Thread by @TalkinTactics

When you are a Football tactics account it is difficult not to turn into a bit of a Manchester City fan page (as I am told 😬) but Guardiola is arguably the greatest ever Manager. And certainly one of the most innovative. I find his teams fascinating to watch. #MCI

Football is a game of time & space. Guardiola solves problems - game after game - so that his players have time & space. It is then up to them to make their decisions & use their technical quality.

I wanted to highlight a build up against Southampton (who cause City problems).

Southampton pressed with a front 4 (who try & cover 6 players).

Guardiola made Ederson part of a back 4 and dropped Bernardo Silva next to Rodri.

Cancelo (LB) is spare because Ederson has made the back 4 w/ Ake now at LB.

I wanted to show how City overload each player.

Pass one.

Ederson to Dias.

Adams is trying to cover Rodri & Dias. Ederson’s pass means Southampton’s CF releases himself to press Dias.

With Rodri now free Aribo adjusts his position & moves slightly infield. He is now 2v1 against Akanji & Rodri.

Pass two.

Dias to Akanji.

This pass encourages Aribo to press. Once again Rodri is free.

Adams can’t quite get back as he has been drawn to Dias.

A.Armstrong is occupied with Ederson & Bernardo Silva.

So Southampton need a Midfielder to release & press (Diallo).

Diallo begins to press but KDB drops down (to create a 2v1), forcing the Southampton Midfielder to back off.

Rodri is now free again.

Akanji cuts back infield (a key skill for a player trapped by the touch line to possess)..

Pass 3

Akanji to Rodri.

City now have time & space on the ball (briefly).

In this example Rodri plays back to Ederson (as Southampton are well covered elsewhere) but as the game went on the gaps began to appear.

It’s quite a simple move but the positioning of the players and the timing of the runs and passes (along with the weight) make it an interesting watch.

I will get to why Cancelo being free to move higher becomes important later on in the thread.

With Ederson part of the back 4/5, Cancelo could push on slightly attracting the attention of KWP from RB.

When Cancelo received the ball Foden moved into a position behind KWP. Cancelo then plays a pass over the top and into that space.

City now have a 6v5 (Mahrez is wide & out of shot) in the middle third of the pitch.

And Cancelo looks to break forwards from LB.

Foden plays the ball to Bernardo Silva, who - in turn - plays a lovely pass into the path of Cancelo.

And City now have 4v3 in the final third.

City have encouraged Southampton to press high, dragging out their RB, and attacking the space created.

Top

The decision making, execution & technical quality is owned by the players.

The positioning and space created (I assume) is an instruction from the Manager.

When City had controlled possession of the ball they built play in a 3-2-5.

▫️3v2 against Southampton’s two Centre Forwards
▫️5v4 against Southampton’s front Four.

City’s 5 forward players helped stretch Southampton’s back 4 and drag them out of position (like KWP in this example).

Look at Mahrez 😍

I said the other day, 1 of Guardiola’s big achievements is convincing his players to stand still. Mahrez will want to touch the ball but he knows how beneficial his position is in creating space for Haaland.

His position is as important (if not more so) than the pass by Foden.

0.5 created chance stat for Mahrez? 😬