Champions League: how Manchester City became a winning machine again

The Premier League bulldozer leaves his England which he takes pleasure in tormenting.

Leading the domestic championship with ten points ahead of rival and neighbor Manchester United, Manchester City returns to the Champions League on Wednesday February 24 (9 p.m.) with a round of 16 first leg against Borussia Mönchengladbach, played in Budapest, Covid- 19 and health constraints of the German authorities oblige.

Pep Guardiola's men arrive in Hungary with a series of eighteen straight victories in all competitions.

A comeback, after a season when Liverpool had robbed him of his title of champion of England.

Explanations.

A very solid defense

A goal conceded during the group stage of the Champions League, only seven in 25 games in all competitions since the last defeat against Tottenham in November: Manchester City version 2020-2021 is betting on its strength.

Last season, the Mancuniens conceded 0.89 goals per Premier League game.

A total reduced today to 0.6.

In the game, the Citizens concede half as many clear chances per game than the previous season.

"It is the team that keeps the ball the most in the English championship, but it is now more vigilant on opposing counter-attacks, underlines Frédéric Piquionne, former striker from Portsmouth and West Ham, now consultant for RMC Sport," Champions League broadcaster.

The contribution of Ruben Dias (

Editor's note: recruited from Benfica Lisbon this summer

) in central defense is also major.

"

Former Citizens midfielder Gareth Barry also noticed that the full-backs, instead of bringing the excess offensively, were positioned in the axis to be ready to stop everything against devastating.

In front of the media, Pep Guardiola attributes this solidity to its basic principle: technical mastery.

"We have the ball 67% of the time, that's the reason for our defensive record," explained the technician in an interview with Sky Sports.

If you have the ball as often as possible, your opponent does not.

Maybe one day the rules will change, but I believe that in order to score you need the ball ... "

A more pragmatic team

“Have Pep Guardiola and Manchester City found the key to football during the pandemic?

Asked The Independent at the beginning of February.

The Catalan technician has indeed changed the game of his team this season.

According to statistics from Sky Sports, the Citizens are more accepting that their opponents in the Premier League handle the ball (+ 50% compared to the 2017-2018 season).

Straight out of the blocks!

🔥

⚽️ @Sure

🔷 #ManCity |

https://t.co/axa0klD5re pic.twitter.com/QWFlvGRl40

- Manchester City (@ManCity) February 22, 2021

In a season with a very dense schedule and with a shortened preparation in September, the former manager of Barça is saving his troops with more pragmatic football: four wins by three goals in the Premier League against 14 last season and already six victories by a single goal difference, the same total as for the entire 2019-2020 vintage.

The victory against Arsenal (0-1), Sunday February 21, sums up the new philosophy: a goal scored from the outset by Raheem Sterling (2nd), then a match spent managing the opposing offensives, with only one shot on target. for the Gunners.

"You can not always win with three or four goals difference, justifies Guardiola, who recently explained that his team was running less than in the past.

We have time to do nothing, just to rest and prepare ourselves mentally.

"

A healthy and robust collective

In Manchester City, the top scorer is a midfielder.

With eleven goals in nineteen games, the German Ilkay Gündogan has found a very strong influence on the performance of his team.

"He is in exceptional shape," greets Frédéric Piquionne.

He's their most decisive player in the last few matches.

In the game, he took over from Kevin De Bruyne. "

PSG express newsletter

Our information on the capital club

Subscribe to the newsletterAll newsletters

The absence for injury of the Belgian, at the beginning of the year, was hardly noticed, as the collective is established and the Mancunian workforce expanded.

Ditto for their striker Sergio Agüero, removed from the field by an injury then by the Covid-19.

“Their strength is the team and the system that Pep Guardiola has managed to build,” underlines consultant RMC Sport.

Reinforced this summer by Ruben Dias or Ferran Torres, Manchester City is positioned as one of the favorites for final victory in the Champions League.

On condition of avoiding untimely road exits to which Pep Guardiola has become a subscriber, as against Lyon in the quarter-finals this summer.

That day, the Catalan upset his organization to face OL.

This season the moult has been longer.