Pep Guardiola started his coaching career back in 2007 with FC Barcelona‘s B team, in the third tier of Spanish football. His rise to the top was meteoric, and he’s probably been the world’s best manager ever since, winning trophies year after year with his distinctive, unique style of football that changed the game as we used to know it.
So, when his team goes winless during an entire month, losing five straight and drawing one, that’s news. Manchester City, the reigning champions of England, find themselves in waters Pep Guardiola has never had to navigate before – none of his teams had ever gone through such a rough patch and it’s also new territory for most of his squad. The machine that’s used to crushing their opponents seems to be stuck at the moment. This article while take a look at what might have caused the biggest crisis in Guardiola’s managing career.
A string of injuries
Manchester City’s roster is full of quality players, with more than one good solution covering almost every position of the pitch. However, some players are more important than others in Pep Guardiola’s system, whether it’s for their own understanding of his demands, or making sure the rest of the team is in sync with what the manager wants from them. Ruben Días, the Portuguese centre-back that joined from Benfica, is definitely one of those players.
Aside from the fact that his technical ability makes him a perfect fit for Guardiola’s idea of football, his leadership from the back is also crucial at times, ensuring the rest of the high line remains focused on the tasks during the game.
Nathan Aké, when fit, also forms a part of that defensive line and is useful for his versatility and the ability to play both as a central defender and as a left-back. It was exactly that quality that assured he’ll have playing time with City once Guardiola decided to switch to a shape that features a back three.
Even though you could easily mark these two absences in their defence as huge, it’s nowhere near as important as what happened with Manchester City’s midfield this season. Just by mentioning the name of Kevin De Bruyne, one should realize what a blow that would be for any team in the world. City’s brain in the final third, the one who makes the magic happen, one of the greatest playmakers ever to grace the Premier League pitches.
And last, but most definitely not the least, the latest Ballon d’Or winner. The man who hasn’t lost a game for more than two years. The man who makes it all tick perfectly, both for club and country. Rodri. The Spanish midfielder had the misfortune of tearing his ACL during this season’s clash against Arsenal, and things haven’t been the same for City ever since. Whenever Rodri missed a game or two due to suspension, a light injury or just squad rotation, City visibly struggled, but now that they are condemned to playing without him for an entire season, loads of questions arise. Questions that, for the time being, remain unanswered.
A drop in performance
Another thing that’s been blatantly obvious during this winless streak is the lack of offensive fire power – they’ve only scored seven goals in their last six matches, two of which came from midfielders, and another that came from a defender.
Even though their main goalscoring outlet, Erling Haaland, is actually improving on last season’s numbers, the majority of their players in supporting roles have dropped their level slightly, but enough for it to have an impact on the collective performances.
Phil Foden, whose big performances came in all the most important moments of the Premier League season has so far struggled a bit. For his standards, at least. The same could be said for Jack Grealish and Jérémy Doku, two wingers that haven’t quite made their contribution be felt in the opening few months of the season.
Some of the players on the defensive end of the pitch have seen a similar drop, too. Years and years of playing at the highest-level in a system that demands so much of its defenders might be starting to take a toll, together with the fact that the opponents reading and understanding of that same system and its potential vulnerabilities evolves from game to game.
Conclusion
If there can be any good news about the fact that a team went winless for 6 games in an entire month, it’s that it happened in November. The season is still very long and, especially with the hectic schedule in english football, there are a lot of twists and turns ahead of us. Given the successful history of this team, the fact that they’re used to winning and that they’ve done it time and time again, it would be foolish to count Manchester City out just yet. Their first upcoming test is just around the corner as they travel to Anfield to face the league leaders Liverpool.
Even if things do continue to go downhill from here, the fact that Pep Guardiola signed a contract extension in the middle of this crisis should serve as a warning sign for what’s to come in the upcoming seasons. The squad is probably in for an overhaul, but the appetites will certainly remain the same – everything.