Claudio Bravo: Manchester City’s new keeper looks like an accident waiting to happen
HARSH, slightly premature and on Manchester United’s TV channel.
“He’ll never be a great City goalkeeper as long as he lives,” was presenter Jim Rosenthal’s assessment of Claudio Bravo’s debut.
Many more performances like this and he will not even be a City goalkeeper. Yes, the blue half of Manchester triumphed but it was very much in spite of Pep Guardiola’s new signing.
He cost City one goal, should have had a penalty awarded against him and been sent off.
What this performance also signalled to the rest of the Premier League is, with the ball at his feet, he is an accident waiting to happen.
Incredibly, City boss Guardiola, who dumped England No 1 Joe Hart to bring in the Barcelona keeper, described Bravo’s clowning around as “one of the best performances I have seen”.
Hart makes his debut for Torino today at Atalanta so yesterday will have been watching on and asking himself: “Why was I dumped again?”
There is already a suspicion among some that the move was not solely about his distribution. After all, this never seemed to be under question before Guardiola arrived.
Yes, he kicked it long – most goalkeepers do — but his distribution with a throw was perfect.
Surely the short passing could be worked on? Hart seemed able to do that anyway and certainly made a point of it in his farewell performance for the club at home to Steaua Bucharest last month.
So was this more to do with Pep stamping his mark on the dressing room, showing who was boss?
Getting shot of the biggest character in there because he just did not really fancy him, thought he had too much influence and wanted his own man in?
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Certainly senior players at the club have been bemused by the decision while Hart has shown admirable stoicism in the face of what is a bitter decision for him.
In the circumstances, the heat was always going to be on Bravo going into this game.
It came as a bit of a surprise that he even started after just two days training with his team-mates.
But Guardiola said he was ready. By the end, he had become a figure of fun for the United fans every time the ball came near him.
While the ability to pass is all very well for a keeper, the art of catching is probably more important.
Yesterday, given a simple high ball to deal with he dropped it and Zlatan Ibrahimovic volleyed United back into the game.
City had dominated the match to that point and in the end were fortunate to get away with a win.
As for the penalty incident, had Bravo’s tackle on Wayne Rooney been committed anywhere else on the pitch, the whistle would have gone.
After a terrible first touch, Rooney bore down on him and Bravo slid in with his foot up out of control.
Yes, he got the ball but also got Rooney. It should have been a pen, should have been red. It was neither. Guardiola later admitted it is a risk for the keeper to play out and, if he loses the ball, they will concede but things will not change.
He believes that they will win more than they lose this way by starting moves from the back, not hoping to win the second ball.
But in Spain his Barcelona, were so dominant because teams were always on the retreat. The Prem is more competitive than La Liga and sides will harry Bravo all right.
Hart may be gone — but he is not forgotten.