As I write this, Manchester City sits 5th in the Premier League and 25th in the new Champions League.
That’s unsatisfactory for a side that won the treble a season and a half ago. But you know what they say – cada ascenso tiene una caída (every rise has a fall). Well, what are the reasons behind this downfall of the Cityzens? What are the reasons behind those scratches over Pep’s head (if you know, you know)?
I did my research. Fans are saying that injuries are the key reason. I think that is partially true because Pep has lost multiple talismans, but this (winning only one out of the 11 games) is just absurdo (absurd). The problems might be deeper than just the injuries.
Defense is one problem, Pep’s overthought tactical changes, the absence of the World’s best Rodri, and squad depth are other holes around the crack.
That said, it was just a macro-overview. Let me run through the problems in detail.
The Absence of Rodri
Remember when Messi had to leave Barca to join Paris Saint-Germain F.C.(PSG)? What happened to Barcelona in the aftermath is worth mentioning as a case study here. They never went through the group stages and had to play the Europa League ‘twice.’
When you confiar demasiado (over-rely) on one player, that often happens. A similar problem is going on at Manchester City. Rodri’s absence has scattered the pieces of the puzzle. In the heart of the midfield, he was the balance, and when John Stones was filling his shoes, he got injured.
Mateo Kovacic has been signed but he hasn’t been able to fill the defensive midfielder role of Rodri. He often leaves tons of space behind when going forward. He can’t defend like him.
So, this was going to happen, but Pep also couldn’t find the solution. Other key reasons for the downfall include:
The Lost Focus of the Players
Well, this one is a sub-problem of the bigger squad depth problem, but let me talk about that.
The players are having difficulty focusing on the match. Unnecessary challenges are being made in the box, which often leads to penalties. Defenders are doing a rusty job that disrupts the whole game, and there are no quality chances for Haaland to cover up the problems.
I remember streaming the United vs City game. I was excited to have Spectrum Internet, expecting a seamless viewing experience. With reliability, affordable plans, and 24/7 available Spectrum servicio al cliente en español for Spanish speakers like myself, Spectrum is undoubtedly a great choice. But that joy was short-lived as the City’s performance marred the experience. The players were making mistakes here and there. The one that is still vivid in my memory while writing is Matheus Nunes’ challenge on Amad, which led to a penalty in the 88th minute. That was plainly silly.
Also, the players are losing confidence with every passing day. Mistakes are part of the game, but going into panic mode should be a straight no-no. They need to focus more on the game, or they should go.
The Squad Depth
It is one of the majorly important aspects that a club should maintain for these reasons:
- Tactical changes
- Keep the players rotating for their fitness
- More competition within the team
But Manchester City has failed to provide Pep with the necessary rotational players. Not having squad depth led to Pep changing the tactics and failing to get resultados satisfactorios (satisfactory results). He has changed the lineups several times from 4-1-4-1 to the typical 4-3-3, but none of them brought satisfactory results.
In my opinion, the problem isn’t with the lineup. It’s actually not having the right profile to execute the new lineup. Whenever Pep tries to rotate the lineup, he faces espiral hacia abajo (spiral down) in the quality of the players.
City’s sporting directors must understand that the club needs to ship out some players and sign others who are tailored to Pep’s tactics. Otherwise, the club’s Titanic will sink deeper into the Atlantic.
The Tactical Issues
For the first time, Pep Guardiola’s team is conceding more xG than they are creating. The structural issues are there, but poor defending and no off-the-ball contributions echar leña al fuego (add fuel to the fire).
By off-the-ball contributions, I mean they lack the necessary high press to disrupt the opponent’s attack. I have seen this on multiple occasions: if one player is pressing, the rest of the bunch doesn’t join him. This is a constant pattern that allows the opponent to attack City’s half.
Another problem (it is more physical than tactical but worth mentioning) is that they are conceding a lot more goals through crosses. They can’t defend crosses. The solution can be tactical – overload the flanks so that they have a limited chance to chip in the cross.
I think that is it for the problems. As for the detailed solutions, the post would have been much longer, but you can join this subreddit to get the opinion of the City fans on the solutions or maybe add yours if you want to.
