After three back-to-back defeats for Guardiola’s Manchester City, questions are being asked about what is going wrong with the Blue side of Manchester and whether the manager has a get-out-of-jail-free card to steer them through.
It all started with the Carabao Cup fixture against Tottenham, where the side lost 2-1 to the Spurs. The game saw early glimpses of the team not meeting manager Pep Guardiola’s expectations.
However, the turnout of fans with Manchester City tickets was low, with the fans knowing that their focus was not on the Carabao Cup but on the bigger prizes on offer.
But, the losses to Bournemouth and the devastating hammering from Sporting Lisbon bring out red flags.
City Dropping?
After three straight defeats for Guardiola’s team, the run can be blamed on injuries but also some surprising tactics
With Kyle Walker’s knee injury, he could not apply his afterburners and torch any Sporting attack that broke Manchester City’s high line against Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League clash.
Pep Guardiola’s team lacked the speed in their rearguard to counter how most opposition hope to prosper against them.
Even with Walker in the side, this classic way to break down the Premier League champions can be successful, and with the captain an unused replacement at the Estádio José Alvalade, alongside Nathan Aké – and John Stones and Rúben Dias not fit enough to travel – a lack of defensive nous is also costing them. Jahmai Simpson-Pusey was given a full debut, the day after he turned 19.
Guardiola Not Going to the Bench
The master plotter, tactician, and problem-solver never lack ideas regarding how City can win, so might he have switched up his approach during the loss to Sporting?
Sure, they cruised in the opening 45 minutes and went 1-0 ahead, and even when level at the break, you could see the wisdom in keeping on the same way.
But 20 seconds into the second half, when Maximiliano Araújo put the home side ahead, and three minutes later, when Josko Gvardiol conceded a penalty scored by Viktor Gyökeres, there was a case for a recalibration.
This might have involved Bernardo Silva pushing forward to partner Erling Haaland or taking off the latter and playing the Portuguese or Phil Foden as a false 9.
And then, we arrive at the next question of backup. While City’s Erling Haaland is performing at levels way above anyone else in the Premier League, fans with Manchester City tickets knew that Guardiola had a near replacement in the form of Julian Alvarez.
In times when Halaand had to miss out or saw dropping in his performance, there was Alvarez, who could come in and take the play forward.
Should Julián Alvarez, the World Cup winner and genuine alternative at No 9 to Haaland, have been sold in the summer to Atlético Madrid? And if so, how about buying a replacement with some of the €95m (£81.5m) reaped from the sale?
Guardiola wasn’t happy letting Alvarez go, but all with Manchester City tickets agree on the decision the striker made to switch to Atheltico Madrid in the summer, where he could be their main striker.
Guardiola was asked the latter last Friday. His response: “No, [because] you don’t expect to have eight, nine players at the same time [injured].”
This is a fair point given that Rodri and Oscar Bobb are on the long-term absentee list, Kevin De Bruyne has only recently returned, Jack Grealish remains out, and Jérémy Doku, Savinho, and Manuel Akanji were doubts when he spoke.
Yet having a replacement for Haaland is not only a precaution in case he goes down. It is also to hold a genuine alternative for the forward line and because Álvarez could also play as an impressive No 10. Guardiola lost two vital options when the Argentinian left.
But, in Alvarez’s case, a player who is on the rise to stardom, the presence of Haaland doesn’t allow Guardiola to give the Argentine adequate game time.
In the times he did come onto the pitch, he had been brilliant.
City’s Mentality Breaking
This is a group of uber-confident players who, on falling behind, often find the inspiration to come back and win. Yet a sequence of three losses on the bounce – first at Tottenham in the Carabao Cup, then at Bournemouth in the league before the Lisbon trip – is bound to dent morale, and so Guardiola’s challenge is to remind them precisely how good they are at responding.
Silva referenced this after the Sporting trouncing before City sought to bounce back at Brighton in Saturday’s late Premier League fixture. “One more game [now] before the international break, which will definitely be good for us because at the moment, with the injuries that we have, and with the psychological part as well, it will be good to have that rest,” he said.
“But before that, we have a big game again, a very tough game. Brighton away is never easy. Three points would help massively to keep us in the race or in a good position to come back and be still close to the top. We’ll look at ourselves and try to do better on Saturday.” Referencing the “psychological part” is telling and follows the playmaker admitting that City is in a “dark place.”
Rodri Issue?
So how great a miss is the smooth-footed midfield linchpin who orchestrates this mighty City side? Claiming the Ballon d’Or is one measure of the Spaniard’s value, as is City’s current slump.
In Lisbon, Mateo Kovacic was the manager’s nominated Rodri stand-in, but as Sporting staged their revival, he lacked the poise and control Rodri applies. The gaps Rúben Amorim’s unit punched in City’s backline occurred partly because the 28-year-old was not padding about exchanging three- and four-yard passes and exerting his grip on the contest.
The manager’s message was, in essence, that defeat at Bournemouth was deserved and that the side had performed well against the Spurs and Sporting. Amorim described his team’s victory as “lucky”, and you knew what he meant.
Haaland missed four or five chances, including a penalty, Silva too might have scored, and 70%-plus possession before the break was converted into the hard currency of clear chances. Guardiola relishes taking on Brighton and City may end their dismal run. However, if they lose again, we may be in for a different City this season.
What Does the Future Mean to City Fans?
For the loyal fans with Manchester City tickets, this is new territory after a while. They are not used to seeing City lose three games in a row; the last time that happened was in 2018.
But they also know the answer to the comeback is with Guardiola himself. City will need to act fast, however, or else their title hopes might come crashing down sooner than they think.
