"We expect to add a little bit of a change in the return leg, I have a bit of an idea of what we should do in that game."

(Pep Guardiola)

While Pep was impressed with his team's performance in the match against Real Madrid at the Bernabéu, it did not calm Al Kamali's annoying horror inside him, saying he needed a change or two for the return leg at the Etihad Stadium less than a week from now. (1)

But why not listen even once to this appeal to perfection? And try to take into account what he "might" think? Here we have to remind you that despite the impressive first half played by City as well as some periods of the second half, the team could not create chances achieved throughout the game really, and if the statistic of goals expected for Manchester City (0.6), the lowest for the team in a single game this season, is not proof of this, then what is the evidence? (2)

This is due to many factors that Pep spoke about later in the post-match press conference, such as the roles of Toni Kroos and Fede Valverde in closely monitoring Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan, to limit the danger of their movements in the internal corridors between the centre-back and full-back on both fronts, and so the two centre-backs were able to focus on the more difficult task at hand: watching Erling Haaland and depriving him of enough space to do what he usually does.

Perhaps if we listen to Pep's voice of idealism, and his obsession with details, we may realise that he can fix some of the things we saw at the Bernabéu.

Close watch from Toni Kroos and Valverde for Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan respectively. (Social Media)

Close watch from Toni Kroos and Valverde for Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan respectively. (Social Media)

Greater mobility

Pep once spoke about Kevin De Bruyne's strengths, most notably mobility, which replaces his weaknesses in holding the ball under pressure and in tight spaces, and this is what makes things harder for him when City face opponents who are very close in the lines horizontally and vertically, he does not find the right space to hurt the opponent with his passes, and his teammates may not be able to give him that freedom constantly. (3)

For example, when the winger embraces the line and expands the field on the opponent - and everyone knows that City wingers have high technical abilities - we can say that they will draw the attention of one or two players from the opponent on the periphery, which makes Kevin have the opportunity to exploit the space behind them, usually in the internal corridors, and he has the central superiority necessary even for a few seconds to play the cross, and squirt poison in the face of his opponents.

Returning to the roles of Kroos and Valverde, Kevin did not have the opportunity to move freely as usual, so the Merengue duo were attached to him and Gundogan as well, as mentioned above, which deprived them of central superiority, and here we have to remember what Pep said about De Bruyne that he cannot control the rhythm, but is dynamic, he comes from behind, and he has the ability to finish, play crosses of course and so on, "less control, much more movement" as Pep said. (3)

So, maybe what Pep is thinking is trying to find better central superiority contexts for Kevin, and if you look at one of City's attempts at the start of the second half, and you see the moves the players made and what led to it, maybe you'll understand what we mean, or rather what Pep wants, and the perfectionist voice inside him.

Manchester City players spread in one of their offensive attempts in the second half. (Social Media)

De Bruyne moved diagonally backwards to pull Kroos from his position. (Social Media)

De Bruyne is ready to move in the space behind the Real Madrid defender who is trying to pre-empt Haaland's move. (Social Media)

Stones' pass to Bernardo Silva coincided with De Bruyne's move in space. (Social Media)

Silva's pass to De Bruyne behind Real Madrid's defensive line. (Social Media)

A dangerous opportunity for De Bruyne as a result of the movement of the Manchester City team without the ball. (Social Media)

That movement in the above shots may have caused City's most dangerous moments in the entire game, although Kevin was caught in the offside trap in the end, and this was what City lacked in the first half in particular despite the constant threat – somewhat hasty – to Thibaut Courtois' goal, and they have to find that flow again before the Etihad signing, otherwise history may repeat itself.

Gamble Stones

Well, we know that John Stones' role within the City system is different from what it was before, but this is not the first time that Stones has played a different role from his original role as a defender, he played a former full-back with Pep himself, and now he plays a dummy full-back in the construction phase, so it is okay for him to play an actual full-back when City have the ball in the last third of the opponent, right?

Numerical superiority in favour of Real Madrid's players on the left side. (Social Media)

Again, we go back to Kevin. One of the reasons the Belgian struggled on that front in the Real match is that he did not receive the proper numerical support against Camavinga, Kroos and Modric often, along with Alaba who is also active on that front but closer to depth, so why not take advantage of Stones here?

Why not imagine Stones making an external or internal bypass in which one of the aforementioned players is pulled by the Merengue in order to create that loophole that Kevin De Bruyne can exploit in the most appropriate way? If it is an external pass, the Belgian can play the cross from the right internal passage, and if it is internal, then he can do the external bypass and play the cross from the far right side, and in both cases, the ball will often reach the penalty area, and then Ancelotti will seek - most likely - to increase his players numerically inside the area in the defensive situation as we saw often in the first leg.

Because of this, Rodri, as well as the defensive trio, can also block Benzema, Vinicius and Rodrygo. Maybe it's some risk, and the risk isn't from Shim Pep, but for everything the first time.

City players spread with Stones advancing on the right flank and overtaking externally or internally. (Social Media)

A little sharpness doesn't hurt

We can't say that City are not a sharp team, whether it comes to the possession stages or the defensive stages outside possession, but a small overdose of sharpness will not hurt anyone, especially when complacency causes ominous consequences; there may be a dangerous offensive shift, and the direction of play may change to create a one-on-one situation in a large space, and it may result in a realized chance, as has happened many times in a game.

