Once a position for the energetic and combative, Manchester City showed it has become one for those who can exploit the space in front of them to shape a gameThis is what the Premier League has been waiting for since Pep Guardiola arrived at Manchester City. There had been hints of it before, most notably in the first half of the derby at Old Trafford last season, but City’s performance at Stamford Bridge on Saturday was the first time a Guardiola side in England has so thoroughly dominated another member of the elite from start to finish. All the familiar tropes were there – the domination of possession, the rapid transitions, the tenacity at winning the ball back; all that...
Sadio Mané’s red card was not bad luck but bad judgment and Liverpool’s resultant collapse allowed Manchester City to show their best sideIf you can meet a 5-0 thrashing and a messy 1-1 draw and treat those two impostors exactly the same; well, there is a fair chance you will be a testy, process-obsessed Catalan super-manager, my son. Six months ago Pep Guardiola described Manchester City’s draw with Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium as “one of the best moments of my career”. Fast forward to Saturday lunchtime and City’s 5-0 shellacking of the same opponents on the same ground left Guardiola a little restless, a little cagey in his judgments.City’s manager was pleased and talkative but still rueful over the...
Liverpool’s trip to Manchester City pitches the team with the most goals from counterattacks against the side who top the list for possession and passes. It has the feel of a pivotal moment Enough of the false starts, the window-wangling, the angsty autumn qualifiers. After an early season spent crunching around in the high gears, followed by a 13-day Premier League hiatus just as things were starting to get interesting, Saturday lunchtime at the Etihad Stadium really cannot come quickly enough. Time for some ignition.The Premier League is no stranger to showdowns and face-offs, not to mention Judgment Days, Super Saturdays and all the rest. This is a sporting theatre where the needle only ever goes up to 11 and...
Pep Guardiola has spent £158m on his rearguard but not bought a centre-back and a shortage in that position could be exposed by Liverpool, which would augur badly for the seasonDespite a £226m summer transfer splurge, Manchester City are still vulnerable in central defence as Pep Guardiola’s team welcome Liverpool for the early kick‑off on Saturday. Premier League hostilities resume at the Etihad Stadium after the international break against a Jürgen Klopp swarm‑and‑attack unit that should offer a gauge of how City’s failure to strengthen at centre-back may affect their season.Vincent Kompany, John Stones and Nicolás Otamendi are the manager’s leading players in the position. With Guardiola now preferring to utilise a three‑man defence and wing-backs, injury or loss of form...
Manchester City’s manager has the raw material so why is he not bringing the best out of such players rather than attempting to buy other clubs’ top performers like Alexis Sánchez?The final days and hours of the transfer window seem to be conforming to the usual pattern, the one that makes everyone wonder why, if clubs can get so much done in so short a time, they could not have compressed all their business into a few selected weeks of the close season.The possibility of Alexis Sánchez moving from Arsenal to Manchester City is one that already seems to have been around for several lifetimes and there are even claims the Arsenal players are now hoping it goes through because...