At the sound of the ultimate whistle at St James’ Park, you puzzled what the pretenders to Manchester City’s throne had been pondering.
At Liverpool primarily, as that’s the place the one credible problem is anticipated to return from, but in addition at Tottenham Hotspur, who’re stage on factors with the champions after three video games, and at Arsenal, who will discover themselves sitting high of the pile in the event that they take a untimely take a look at the desk. You puzzled what the response could be at Chelsea too, regardless of them nonetheless reeling from defeat at Elland Road.
Thomas Tuchel’s facet are solely three factors behind City, in spite of everything. Liverpool will transfer to inside two in the event that they beat Manchester United this night. Yes, it most likely is way too early to be discussing any of this. No hole goes to be insurmountable at this early stage. But after setting a breathless title-winning customary in 4 of the previous 5 years, the place something lower than a win could as nicely be a defeat, City dropped factors.
And greater than that, the thrilling 3-3 draw with Newcastle United instructed on the floor stage not less than that the champions are additionally weak to what has up to now proved to be a barely much less predictable Premier League.
Of the so-called “big six”, solely Arsenal have a 100 per cent file after three video games. Of the opposite 5, solely Tottenham have completely dropped factors to a different massive six rival. Liverpool and Chelsea have all dropped factors to the so-called ‘other fourteen’. United have dropped much more and have performed so miserably within the course of that they don’t warrant a point out on this dialog aside from the needs of completeness.
City have now joined the identical membership and displayed an surprising but acquainted vulnerability within the course of.
Allan Saint-Maximin triggered an untold quantity of issues, organising Newcastle’s first two objectives with direct operating that pressured Guardiola’s defence onto the again foot, then successful the free kick for the third in comparable trend. Defending counterattacks was as soon as extensively thought-about City’s kryptonite, till a tactical reshuffle two seasons in the past slowed their tempo down in possession and prioritised management above all else. This was a sudden, surprising flashback to a time when Guardiola’s defence recurrently regarded penetrable.
Guardiola himself recognized this as the problem in his post-match press convention and wished his gamers to point out extra endurance in assault. “We should spend more time in the final third, give more possession that moment, but it’s difficult because Erling [Haaland’s] going, Phil [Foden] has this aggression to go. If Jack [Grealish] or Riyad [Mahrez] or Bernardo [Silva] play right, they are more calm and help us to be calm together.” Attacks broke down too shortly although, exposing City to Newcastle’s counters.
Bernardo himself agreed. “My perception on the pitch was that we started attacking too quick. When we start playing like this and it’s too quick it’s better for the opponents,” he stated. “Overall we played quite well but not controlling their counterattacks and runners. You’ll suffer and that’s what happened today.”
This was what scuppered the one failed title defence of the Guardiola period in 2019-20 and briefly threatened to spoil 2020-21 too. Its re-emergence is probably promising for City’s title rivals.
Or is it? City have overcome this situation already, in spite of everything, and as Guardiola suggests, it could be nothing a change in personnel can’t repair. The much-criticised Grealish – who was absent with a minor muscle damage – is right for fixing precisely this downside. Sometimes accused of slowing down City’s play, he serves that very goal, permitting the defence to arrange itself towards potential counters, whereas nonetheless bringing the ball into harmful areas of the pitch.
And then, there’s the extent of opposition to contemplate. While the likes of Liverpool and Chelsea have dropped their factors to first rate opponents or in testing circumstances, the fixtures in query are unlikely to be thought-about as tough as City’s come May.
It remains to be a bit of unclear precisely how good post-takeover Newcastle are, given how final season break up into distinct halves – from relegation type earlier than New Year’s Day to Champions League type after it. On this proof, it’s extra the latter than the previous. Guardiola can lavish reward on opponents to the purpose the place it comes throughout as insincere however his declare that Newcastle are “becoming one of the toughest opponents” was measured and real.
“You can see [Eddie Howe’s] team is growing,” he added. “Newcastle have everything; they have pace, they have quality. They made it very physical, it’s a very difficult place to come.”
Perhaps that’s why Guardiola was agitated and frazzled on the touchline at St James’ Park all through. Then once more, he’s like that when City are successful too. And even after an excellent show of counterattacking by Newcastle, which uncovered and exploited a forgotten weak spot of City’s, the champions nonetheless got here again from 3-1 down and had been solely denied all the factors by an impressed goalkeeping show by Nick Pope.
Post-match, a extra relaxed Guardiola dissected his facet’s first dropped factors of the brand new season with readability slightly than frustration, figuring out the place he and his gamers had gone unsuitable, figuring out why too, and figuring out repair it. City’s slight slip-up can provide a crumb of consolation to rivals who’ve slipped a bit of additional at this early stage of the brand new season however, even then, not a lot.
Source: www.impartial.co.uk
