Although there are currently a million and one problems blighting Manchester United at present, Patrice Evra recently took the opportunity to stick the boot in on the other half of Manchester.
After Manchester City exited the Champions League in heart-breaking fashion away at Real Madrid, Evra saw it fit to criticise the perceived lack of 'leaders' on the pitch for the stat-defying semi-final second leg result. He told Amazon Prime Video : "Manchester City needs 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. They don't have anyone on the pitch to help them.
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"He chooses his teams like that, he can't train people with personality. He did it at Barcelona, but he builds his team to control everyone."
Portraying Guardiola as some kind of dictator figure was bizarre and brought a laugh and a smile back to the faces of City supporters through its sheer implausibility. It does not take long to debunk Evra's wild theory but there is one man who, in less than two weeks, has shown the ex-defender's comments were plain ignorant.
Flash back to the final day of the Premier League season and when they really needed him, Kevin De Bruyne delivered. He took control of the situation for the Blues and his stunning cross for Ilkay Gundogan's winner showed how he can inspire his teammates in a 'pressure cooker' environment.
His Premier League Player of the Year award was just rewards for a superb campaign that highlighted his worth to this City team. Presumably though, because he doesn't go around licking uncooked chicken or doing other bizarre things on social media, De Bruyne falls into the bracket of having 'no personality', according to Evra, making it easy for Guardiola to dictate him into his own mould.
However, surely a dictator type of manager wouldn't have allowed De Bruyne to gain his UEFA A Licence if he was afraid of having 'leaders' on the pitch — but that's exactly what is happening. This unprecedented move by the Belgian FA to train their stars for their future careers beyond retirement will only benefit the country, and City, in the short term.
The 30-year-old has already shown away from the classroom that he can lead by example though. His inclusion in Tuesday's Champions League team of the season was testament to that.
Rightly or wrongly the team, bar three exceptions, was dominated by players who reached last Saturday's final in Paris. De Bruyne's two goals and three assists in 10 Champions League matches perhaps doesn't stand out in comparison to his domestic form but De Bruyne's ability to step up in clutch moments is why the Blues got to the brink of the final.
In summary, as much as Evra would like to portray the City players as mere disciples of Guardiola who rules over them with an iron fist, this team has plenty of players who can rise to challenges and lead their club to greatness. One slip-up in a anomaly match by no means justifies the Frenchman's comments.
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