Sport
Manchester City need a squad rebuild just as much as Liverpool
Arsenal have set the pace at the top of the Premier League table this season. Liverpool and Manchester City have been unable to keep up with that pace with the former stuck in mid-table and the latter five points adrift of the Gunners. Last weekend’s results made clear just how serious the slump being suffered by both teams is.
Much has been made of Liverpool’s need to rebuild with Jurgen Klopp once again highlighting the need for a generational transition after his team’s 3-0 defeat to Wolves. But City need a squad rebuild just as badly as their North West rivals as shown by the manner of Sunday’s defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.
Pep Guardiola made a number of surprising selection choices for the Premier League fixture in North London. Kevin de Bruyne started on the bench with Ruben Dias and Aymeric Laporte also overlooked in favour of Nathan Ake, Manuel Akanji and Rico Lewis who played at left back after the loan exit of Joao Cancelo to Bayern Munich on deadline day.
City’s underwhelming performance against Spurs provided a microcosm of what has gone wrong for them this season. Erling Haaland was isolated up front – he failed to register a single touch of the ball in the opposition box – with the defending Premier League champions far too easy to play through on the counter.
Guardiola is clearly unhappy with the chemistry of his defence. The departure of Oleksandr Zinchenko and Cancelo in back-to-back windows has left Manchester City light on options in the full back positions while Dias and Laporte aren’t currently providing what the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss wants.
Haaland is one of the best goalscorers of his generation. The Norwegian has already scored 25 league goals this season, but City have still to mould their team around their new centre forward. Against low defensive blocks, it is often the case that the Premier League champions struggle to get Haaland involved.
“With Erling, one of the attributes I am surprised by the most is the feeling,” Guardiola said. “How he is aware that he can improve in many departments. I am pretty sure maybe watching Harry Kane, but not necessarily watching [only] Harry, other players. He has the will: ‘I can do better.’ With his age, it is the best thing he can believe. Otherwise it will be boring.”
Manchester City’s midfield, however, is an ageing unit. De Bruyne is now 31 with Ilkay Gundogan 32. Guardiola needs fresh legs in the centre of the pitch to counter-press and close down with the same intensity of his previous teams, particularly with Haaland offering little on the defensive side of the ball.
Cancelo and Kyle Walker have been integral to City’s success over the last few years. The former frequently pushes into midfield to release one of either de Bruyne or Gundogan further forward while the latter’s recovery speed prevents opposition teams from getting in behind Manchester City’s high defensive line.
Now, though, Cancelo is on loan at Bayern Munich and Lewis doesn’t appear to be as comfortable in the centre of the pitch – see the way Spurs scored their winning goal on Sunday – and Walker is losing pace as he gets older with the England international also increasingly injury prone.
Liverpool and Manchester City dominated the Premier League for a number of seasons, but they have both hit a wall at the same time. Klopp and Guardiola’s problems might be different, but they find themselves at a similar crossroads in their managerial careers. City must match Liverpool in addressing their issues at their root this summer.