During the deportation, the team has to be as focused as possible, as it increases the numerical load on one front, so this creates a favorable space on the other side if one of the opponent's players decides to change the destination of play to that side, and here one of Manchester City's problems against the Merengue emerged.

Camavinga's pass to Benzema to start an attack for Real Madrid. (Social Media)

De Bruyne here had to retreat faster to close the passing angle on Toni Kroos (social sites)

Toni Kroos's one-to-one pass to Rodrygo after Carvajal moved forward and Jack Grealish pulled him away. (Social Media)

Rodrigo in one-to-one position with Manuel Akanji. (Social Media)

In the above case, Real managed to get rid of City's pressure on the left front of the Merengue, and due to Kevin being lax in that shot; in pressing Toni Kroos or trying to close the passing path to him, the ball easily went to the German, and he changed the direction of play at Rodrygo on the other side, in a one-on-one situation with Manuel Akanji, taking advantage of Carvajal's internal movement.

Real Madrid's attempts to change the direction of play were numerous, and Pep pointed out in the post-match press conference, meaning that he certainly did not like the Merengue following that pattern frequently and clearly, and the City players were unable most of the time to stop those attempts due to poor concentration and intensity, and this is something that you cannot ominous against Real Madrid in particular.

Worker "Alvarez"

Well, we won't miss the man's numbers, although they are really impressive, but we have to draw attention to Alvarez as a possible option for the return match, not necessarily in the starting line-up, and it may be depending on the course of the match, Pep probably won't need him for one reason or another, but from what we saw in the first leg, Alvarez may be of help to Haaland in freeing him from the close scrutiny of Real defenders.

Haaland's movements at the Bernabéu were good, and although he touched the ball only 21 times, the least of the players from both teams who started the game at least, his movements created spaces behind Rudiger when he received the ball because the German defender had to get out of his position and control, but no one took advantage of those spaces, and this is where Alvarez's value appears.

The Argentine can take advantage of such spaces, and also with his movements without the ball he can draw the attention of one of the Real defenders or take advantage of their preoccupation with Haaland's control to give himself the opportunity to pounce on the ball that will reach him, and he can move between the lines and contribute to the delivery of the ball to the final third of the opponent. Pep probably won't have an idea like that from the start, but it deserves attention given what the Real defenders did against Erling.

The 95-minute dilemma

Pep Guardiola speaks at a press conference after Manchester City's match against Real Madrid at the Bernabéu on 8 March 2023. (Reuters)

"Football is 95 minutes, nothing else." (4)

(Pep Guardiola)

Pep's Champions League exit scenarios may not have been merciful to him and his approach to football, and his repetition of that phrase above is proof enough. Perhaps no one can fully recover from an event like last season at the Bernabéu, when Rodrygo scored twice in less than a minute, to change the course of the match that ended with Real qualifying for Paris, and winning the fourteenth championship. (5)

Pep reiterated in this conference that this match is not revenge, and that it is an opportunity, and that it is a football match of 95 minutes, and all his team has to do is play well in order to win the desired victory, while acknowledging that they played an exceptional match in the first leg at the time and a "good" game in the return, but it was certainly not enough, as he put it.

We don't know, maybe the man is in denial or something, and maybe he wants to calm down his players, because this may reflect on them in their condition during the meeting, this anxiety may lead to their poor concentration at critical times as we saw from Rodri against Vinicius in one of the shots of the match, which would have turned into a goal had it not been for the distraction of Ruben Diaz.

So maybe it's about the calm Pep is trying to instill in his players, because he knows that the tension against Real Madrid won't make it easier. That's what it was like in the game, and the tension was evident in the simplest decisions City players make, from passing to shooting to simple defensive actions. All of them were characterized by alarm, haste and fear, perhaps, fear of making mistakes again against a team that knows very well how to exploit these mistakes to their advantage, because they have a mental advantage in these situations, stemming from their previous experience in that tournament throughout their history, in addition to the supernatural quality that they also possess.

Pep's constant guidance to his players to pass to Grealish and their continuation of occasional passing (social media)

Perhaps that perfectionist who accompanied Pep throughout his career was one of the reasons for his unparalleled success, but as we know, it is not about one factor or one reason, but about those factors and ideas combined, and their impact on the course of the match, and their impact on the clarity of the coach's mind in preparing his players for the promised day, which may contribute to the calm and sobriety of the players mentally in the moments that need it.

Something Pep spoke about clearly after the Bayern Munich game in Germany, saying that his players were mentally present in the decisive shots in the match, and that this was what the team was missing previously. Maybe it's not a bad idea to listen to that voice inside you; a voice that always strives to reach the highest results without giving up the accuracy of the process that leads to those results, even if it's not the most important factor, it still matters, just ask Pep Guardiola.

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Sources:

  • Pep Guardiola's press conference after the Real Madrid match – YouTube
  • Manchester City match statistics for the season – FBref
  • Pressure Resistant Midfielders Rise – Statsbomb
  • Pep Guardiola's pre-match press conference – Manchester evening news
  • Real Madrid beat Manchester City 3-1 to qualify for the Champions League final of the 2021/2022 season – BBC