Manchester City’s difficult times in the Premier League continued on Wednesday evening as they were deservedly beaten 1-0 away at Aston Villa.
In a game in which the champions struggled to establish themselves and were far too easy to penetrate, Leon Bailey scored the second-half winner and Pep Guardiola’s side looked vulnerable. In the first half alone, City conceded 13 goals, the most goals ever conceded by a Guardiola team in a top-flight game.
Haaland was frustrated again (James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)
The defeat, again without Rodri, follows draws against Tottenham Hostpur, Liverpool and Chelsea and leaves City six points behind leaders Arsenal and fourth in the table.
Here’s what happened and why…
How worried should City fans be?
I don’t think they should worry too much because I’ve learned over the years that it never makes sense to write them off.
For me the problems are obvious and not that serious. The inability to control games should be addressed once key players are back on the field at the same time. Maybe City wouldn’t have won that game with Jack Grealish and Rodri on the pitch, but I’m sure it would have helped. In that regard, they miss Ilkay Gündogan, and the summer signings didn’t immediately fix that – Mateo Kovacic and Matheus Nunes will most likely improve (look again at the past examples), but at the moment they are not candidates, to step into the breach, which is why City ended up with a patchwork quilt in midfield, despite having three real midfielders (including Kalvin Phillips) on the bench.
But with the players fit again, including Kevin De Bruyne, we will probably look back on this period and wonder why all the fuss was made. You know, like last season, December 2020 and January 2019… (unless the injuries continue to occur).
Sam Lee
Why are City currently allowing so many chances?
While it may sound like a broken record to anyone who has read my articles this season, they have several serious injuries and most importantly, most of these players are the ones who give City control of games. Remember those “boring” games where City wouldn’t even grant their opponents a corner? This was because they were very adept at controlling games and it required a lot of short, patient passes from players who made competent decisions and knew when to slow down and speed up the game.
Players like Grealish, John Stones and Rodri. Not to mention Gündogan and Riyad Mahrez, who left. The result has been obvious all season, but never more obvious than tonight. City have still been very good this season, but instead of their ‘controllers’ they have used more direct players like Phil Foden, Julian Alvarez and Jeremy Doku. Obviously they pose a big threat and have won City many games, but this combination of players cannot control a game as easily as if the absentees were on the team.
The problem against Villa was that in Rodri’s absence they tried to have as much control as possible by manning the midfield, but it consisted of a centre-back (Stones), a striker (Alvarez) and an (admittedly very good) . ) 19-year-old (Rico Lewis), with another central defender who isn’t particularly brilliant higher up (Manuel Akanji) also filling in. Their best midfielder, Bernardo Silva, was on the right wing as they needed to accommodate Alvarez centrally while Lewis is best deployed inside. It didn’t really work.
Sam Lee
Why has Villa City caused so many problems?
As porous as City were, Villa were relentless and almost flawless in most aspects of their game.
Beyond the wild atmosphere and Bailey’s speed and individual inspiration, Villa’s newfound solidity relies on versatility and swirling movement within a rigid system. They were able to play through City over and over again knowing exactly where their teammates would be.
Emery has worked hard to instill a patient building style at the club and Emiliano Martinez was never flustered on the ball, while Pau Torres – a left-footed centre-back on the left – was brilliant at progressing forward and making passes the city press.
That’s exactly how the first big chance of the game came, as Torres played a clever ball into McGinn – coming from the outside in to provide a passing opportunity, as he did diligently all night – before sending a long ball to Bailey shot.
Those floating passes over the top posed another problem for City, with Ruben Dias single-handedly hacking away dangerous passes through the heart of the defense, but City were vulnerable and Villa’s full-throttle game plan was fully justified.
Tom Harris
Remind us when Kevin De Bruyne is back…
January, he says. There was brief excitement before the game when it was confirmed that he had been named in City’s Club World Cup squad just before Christmas, but the club said he was unlikely to play.
De Bruyne is expected to return in January (Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
At the recent Abu Dhabi Grand Prix he told reporters he would be back in January and that was certainly welcome news. Not that he alone has made City look more like themselves. He would obviously help and that was evident in the second half as City failed to pose an attacking threat on the rare occasions they had possession in the Villa half, but City will look much better if they have Rodri and Stones in the same Team have and Grealish back in form. They will add De Bruyne’s equalizer to make the difference – think back to 2019-20 when the Belgian got 20 assists but couldn’t give City the support they needed in possession – and that’s what you should expect from him don’t expect either.
Sam Lee
Haaland draws a gap
Erling Haaland failed to score despite having two “big chances” as defined by Opta. This came after his performance against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, where he also missed a clear chance.
The 23-year-old notably missed a header at Villa Park after a poor finish against Ange Postecoglou’s team at the weekend.
The Norwegian has scored 19 goals in 22 games this season, which is still impressive, but he is well below his pace from last season when he had scored 27 goals at this point.
If City want to get back to winning ways, they need their talisman to quickly return to his form from the 2022/23 season.
What’s next for Manchester City?
Sunday December 10th: Luton Town (A), Premier League, 2pm GMT, 9am ET
The last time Manchester City faced Luton in a competition was in April 1999, when the teams played in the old Division Two (the third tier, now League One). It’s a sign of how much has changed for both clubs in the 24 years since that game.
City won 2-0 at Maine Road that day.
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(Top photo: Nick Potts/PA Images via Getty Images)