What is Going on at Man City?

  

    Let me take you back a couple of years. Man City were about to win the treble, and everything looked bright for them. And recently, Guardiola signed a new contract extension, and City fans rejoiced. 

    But now, suddenly, it looks like a bad idea. May Pep be, as Klopp was, running out of energy? Seven games, six losses, and one draw, not numbers you expect to see from Pep Guardiola. Man City, for a long time now, have been a force to be reckoned with, a team, when you needed a win, did not want to face, and of course, Guardiola was at the helm of this team. 

    But it seemed pretty straightforward as to why Man City are struggling. In all of Guardiola’s seasons, he had someone who could lead the team, from Fernandinho to Kompany to Rodri; he always had the pivot, the man the team revolved around. But now, with no Rodri, City look to be struggling. Without Rodri, City don’t have a proper DM. Kovacic is a great player in his own right, but he cannot do what Rodri can; in fact, no one in world football can. Against Liverpool, Guardiola fielded a midfield of Gundogan, Bernardo Silva, and Rico Lewis, all good players but no natural holding midfielders. Gundogan is a great player, one whom I have always been annoyed that Klopp didn’t bring with him, but he is not a DM, and that is not his role. Bernardo Silva is also not a proper midfielder, someone better deployed out wide, and Rico Lewis, for the player that he is, at the end of the day, is still a right-back. At one point, City had a midfield duo of Silva and Lewis, two players who would not choose to play there. Even when City controlled possession, they lacked that cutting edge, which could’ve had something to do with De Bruyne not starting, although he didn’t have much of an impact when he came on, but you can also ask questions of the manager there. One also has to credit Liverpool, who managed the game brilliantly, looking solid without the ball. 

    You can see how vital Rodri is to this team; his role allows his teammates to get up the pitch without worrying if they will concede on the counter. Rodri can also get up the pitch and score a goal when needed. He gets the ball and spreads the play; everything gets built off him.

    City looked weak against Tottenham a week ago, and instead of changing, they lined up quite similar to how they did in that game, and Liverpool should have had more than two.

    In both games, City didn’t need a Haaland; they needed someone who could hold up the ball and let his team arrive up the pitch and turn. According to Guardiola, he could still leave even though he signed an extension. I expect Man City to make a few January signings because Rodri will still be out, and Guardiola needs a DM to control the game. One of these players could be Joshua Kimmich, who worked well with Guardiola at Bayern Munich; he could easily slot in at DM, but would Bayern be willing to let go of him in January? Kimmich said he would decide in January whether he would stay or go.

   Of course Guardiola seems rattled, you could see it from his gesture to the Liverpool fans yesterday, but Guardiola has a big problem on his hands, and now all eyes are on the so-called greatest manager to see if he can change his side’s fortunes.