Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola used the words ‘long ball’ four times in a row to describe Manchester United’s approach in the midweek League Cup meeting.
Guardiola stands accused of only having one style of football and thus being susceptible to a high press, but he claims City can play in a more direct manner that does not involve hoofing the ball.
Guardiola said: “That has always happened in my career. In seven years, when you want to play build-up some opponents play high pressing and it is how to solve that.
“I know what you have to do in these cases but sometimes you need time to make it better.
“I don’t think this is the situation (reason) why we didn’t win the games.”
Guardiola went on to discuss United’s tactics on Wednesday, saying: “The goal for United it was long ball, long ball, long ball, long ball, lose the ball in the duels, score the goal.
“So sometimes you concede a goal because you have to build up and after like this. And sometimes you use the long balls you concede a goal as well.
“The strikers that we have when you have to use long balls, __with Kelechi, Kun Aguero, it’s not a good solution for me, so maybe in the future we’re going to buy a striker who is 220 centimetres and after maybe we are going to use long balls.
“But the strikers we have you have to use it because when the opponent comes [to press] you have to use that pass, more direct but not long ball because they are not going to win one [duel].
“We don’t have strikers strong enough to play in that way. So we have to create the space to pass the ball – not to use the long ball because I don’t want to play [them].”
Guardiola’s City face West Brom this weekend in a real test of their ability to deal __with long balls.