United took an instant lead through a Bruno Fernandes penalty and continued to put the pressure on City with aggressive defending in the period after. City eventually gained control for the remainder of the first half but could not break United down. City were shocked again early in the second half as a United transition […]
Manchester City continued their recent form by showing dominance of possession and territory against Gladbach. The German side had a decent defensive idea and tried to be constructive playing out from the back, but City ultimately had too much for them as Bernardo Silva and Gabriel Jesus provided the goals which handed City control of […]
Manchester City’s flawless record in 2021 offered Arsenal little hope of finding a result against the best team in the land. City delivered, as their typically fluid 4-3-3 shape shone through, blitzing the home team early on. Mikel Arteta’s men fought back with their own intriguing structures and similar principles, but City looked in first […]
Protracted and substandard. This wasn’t your usual Guardiola and Mourinho matchup, yet the alarming ease in which Manchester City brushed past Tottenham Hotspur made this a big talking point in each other’s seasons. City were able to play on autopilot, with rehearsed movements getting them past the block, whilst Spurs looked clueless and deprived of […]
City started very strongly in the match with a good use of width with the ball and solid counterpressing against Liverpool’s transitions. Eventually Liverpool started to take more of the ball and City were content to control the spaces behind their defense. Guardiola’s pressing tweak at half-time preceded City taking the lead through İlkay Gündoğan. […]
Manchester City invoked an extremely fluid formation, which saw them buildup in a nominal 3-2-2-3 shape. The freedom of the front five made it nearly impossible for Manchester United to get near the ball for the better part of seventy minutes, with the guests eventually snatching their first goal, settling back into a comfortable defensive […]
Flexibility, wide rotations, and false nine’s hit Chelsea with a flash of old Pep-fluency. Manchester City had the game wrapped up, with three goals before half-time, as they delivered a message for the rest of the league, whilst pressure continues to grow on Frank Lampard. Tactical analysis and match report by Joel Parker. A matchup between […]
Arsenal’s meeting with Manchester City would be the fourth and final time the master would lock horns with his protégé in 2020. Though Gabriel Martinelli and a change in system looked to counter the heavy blow of City’s 4-2-2-2 shape, self-inflicted damage helped consign the hosts to another loss that leaves their teacher more and […]
With critics to be proven wrong, and a return to the top four at stake, the expectation was high for the latest edition of the Manchester derby. However, both teams produced a limited, lethargic and lackluster affair, with bad buildup structures being cancelled out by tangible defensive organizations. Tactical analysis and match report by Joel Parker. […]
José Mourinho’s vintage defensive block nullified his greatest opponent and created the counterattacks that recorded his first consecutive wins over Pep Guardiola, in his career. With heavy occupation against their opponent’s eights, Tottenham Hotspur denied Manchester City from getting their creators on the ball, as glaring tactical issues were aggravated further. Tactical analysis and match […]