Blues may prove Pep wrong on his numbers
ARE there really any limits to the greatness City can achieve under Pep Guardiola?
The manner of City’s title win in 2017/18 set an incredible standard for the rest of English football to follow, and despite Guardiola himself insisting his side could not repeat such a feat, he appears to have underestimated his side.
With the ease of their derby dissection of Manchester United at the Etihad stadium, Guardiola and his side go into the final international break of the calendar year in an equally incredible position to last season.
With 32 points from the opening 12 matches and an eye-watering goal difference of +31, City are seemingly doing the impossible and keeping pace with their incredible efforts of a year ago.
Despite having already faced Liverpool, Tottenham, Arsenal and Man United this season, City are only two points off the blistering pace to which they started last season and have a favourable run of games leading up to the New Year.
Speaking earlier in the season, Guardiola understandably eased the pressure on his squad by insisting they would not be solely judged on their comparison with the achievements of last season.
“When you analyse the numbers, I would say we can’t improve the numbers, no. We cannot be better in terms of numbers,” Guardiola stated.
“In terms of playing football, yes. Because the players can do better, the manager as well, in a group, in a team we can do better.”
However, City are well on course to pushing those numbers close, and could prove their perfectionist coach wrong. CITY produced a dazzling spell of play to clinch victory over United in the derby.
Despite Jose Mourinho’s insistence that his team were going for an equaliser at the time, they were actually without the ball for almost two minutes as 44 passes were strung together by the visitors before Ilkay Gundogan delivered the killer blow.
City retreated as far back as 15 yards inside their own half and the final pass was delivered to the German international just in front of David de Gea’s six-yard back, and play also stretched from Kyle Walker and Bernardo Silva on the right touchline to Leroy Sane and Benjamin Mendy on the opposite flank, with all ten outfield players involved.
Here’s a closer look at the detail behind the move that confirmed City’s superiority over their neighbours and earned some revenge for defeat in last season’s fixture...
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT SINCE Guardiola arrived at the Etihad, a key component of training sessions has been rondos, or boxes, whereby several players in a ring try and pass it around one or more players in the middle who are trying to get the ball off them.
The aim is to improve quick feet, close control, awareness of both teammates and opposition, and ability to win the ball back quickly – all things the manager holds dear.
City’s slickness could be seen right in the middle of the 44-pass move. Laporte pushed the ball forward to Fernandinho, who touched it sideways to Silva, who knocked it diagonally back to John Stones.
Stones and Laporte played a one-two before the former pushed it on forward to Fernandinho, who played it across to Silva.
In that moment, the four City players formed a box around Romelu Lukaku and Juan Mata in the middle before Silva turned forward to cut the beleaguered United players out of the play.
Passing combination: MendyLaporte-Fernandinho-LaporteStones-Walker-Gundogan-Bernardo-Gundogan-Bernardo-Gundogan-Silva-Mendy-Sane-SterlingFernandinho-Gundogan-Bernardo-Walker-Bernardo-Gundogan-Walker-Stones-Fernandinho-Laporte-Fernandinho-SilvaStones-Laporte-Stones-Fernandinho-Silva-Laporte-Silva-LaporteFernandinho-Silva-Sterling-Fernandinho-Gundogan-Sterling-Bernardo-Gundogan PASSING AROUND STATUES AS good as City were, they did not face much resistance from a tiring United side. Opta records attempted challenges as well as passes, and amid the 44 balls played by the home team they were met with just one tackle. A heavy touch from Stones saw substitute Lukaku dangle a leg in an attempt to win the ball, but other than that United did not even get close to