Pep Guardiola might have to compromise on his style after Man City's defeat to Leicester
Pep Guardiola's playing style was phenomenally successful at Barcelona and Bayern Munich, but he is under pressure to adapt his methods after Manchester City's 4-2 defeat to Leicester. Recent evidence suggests it might be time for a compromise, writes Nick Wright…Pep Guardiola said he would rather "go home" than change his methods when he was questioned in the wake of Manchester City's 4-0 defeat to Barcelona in October, and with 21 trophies in seven seasons to back him up, who can blame him for standing by his principles?
The Catalan is a visionary manager who was brought to City to stamp his footballing philosophy on the club, but it feels increasingly like his long-term ambitions are coming at the cost of short-term success. City may have steamrollered through Guardiola's first 10 games in charge, but they have only won four out of 15 since then.
Such a poor run of form is completely new territory for Guardiola. City have played scintillating attacking football in patches, but their defensive performances have been far from convincing, and while Chelsea's sturdy backline is helping them gather momentum at the top of the table, City's fragile foundations are leaving them in danger of slipping the other way.
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| John Stones reacts after Jame Vardy scores for Leicester on Saturday |
The issues were laid bare at the King Power Stadium on Saturday, where John Stones was the only natural central defender in a loosely-organised back three with Bacary Sagna and Aleksandar Kolarov. Further forward, Pablo Zabaleta appeared to be occupying an inverted wing-back position.
The result was defensive chaos. Leicester gleefully exploited the giant gaps in City's exposed rearguard, and three goals in 20 minutes had Guardiola's shell-shocked players casting confused looks towards the dugout. They were "all over the place", in the words of Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher. "Those defenders are not helped by the tactics of the manager," he added.
Saturday saw Guardiola employ his third different formation in the space of a week after City's games against Celtic and Chelsea, and the 45-year-old has made more line-up changes (50) than any other manager over the course of the Premier League season.
These frequent, unpredictable alterations to tactics and personnel are typical of Guardiola. They are what City's chief executive Ferran Soriano had in mind when he talked about reaching "the next level of tactical sophistication" back in August, and the meticulous tinkering has brought Guardiola huge success throughout his career.
At City, however, the chopping and changing is proving problematic for a squad that falls a long way short of what he had at Bayern and Barcelona. Guardiola's unsettled defence have only kept two clean sheets in the Premier League all season, and it was grimly symbolic that their complicated set-up was shot to pieces by such a direct and uncompromising approach on Saturday.
Guardiola appears to be expecting as much from the likes of Kolarov and Sagna as he did from Jerome Boateng and David Alaba, but the difference in quality is huge. And while City's new manager is in no way responsible for the years of questionable defensive recruitment that preceded his appointment, his own signings haven't coped any better.
Claudio Bravo has offered precious little security or composure in goal, and it is difficult to escape the feeling that Stones, the £50m ball-playing centre-back Guardiola chose to build his defence around, has been handed too much responsibility too soon.
The 22-year-old has made more errors leading to goals (five) than any other outfield player since the start of last season. If you throw in goalkeepers, only Bournemouth's Artur Boruc has committed more. Stones is an exciting talent with huge potential, but his defensive issues are long-standing and they need attention.
It was hardly surprising, then, that he looked lost when asked to lead City's backline at the King Power Stadium. Without a senior centre-back partner and with little support from those around him in Guardiola's expansive system, he was horribly exposed. The mistake for Leicester's fourth goal betrayed an obvious lack of confidence and conviction.
Guardiola admitted he needs to find a solution to City's defensive problems after the game, but he also expressed his usual devotion to his attacking playing style. "I am not a coach for the tackles so I don't train the tackles," he said. "What I want is to try and play good and score goals and arrive more in the box."
What Guardiola wants more than anything is to bring City to the level of his Barcelona and Bayern sides. Their brilliant start to the season hinted at what they are capable of and showed Guardiola certainly does not need to abandon his philosophy. But in order to bring them out of their current rut, he might be better off slowing things down. Right now, City need to walk before they can fly.
Source : Skysports
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