Sport

Guehi’s Surprise New Role for Manchester City

When the Manchester City lineup dropped for Enzo Maresca’s first Premier League match as manager, there was much discussion. It wasn’t immediately clear how the Etihad Stadium side would shape up against Bournemouth. There appeared to be one too many central defenders for any conventional formation to work.

Once the match started, though, it became clear Marc Guehi wasn’t being used as a central defender. Instead, the England international was pushed into the centre of the pitch alongside Elliot Anderson was one half of the double pivot. It was a move nobody saw coming.

It might ultimately prove to have been an emergency measure. Ayyoub Bouaddi is expected to complete a €100m transfer from Lille in the coming days and so the young Moroccan could be quickly integrated into the first team as Anderson’s new midfield partner. Enzo Fernandez is also believed to be a target.

As a midfielder, though, Guehi showed a different side to his game. Most striking was that the 26-year-old was frequently ahead of Anderson, linking up play in the final third of the pitch. More than once, he played a through ball that evoked memories of Kevin De Bruyne as a Manchester City player.

Guehi has always been renowned for his impressive ability on the ball. It’s one of the reasons Manchester City signed him in the first place. Pep Guardiola knew that the England international would be a good fit and capable of building out from the back as all City defenders are required to do. Guehi ticks many boxes.

Positional fluidity is another quality expected of Manchester City players. While Josko Gvardiol was plotted at left back on paper, he had the freedom to push into the centre of the pitch and get forward into the opposition box, as showcased when the Croatian scored the winner in stoppage time.

On the right side of the defence, Rico Lewis also has the same license to play an important role in possession, pushing into the middle. Just because a player is plotted in a certain position on paper doesn’t necessarily mean they will be rooted to that part of the pitch. Guehi, however, was a genuine central midfielder in the comeback win over Bournemouth.                  

“Marc Guehi has never played as a midfielder, today he was very good, so I am happy with the effort from the players,” said Maresca when asked about Guehi’s role. “Sometimes you visualise things. I know Marc from Palace and I always thought he could play as a midfielder because he is very good. So we tried it for a few days and I think he was quite good.”

By getting his head on the end of a corner kick to make it 1-1, Guehi also demonstrated his ability in the air. He could have had a brace had he made a cleaner contact with a free header when Bournemouth still had a one-goal lead. It was Guehi’s most impactful performance as a City player to date.

Broadly speaking, Manchester City’s overall performance will be the subject of much discussion before Maresca’s team play their next game against Crystal Palace this weekend. They were vulnerable to the Bournemouth counter-attack on Sunday and provided Erling Haaland with very little service as their centre forward.

The deployment of Guehi as a central midfielder, however, raises the prospect that Maresca might see some new things in the players he inherited from Guardiola. The Italian has a point to prove as the successor to one of the most successful managers in Premier League history and Guehi might have helped him make that point on opening weekend.