Fagerlund: Guardiola’s crazy plan went wrong

Published: March 13, 2021 at 10:58 p.m.
Updated: March 13, 2021 at 11:41 p.m.

FOOTBALL

LONDON. Ingenious or pure madness?

Pep Guardiola is often accused of overthinking and the starting eleven against Fulham was definitely surprising.

After tonight, you can be considered a genius again.

Just when you think you have good control over Pep Guardiola, he throws another shocked moment right in your face.

It is not possible to call the starting eleven against Fulham anything other than a bang. Man City has probably looked its best, as the coach has created false nines, sometimes more than one. In the victory against Southampton, the table was played with 4-5 men on the attack line, of which Bernardo Silva and Kevin de Bruyne assumed central responsibility.

In the light of the panting headlights of a creaking Craven Cottage, the only two “royal” nines buckled up their shoes. Sergio Agüero does not seem to be able to convince the management of an extension of the contract that expires after the season, but here there was at least one opportunity to show off alongside Gabriel Jesús who took a seat on the left and Ferran Torres on the right. . Ruben Dias, John Stones and Aymeric Laporte formed a baseline with Joao Cancelo and, yes, Benjamin Mendy as wingers.

Parker’s plan initially worked

It is unclear if Pep Guardiola’s thoughts were already on future encounters (league, Champions League, FA Cup, they are fighting on many fronts) or if the coach really respected Scott Parker. Fulham also changed a lot compared to the away win at Anfield. Mario Lemina and Harrison Reed were joined by André-Frank Zambo Anguissa in midfield. Ruben Loftus-Cheek became the false nine tonight as Ademola Lookman and Ivan Cavaleiro flared on either side (like the encounter at the Etihad Stadium). The latter had the task of following the smallest step of the creator Cancello.
The first part soon turned into a match in which the home team struggled to maintain their zero. Parker’s tactical plan can be seen as a success, the 5-3-2 lineup focused on highlighting City’s center duo Rodri and Bernardo Silva, and when Cavaleiro went deep, Loftus-Cheek helped strangle the left wing. City’s only chance for a numerical superiority landed offensively in the hands of the baseline. John Stones took the most responsibility and drove the ball up a handful of times, but the number of shots on goal was a modest three.

Then Fulham crackled

Guardiola was likely to consider resorting to something after a break. When the players lined up for the second half, they leaned forward on the squeaky wooden seat to get a better overview. Before a conclusion could be drawn, City scored the first goal of the game. Cancelo’s free throw routine had the ball moving rapidly to one side of the box and then back to the other. The one who arrived first was John Stones. The boy only scored one goal in his initial 170 Premier League games; now he has been included in the list of four hits in the last ten.

Here, Fulham began to creak completely. Shortly after City’s first goal, midfielder Joachim Andersen went on to clear the ball directly into Cavaleiro, which opened for Gabriel Jesús, who circled goalkeeper Areola and thundered on the extension. As if that wasn’t an accident enough, Agüero was soon able to get the ball into the penalty spot (Adarabioyo intervened too awkwardly on Torres) and, unlike many of his teammates earlier in the season, he made no mistakes. The Argentine’s first goal in the league in more than a year.

A team that refuses to drop the ball

The time has probably come to say that Pep Guardiola is once again a genius. The starting eleven on Saturday night had some chances and the bench returned to flow with quality (or how about De Bruyne, Phil Foden, Ilkay Gündogan, Riyad Mahrez, Fernandinho …). Despite this, they finally manage to comfortably beat a team that has impressed a lot lately.

An interesting detail: a few meters from me, in the stands, were sitting some of Guardiola’s assistant coaches (it was not difficult to find out their affiliation with the team). They shouted hoarsely during the game and repeated a single phrase “SAVE THE BALL”. It’s easy to believe that Man City is a dreaded fit team, which it certainly could have been, but often when a counter-attack opportunity arises, players prefer to come back. Why risk getting rid of the ball and letting opponents in? With an advantage on the table that definitely seems impregnable, it’s hard to label the tactics as anything other than a hit.

Photo: Catherine Ivill / TT NEWS AGENCY

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Of: Frida fagerlund

Published: March 13, 2021 at 10:58 p.m.

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