It seems unreasonable to suggest that Pep Guardiola was unsure which midfielders to select at the start of Manchester City’s post-treble season in December. That the extreme propagandist of passing and movement masters has reached this point is as interesting as it is significant, on the back of a run of four consecutive Premier League games without a win and three consecutive defeats in home matches earlier in the campaign.
John Stones, Rico Lewis, Kalvin Phillips, Bernardo Silva, Manuel Akanji, Matheus Nunes and Mateo Kovacic were put on trial in the middle order as Guardiola struggled to find the winning mix. Recent injuries (such as those to Kovacic and Nunes) may be a factor, but given the depth of his resources, the manager has failed. In the draws with Chelsea (4-4), Liverpool (1-1) and Tottenham (3-3) and Wednesday’s 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa, Guardiola’s precise possession, geometric angles, composure, speed of thought The battle plan of intelligence and ruthlessness was foiled.
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Going back to late September/early October, a similar pattern can be seen in the defeats of Newcastle in the Carabao Cup and Wolves and Arsenal in the league.
There is a glaring common denominator in these matches and Wednesday’s at Villa: the absence of Rodri, who has four suspensions. The Spaniard is the embodiment of Guardiola on the field; Playmaker-like, the No. 6’s vision allows him to see multiple images before executing the best play that can take the opponent out of position and move his teammates into key areas to attack.
Rodri’s absence opened up the title race. City have the last guaranteed place in the Champions League, six points behind Arsenal and three points ahead of (seemingly) perpetually crisis-hit Manchester United.
It’s strange that Guardiola is in turmoil over who will field at centre, given his stellar midfield career and 15 years as a successful coach based on men who can “understand the back and forth”, as he described them when he was Bayern Munich manager. . .
But he will get his 11th at Villa Park. In this one, Stones was in Rodri’s position, so the 29-year-old was not required to stand out from the back four in a hybrid role, but as a dedicated number 6 to dominate the contest. The Stones did not do this. And Guardiola’s selection also benched three career midfielders: Kovacic (second game back from injury), Nunes (first) and Phillips – all his signings. Kovacic and Nunes were hired in the summer; one to replace the departed İlkay Gündoğan and the other to replace Phillips, who was apparently bought 12 months ago and whom the manager does not trust. The football player trusted by Guardiola started in the center but played on the right wing: Silva.
Confused? A little. Leon Bailey’s winner did not come from counter-attacking, the usual way of getting past the champions. Instead the Villa winger gathered in a wide area of the City area under zero pressure and turned and ran through the middle of the defence. Josko Gvardiol had to try (unsuccessfully) to stop him, while Rodri could often help with his positional sense. Stones escaped.
Similar confusion was evident at Wolves in September, where Nunes and Kovacic started as a duo and equalized in the 45th and 65th minutes respectively, and at Arsenal the following week, when the trio of Silva, Kovacic and Lewis were included in the squad. Kovacic and Lewis switched places midway through the second half. All this indicates that Guardiola should listen to Rodri to avoid getting punished again.
Dropping six points in talks with Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham could be described as less worrying. Jurgen Klopp’s side are serious rivals, so a 1-1 draw is hardly a shame, and Akanji, a relative novice in midfield, will be forced to play alongside Rodri against London clubs due to injuries to Kovacic and Nunes and Phillips’ status as a Guardiola player. had to. Unwanted.
However, this winless streak of four league matches is the longest under Guardiola since March-April 2017 and this situation needs to be addressed. No one is suggesting that City are not still serious contenders for a historic fourth successive title. As Klopp said, writing off the 52-year-old prodigy and his all-conquering team would be the biggest “joke” in football history. Especially since Guardiola is expected to return from injury to a fresh, hungry Kevin De Bruyne soon.
But this is certainly an interesting moment for a man who said while at Bayern: “I would like to have a thousand midfielders in my team because I believe midfielders are intelligent and understand the game.”
Guardiola also likes to have a prophetic grasp on his players and each opponent. As he puts it: “It’s my job to find a way back from this situation because we’ve managed to find a way to play together for so many years – sometimes good, sometimes bad but we’ve always found a way to do it – and now we’re struggling. We need to change the dynamic.”
Don’t be surprised if City become an irresistible force again soon.