Man City’s defense recently betrayed Pep Guardiola. The Manchester team continuously conceded goals and lost points, thereby falling to 3rd place in the Premier League rankings. So what is the cause?
Man City has excellently won the “treble” in the 2022/23 season. One of the important reasons for the success of the blue half of Manchester is a very solid defense. According to statistics, after 38 rounds in the Premier League last season, coach Pep Guardiola’s team (along with Newcastle) had the strongest defense in the tournament, only receiving 33 goals.
This season, Man City is gradually losing the powerful weapon that once helped them conquer the heights. The home team at Etihad Stadium’s defense is incomprehensibly poor. Numbers don’t lie. In the last 14 rounds of the Premier League, there were 12 matches where Pep Guardiola’s students could not keep a clean sheet. Particularly in last weekend’s 1-1 draw, if Chelsea had finished well, goalkeeper Ederson’s net would have vibrated up to 3 times.
There are many reasons leading to the decline in Man City’s defense in recent times. First, there is the impact of the dense competition schedule. Having to constantly play football at high intensity, especially after the trip to Saudi Arabia for the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup, has caused Man City’s players to show signs of being overloaded. Many of the Green Man’s defenders were therefore no longer able to maintain their effectiveness in defense, typically the situation where Kyle Walker was easily eliminated by his former teammate Raheem Sterling, before scoring a shot past goalkeeper Ederson.
John Stones’ frequent absence due to injury since the beginning of the season is also part of the reason. We would like to emphasize that one of the reasons why Man City played good defense last season was coach Guardiola’s decision to push Stones to play in central midfield with Rodri. This duo has become a good pair in Man City’s midfield, with Stones sweeping and supporting defense from afar very well.
After the 1-1 draw with Chelsea, midfielder Rodri personally pointed out the fatal weakness of the defending Premier League champions. According to the Spanish player, Man City’s ability to counter-attack is too bad. “We conceded a goal in a situation that was not excellent for the opponent. Man City should have defended better from afar. But we were caught off guard and were surprised by the offensive transition. the opponent’s quick attack,” Rodri shared.
One detail that cannot be ignored in Man City’s recent draw is that coach Pep Guardiola let the home team switch to a 4-1-4-1 formation. Among them, Rodri is the only intercepting midfielder. The 4 players playing right above him, including Jeremy Doku, Kevin de Bruyne, Julian Alvarez and Phil Foden, do not provide much support in defense. Rodri’s task therefore becomes much heavier.
It cannot be denied that Rodri is still excellent. But he alone cannot shoulder the imbalance between attack and defense, especially in situations where the opponent organizes a quick counterattack, cutting into Man City’s left wing corridor – where Doku often moves freely. and abandoning positions (Jack Grealish is not as explosive in attack as Doku, but brings more certainty and better ball control).
Above all, many pillars of Man City’s defense have recently been playing below form. Ruben Dias lost the certainty and stability that made him the most important link in the Blue Man’s defense system last season. Walker also made many mistakes and showed signs of exhaustion. As for expensive rookie Josko Gvardiol, he has not yet proven his worth…
The combination of many reasons analyzed above has caused Man City to play defensively in recent times and caused the Etihad team to fall to 3rd place in the Premier League rankings this season.