Phil Foden’s goal on Wednesday epitomized City’s evolution under Pep.
They went from naive genius to seasoned, calculated, cold winners.
The two long-range goals from Gvardiol and Foden that put City ahead 3-2 were not only a testament to their talent, but also a reflection of City’s sharper preparation since the early years of Guardiola’s tenure .
While De Bruyne has always dominated shooting from outside the box, City have excelled over the last two years in using long shots in a more tactical manner, with Rodri and Gundogan particularly advancing into precisely chosen spaces and piercing them into the goal.
Gvardiol and Foden’s goals were meticulously crafted moves from the training ground. Both players are fitted with internal computers after being repeatedly coached by Pep’s staff on how to time their supporting runs, with the space-time coordinates of their exact movements in Zone 14 before the shot having been repeated from time to time. hundreds of times before. The exact scenarios had been committed to muscle memory. I watched Foden’s goal over and over in awe.
This is a City team built to kill in cup competitions. Guardiola himself admitted that the City team of his first 4-5 years would have easily lost a similar match. During these early seasons, the team relied heavily on a double 10 system, speedy wingers capable of beating defenders one-on-one, and talented defenders on attack. They thought they could effectively coach zone marking to slow down teams in transition, but their naivety often led to disappointments in Europe.
In contrast, the recent match against Real Madrid saw City start with four central defenders and omit the speedy Doku, even in the absence of the dynamic De Bruyne. Despite a more defensive formation, the team looked much more comfortable and assured than the inexperienced sides of Guardiola’s early years.
This transformation is particularly striking when you consider that City’s first 4-5 years under Guardiola were marked by some of the most significant failures in recent Champions League history in terms of budget and player quality. No matter how good they were domestically against teams with a fraction of their budget, when things got tough in Europe they struggled mightily. Now, no matter what adversity they face, they know how to get a result.
A casual note: the change in City’s style of play has also led to a change in the way people perceive and praise the team. Previously, many praised City for their attractive and dominant style of play. However, as the team has evolved to prioritize defensive control and resilience, many are less inclined to admit the change and have conveniently ignored it or adapted their standards to value defensive control with the ball instead than the outright domination they initially found attractive. These individuals often belong to the cult group of supporters who idolized Guardiola’s original Barcelona team and began supporting Arteta’s Arsenal because they belong to Pep’s coaching tree.
However, for me, and others looking at it from a more objective perspective, City’s failures in Europe have been notable. They were embarrassingly losing to teams with a fraction of their budget! It made their record-breaking Premier Leagues look like flat-out bullying, where they were simply better at beating teams with less money than anyone else. There were obviously more nuances, but the idea that it was purely bad luck and had nothing to do with how City chose to set up was hilarious.
I’ve been seriously wary of City with every move they’ve made in recent years. First, they wanted Isco about 5 years ago. I was afraid at the time that Madrid would sell City a virus that would come back to bite Madrid face to face. And that was probably true, but City have moved on ever since. Rodri (ball control and defensive possession), Ruben Dias (area defense), Jack Grealish (defensive possession combo) and, most surprisingly to me, Nathan Ake (area defense) were all rookies notable, as was the desire for Marc Cucurella (who projected to play like a more offensively gifted Nathan Ake before Chelsea arrived), and although City struggled to marry attack and defense together at a level of elite as well as last season’s treble-winning team, they have now reached their “elite cup team” era.
Wednesday’s Etihad will be difficult. City, with their more defensive aspect, will be extremely difficult to attack and will always pose a threat at the other end.
On the bright side, it is far from impossible for Madrid to win. With City’s attack being much weaker than last season, forcing penalties is very plausible. Liverpool and Arsenal drew at the Etihad this season. Liverpool struggled before Trent scored a wonder goal to give them a point. Arsenal defended extremely well – as everyone has defended City in recent memory – but Trossard snuffed out a chance to put them 1-0 up late in the game.
Real Madrid will need to marry Arsenal’s defense with the quality of Vinicius, Bellingham and others and the fearlessness of Klopp’s Liverpool to get through the game against the Etihad. It’s certainly possible. I would argue that virtually no other team in world football is better equipped to hurt Manchester City at the Etihad, based on player quality alone. Rodri’s gifts in the first leg were not “unusual” in that defending Bellingham, Valverde and Camavinga together was an unusually difficult midfield clash. Real Madrid didn’t create 3 xG chances, but City were definitely spooked by Rodrygo’s movements for long periods, enough to make one wonder if they can necessarily defend transitions better at the Etihad . Even if they press perfectly, they simply cannot afford to press this Real Madrid team that high.
The good side of the first leg is that Real Madrid came back from a goal down twice, both shocking circumstances. This is the kind of resilience that will stress Pep out the next few times. This Real Madrid team, just like the 2022 team, takes punches to the face exceptionally well.
The downside is that the defense wasn’t good enough at home. Also, the 9 days off didn’t work. Please note: we know that too many days off in a row before a match can lead to some rust. That certainly played a role here, as City’s players are also capable of putting out a lot of energy. But that doesn’t mean City don’t need some rest, or that Madrid might not reap the rewards of those days off in the second leg after getting that game against Mallorca to deepen their pace of play. Rodri rested this weekend and talked about rest last week for good reason.
Anyway, enough rambling. They are two great cup teams. This tie could well decide who wins the Champions League. Wednesday. Hala Madrid.
