After Manchester City lost their Champions League quarter-final first leg at Tottenham Hotspur last season, the narrative had been firmly established.



Pep Guardiola had overthought another big game — too clever, too much tinkering.



It was the tenth Champions League quarter-final or semi-final away game that his sides had failed to win, an alarming statistic that was, and still is, held up as evidence that the man many people consider to be the best in the world, in charge of the best teams in the world, usually ends up making things harder for himself.



It is tempting to believe that. Whether it was all-out attack against Real Madrid, a man-to-man scheme against Barcelona, extra midfield coverage against Liverpool or a defensive approach against Spurs, there is always some sense that his sides have needlessly let themselves down.



We spoke to several of his former players and colleagues to see whether Guardiola overthinks the big...