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The Claudio Bravo debate
- Updated: September 11, 2016
Pep Guardiola described Claudio Bravo’s debut for Manchester City as “one of the best performances I’ve ever seen”.
Other spectators at Saturday’s Manchester derby were not quite as convinced.
With his side leading 2-0, the £17.1m summer signing from Barcelona dropped a Wayne Rooney cross in the 40th minute to allow Zlatan Ibrahimovic to score and bring Manchester United back into the game.
City held on to win the match, but Bravo might have conceded a penalty and been sent off in the second half when he appeared to trip Rooney after a heavy touch.
Guardiola signed Bravo – and subsequently loaned Joe Hart to Torino – because of his ability to play with his feet and he touched the ball 56 times in Saturday’s game with 15 of those outside the box.
But opinion was split on his debut display. Watch some of the incidents for yourself and read what pundits and journalists have been saying…
Pep Guardiola – Manchester City manager
“Claudio had one of the best performances I’ve ever seen. When you make a situation for the goal – after that he continued to play in our build-up and [went] for other long balls to pick them up. That means a lot for me, the personality, because in football when you make a mistake it’s how you react to that mistake.
“He was unlucky in the situation because I think he clashed with [John] Stones and this sometimes happens – it’s football.”
Graeme Souness – Sky Sports expert
“What Pep Guardiola is touching on is that it’s basically a trade-off. He wants his goalkeepers to play out from the back and sometimes they will get caught and sometimes it will cost them a goal – but over the course of a season the benefits will far outweigh the downside. It’s a bit like playing in a team that holds a high line to catch people offside. You will get caught occasionally, but over a season it’s a trade-off.
“I accept all of that, but what I can’t accept is the goal he gave away. It’s nothing to do with what Guardiola is asking him to do with his feet and that risk. The goal he conceded was down to clumsy hands. It was a simple punt that he saw coming from 50 or 60 yards away that he fumbled under a minimum amount of pressure from John Stones.”
Gary Neville – Sky Sports expert
“Pep …
