City Tactics

Frustrating

Chalk another one up Pep.

Can the media stop declaring the English teams as the best in the world in November and then watch them get dicked in the Spring every year.

They’ve taken 2 of the last 12 Champions League semi final berths. Reality is that the teams near the top of the league are no longer Europe’s best.

Bad that. Got it wrong. Didn’t change it. Lucky to get out with a 3-0.

The corners are fuckin useless aren’t they.

Fair play to O’Reilly he’s been terrible but since he’s been in the middle we actually look serviceable off the ball.

I can’t believe he’s watched them go straight through the middle of us so many times and hasn’t addressed it

Amateur hour that. Our corner

Cutting straight through the middle of us every time

It’s Reijnders and he’s keeping the wingers wide.

He could change it to a 4-2-2-2 at half time. Savinho for RAN and you can get to it. But it’s also probably an easier system to contain. The defensive need is too great not to though I think

We’ve found a solution to the changed landscape but he can’t help but go back to wingers. It’s the ex whose number he can’t delete.

We’re being overrun in there due to the shape.

But Pep’s ideal set up is wingers. He can’t help but go back to it no matter how much it hurts him. Cost us tonight.

again. Solution was to go back to 4-2-2-2. Take the second goal tonight. That doesn’t happen with a 4-2-2-2 set up because your front four aren’t strung out across the width of the pitch when you give it away. Bernardo was up too and they can just work it to a free man on centre mid…

Why I thought he’d go 4-2-2-2 despite how well Saturday went with wingers was that we’ve been shite with wingers for 2 seasons. Last seasons solution was 4-2-2-2. We sorted out our early form this season by going wide fbs and wingers inside. When he went back to wingers at Christmas it was shite…

That should be that.

Superb from Valverde, all night as well.

I think it causes issues off the ball. When we give it away we’ve got 4 up top spread across the width of the pitch. If there’s a midfielder forward as well we’re really short. Second goal a good example.

Pep loved that performance on Saturday but it was literally the first time we’ve played well with 2 wingers since the opening day of the season.

It’s leaving us short in the middle

Too many players ahead of the ball when Courtois gets it there. Could easily find Diaz in space in midfield and we had 5 ahead of him.

Long way back from here now

This is the tension in the game. We’re dangerous when we can get at them but we’re turning it over so easily in forward areas with basic bad touches

Goals in this for us. Keep going

Deary me. Bad one

Twisted blood already for Alexander-Arnold

Wingers working well, getting players to the byline regularly.

So mad watching this and it being a Guardiola team. The guys up top are 100mph, bad touches, overrunning it but they’re also a crazy handful.

This is how we’ve shaped up to start

‘We’ve been going 7 minutes Macca and Erling Haaland has only touched the ball once’

Tony Book never got to play in the European Cup for City due to an achilles injury. Another former Bath City player makes his debut in the competition tonight.

It is Khusanov at right back. We may be entering an era where we have to find a way in for him on the back line in big matches. Would imagine it will be Savinho holding width on the right with Doku and O’Reilly in tandem down the left. Semenyo off Haaland. Bold.

Physicality, man to man, duelling, set pieces.

Even Guardiola, the high priest of contemporary football, has moved towards it.

But last season one team dominated every top Premier League side.

Technicality > Physicality. Tonight they begin again. The next iteration of Guardiola football is PSG.

Always felt like a contract play.