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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has a lot to solve. His team had a terrible afternoon against Leicester City on Sunday and were as poor as I’ve seen them play in a long time.
It was more than just the fact that they conceded some bad goals, what was really worrying was how lost they looked, front to back.
When things have gone bad for City with Pep in the past, it has been easy to criticize their defense for being unable to cope with counterattacks or for making individual mistakes.
We saw both things happen again against Leicester, but I think the whole team must take responsibility for this loss, not just their defenders.
The players in front of them were not putting enough pressure on the ball and they were played too easily. They did not stay with the runners or get close to the ball.
That, plus the fact that they seemed incapable of creating opportunities when they presented themselves, was the worst of the performance, and very different from what we are used to seeing from them.
Why did the city have so few ideas?
City were left without injured forwards Sergio Agüero and Gabriel Jesús, who could be out for several weeks.
Being without a recognized striker on Sunday was obviously going to be a problem, but it was the knock-on effect of dealing with it that had the biggest impact on his performance.
Pep usually goes with a single pivot as part of a 4-3-3 but, with the players he had available, he went with two containment midfielders in Fernandinho and Rodri and moved Kevin de Bruyne to a position more than 10, behind by Raheem. Sterling, who played as a center forward.
Sterling is much more dangerous when attacking from the left and De Bruyne is usually at his best when he can go right, a right center instead of a wide right, and put on his trademark crosses.
We saw the Belgian do that a bit in the second half, but before the break everything was central and he couldn’t really influence the game as he usually does.
Plus, Phil Foden stayed wide on the left rather than in the middle, where he sees the ball more and is more effective.
So, it could be said that City had three, four or even five players out of position, or at least not playing in their best position, and, furthermore, their wings never offered any attack on the flanks.
No wonder they were so short of ideas.
‘The city could not protect its four backs either’
City’s struggles in attack were exacerbated by their mistakes at the rear. The three penalties they conceded were all very similar as well.
Each time, they let the Leicester player get on the wrong side of them inside the area, then did a clumsy challenge.
It is a basic defense, but the gaps between each member of the four behind were too great and there was a lack of communication.
It looked like a back four that they had never played together before, which it was, but it also looked like a back four that lacked experience, which was definitely not the case.
However, that was only half the problem, because there was no protection against them either. Despite the great football that we are used to seeing City play with Pep, they have always been one of the best pressure teams.
They usually don’t give you a second off the ball, even when you’re in your own half. On Sunday, however, they let Leicester pass them too easily.
That was especially notable when Fernandinho left early in the second half. I can understand why Pep decided to bring in a recognized striker in teenager Liam Delap, but left his team too open.
City had dominated possession in the first half, but there were moments in the second period where they were all over the place, even when they were not outnumbered on Leicester’s counterattacks.
Leicester’s game plan was spot on
As bad as Manchester City was, Leicester deserves a lot of credit because their game plan worked perfectly.
Jamie Vardy not only got his hat-trick, he leaned back and kept Rodri from getting close to the ball to build up attacks and left City’s two central midfielders to have the ball.
Leicester’s two central midfielders, Youri Tielemans and Nampalys Mendy, were fantastic: aggressive and tenacious on the tackle, but they also showed great quality on the ball when looking to start a counter attack.
At the back, Jonny Evans and Calgary Soyuncu are a top-tier center-back pair, as good as anyone else in the Premier League.
If you compare them with what Pep has, they would start with his team, without a doubt.
They played in a three with Daniel Amartey at Etihad Stadium, but Evans’s return after his suspension played a large role in the Foxes’ success. He was everything Manchester City lacked: a leader, a talker and also good with the ball.
It seems that Pep sees Benfica’s central midfielder Ruben Dias as the answer to his team’s problems there, with him and Aymeric Laporte becoming City’s favorite center-back pair.
However, whoever they bring in, City will have to improve against them as well.
It doesn’t matter who your defenders are – if you keep allowing attacking players like Vardy and Harvey Barnes to take on your defense, they will cause you trouble.
Darren Fletcher was talking to Chris Bevan of BBC Sport.
