Manchester City were emphatically beat 3-1 by Chelsea in the end. The game didn’t deserve that scoreline. The City performance didn’t either. Which is a tale being told all too often under Pep Guardiola.
Pep Guardiola has only been at Manchester City for six months, and already the Spaniard has implemented a lot of the ideas he wants to. However, things are clearly still in the development stage, as Saturday’s 3-1 loss to Chelsea showed.
The loss was unusual – City had only lost one game prior to this clash. But the performance was not unusual. In fact, it’s kind of becoming the norm in many ways. ‘Typical City’ was a thing for Manchester City fans way before Guardiola arrived. It’s alive and well, it would seem, in 2016.
The City players have picked up Guardiola’s ways well. Offensively, the team create many chances in most games – they also miss a lot of chances too. Teams look to play on the counter attack – as Chelsea did. And City just cannot defend them.
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This is an average week for City and Guardiola these days. Pass well, create chances, miss most of them, score one or two and then concede late on the counter attack. This is a typical Guardiola City performance. In a nutshell, it’s most City games.
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However, it is impossible that a coach the level of Guardiola doesn’t see this trend and isn’t trying to change it. The issue is the players doing the job he is asking of them. After last season, Guardiola was expected to take an axe to the City squad. Mass changes, they said.
But that did not happen. Players arrived, but not many left. In fact, many of the players that were seen as certainties to leave, have been relied on by Guardiola. Jesus Navas, Aleksandar Kolarov, Pablo Zabaleta, Fernando, Gael Clichy, Willy Caballero have all been kept on and fielded by the City boss. Even Yaya Toure has been in the team recently.
Presumably, Guardiola just wanted to see these players with his own eyes this season before selling them without working with them? What he is seeing right now will be making up his mind. Even players like David Silva will surely be questioned by Guardiola.
As incredible as Silva can still be on his day with his passing and vision, his ability to track back and get around the field is declining by the game, it seems. The Chelsea players were flying past the Spaniard as the Blues put three goals past the home team.
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Nicolas Otamendi is another first team player with question marks over his head right now. A strong defender most of the time, but does the Argentine really suit Guardiola’s way of playing? Is he the right partner for John Stones to develop next to? The City back line needs a leader.
For Guardiola right now, there will be many, many questions. And most of those questions are being born out of a team display that is becoming all too regular. Who said ‘Typical City’ was dead?