadium on Sunday as they look to put on hand on the Premier League trophy.
As things stand, Guardiola's men lead Liverpool by three points with just two games remaining. What's more, City also hold a seven-goal advantage over their Merseyside rivals.
