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In the latest Pitch to Post Review podcast, the panel looks at Manchester City’s structural problems and whether the fault lies solely with the defense.
City capitulated in the second half of their 5-2 loss to Leicester on Super Sunday, while last season’s champions Liverpool beat Arsenal in form at Anfield a day later to maintain their start to the season. to 100%.
With Ruben Dias coming to Etihad from Benfica, Pep Guardiola has spent more than £ 400 million on defenders since joining City in 2016. But is the problem defensive personnel or is there something else?
Download Sky Sports Pitch to post a podcast on Apple, or listen to it on Spotify above …
‘The best defenders in the world would continue to be exposed at City’
2:55
Sky Sports Gerard Brand podcast on the field to post review:
“There has been a lot of talk about their defense in a personal sense, for example not replacing Vincent Kompany last year and Aymeric Laporte got injured, but I think if City had four of the best defenders in the world, they would still have problems, really. do, and that’s due to two things: the teams that learn to play against them and the position of the defensive midfield.
“A lot of their problems arise before the ball gets close to defenders. City basically camps in the last third, turns the ball wonderfully, looks for openings, and often engages eight men in that attack against sitting sides. deeply; they are all midfielders, forwards and the two full-backs.
3:47
“It’s strength in numbers, and don’t get me wrong, this works very often. And when it works, we say Manchester City is the best football team in the Premier League, because it seems unbeatable. But it is not, it is becoming very heavy .
“So as teams go deeper, like Leicester did, and City get more impatient, like Pep said they did on Sunday, if a team has enough quality to come out at speed, as we know Leicester He does with Jamie Vardy, just to get past Fernandinho, or whoever that defensive midfielder is, and they’re in. I’m not sure City full-backs can commit as much as they have in previous seasons, it kills them in transition.
“You could have two centers in the world that face that, and it won’t matter, and that’s where the challenges and sanctions come in, which are individual mistakes started by a real structural problem.”
Fernandinho’s replacement key: Is Rodri up to the task?
2:29
Sky Sports Gerard Brand podcast on the field to post review:
“Fernandinho has been the best in the business to stop that counterattack, but he has played defensive midfield six times since the beginning of last season. He has played center-back 37 times because Pep didn’t get a defender. Now he is.” he got two, but Fernandinho is 35 years old. Rodri is a brilliant passer? Yes. Are you calm? Yes. Is it pleasing to the eye? Yes.
“Is it a human wall that is going to prevent teams from breaking down? No, it just isn’t.
“And that’s where I think the big concern is for Guardiola. You can spend £ 400 million on defenders, but if you don’t get the defensive midfield position right it doesn’t make sense. I’m really interested to see how much time Rodri, Gundogan and Fernandinho put themselves in that position this season, because as soon as Fernandinho left in the 53rd minute on Sunday, City capitulated ”.
‘Reality check for the city’
0:34
Sky Sports News’s Ben Ransom on the Pitch to Post Review podcast:
“City had a fantastic performance against Wolves, they went flying and we all thought, ‘Wow, City is in this from day one.’ Especially when you compare it to what Liverpool did against Arsenal; they dragged Arsenal down for everywhere, and even when they went 1-0 down they were able to create chances.
“City never really got into a position where they created opportunities. Some of that is down to the staff, for sure. In an ideal world, you wouldn’t have Raheem Sterling playing center forward.
“Gabriel Jesus’ injury has hurt them, because not only do you lose Sterling’s influence from the wing, he is not a natural central forward. Ultimately, it means that Kevin De Bruyne’s role changes and he couldn’t find any space.
“I think this will be kind of a reality check. He was more like the City we saw last season, while the win against Wolves was more like the City we saw before two Premier League titles.
“In the last year of Pep’s contract, you will want to see an answer. Hopefully Ruben Dias is exactly what you need to inject new blood into the team, fire a rocket at some people and build the defense. He wants with Dias and Aymeric. Laporte in the center of everything “.
Watch the Pitch to Post podcast before and after each round of Premier League matches for bold predictions and expert analysis.
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