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Manchester City blown West Bromwich Albion on Tuesday using a pretty brilliant game plan that was part of Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
Pep Guardiola applied two tactical innovations that he used in his former clubs, with West Brom players being trained all over the pitch.
At Barca, Guardiola used Lionel Messi as a false nine and Riyad Mahrez played that role to perfection at the Hawthorns.
Manchester City midfielder Riyad Mahrez fell deeply to retrieve the ball against West Brom
Time and time again, Mahrez could be seen falling into a deep midfield, ready to receive the ball from John Stones or Ruben Dias before dismissing him. Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva played in those posts of Andres Iniesta and Xavi, with Rodri operating as Sergio Busquets.
When City were building from behind, West Brom midfielders went man for man against their counterparts – with the particular aim of stopping Rodri, who has made the most assists in the Premier League this season.
With every midfield player picked up, Mahrez would drift across the lines, falling into his own defense to offer himself as another option. Seeing it reminded me of Guardiola’s use of Messi at Barcelona.
Our first screenshot (above) shows this situation. West Brom responded by trying to press Mahrez after receiving the ball but simply found a spare man and suddenly City were out and on the attack.
City’s passing has accelerated throughout the season. It’s as tiki-taka as ever. Everything is one touch, two touches, with City running much less with the ball.
At Bayern, Guardiola would not limit his back to the wings. He would allow them to return. When City were in possession of West Brom, Joao Cancelo and Oleksandr Zinchenko could be seen in midfield. They were there to act as backboards, with their teammates constantly bouncing off them.
Our second screenshot (below) shows Dias on the ball in the 24th minute. Directly in front of him to his right and to his left in the central midfield, remarkably, are Cancelo and Zinchenko, 15 meters apart. On the left, Phil Foden hugs the sideline, as he did for most of the game. On the right, Silva left the midfield to go wide.
In front of center-half Ruben Dias are full-backs Oleksandr Zinchenko and Joao Cancelo
Raheem Sterling moved up to a central position from the right as Gundogan, the left midfielder, joined the front line. Mahrez, after diving deep, is now back in his original central position.
It is a system of so many moving parts. West Brom center-backs were in a three-on-two situation, outnumbered by Sterling, Mahrez and Gundogan. They didn’t know who to choose, with players showing up in so many unconventional positions and the situation was constantly changing.
If you are a central defender you like having a striker to score. When your player disappears, it makes you nervous. West Brom just couldn’t handle City’s system in that 5-0 home loss, and Sheffield United will have tried to find a way to fight it.
Guardiola’s players have shown their intelligence by putting his ideas into practice. At the back, Dias and Stones have started 12 games together in all competitions this season, taking 11 wins and a draw and keeping 11 clean sheets.
City leader Pep Guardiola’s tactical innovations made them incredibly difficult to tackle
Their decision making is exceptional. Dias is a stylish center-back, but there were times against West Brom where he didn’t mind finding Row Z if needed. He’s not the most mobile, but he knows where to be and when.
Gundogan deserves special mention. It was Guardiola’s first signing at City – a £ 20million buy from Borussia Dortmund. The German had a dislocated kneecap at the time, but Guardiola was not afraid to wait.
He has now become one of City’s most important players, moving from the left side of the midfield and pushing towards central positions. Its shape gives the group confidence. They know their Kevin De Bruyne talisman is out, but they see this guy stepping up.
That’s what Sheffield United faces on Saturday. Chris Wilder’s players deserve great credit for how they won at Old Trafford midweek. When you’ve been hit 16 times on the canvas – and that’s what defeat looks like – it takes courage to go to Manchester United and win.
Their Premier League wins this season came after FA Cup wins. It shows the power of trust and they have to believe that they can go to City and get a result, just like they did against their neighbors. Tactically, they will have to stay compact and deny space to hosts at the Etihad stadium. It won’t be easy, of course.
As Sam Allardyce’s West Brom discovered at the Hawthorns, thanks to Guardiola’s clever use of Mahrez and Co, City know how to leave you in a whirlwind.
After a stale start to the season, City are back to setting the standard, leading the Premier League table despite being without Sergio Aguero and De Bruyne.
If they can keep playing like this, with the players level of understanding of Guardiola’s system, it will take time for them to fall off their perch.
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