Man City wins but Pep Guardiola sees worries
Looking at the 2-1 mark and 4th place in the League Phase rankings could make fans think that Man City are easily among the top candidates. However, Pep Guardiola feels this match in a different way. Real played better with a 1-0 lead and the question is if they increase the gap to 2-0, can Man City still save the match?
The match opened with mistakes from Man City. Nico O'Reilly scored the equalizer but before that he was constantly tormented by Rodrygo. Matheus Nunes was completely inferior to Vinicius Jr. in speed and technique. Pep Guardiola has won the Champions League by using centre-backs as full-backs like Nathan Ake or Manuel Akanji to build solidity. However, he no longer has such good defensive full-backs.
The result was Manchester City's instability. They let Leeds equalise 2-2 after leading 2-0, conceding four goals against Fulham. However, there were moments when they stood firm against the suffocating pressure of Real Madrid at the end of the match. A team that wants to win the Champions League needs a stable defense, but Man City have conceded 11 goals in the last 6 matches.
An attractive yet uncontrolled style of play
Pep Guardiola has completely renovated the midfield but none of the rookies have the ability to keep the ball like Ilkay Gundogan, Kevin De Bruyne or David Silva. Rayan Cherki is the type of leader, while Tijjani Reijnders is the type of midfielder who moves a lot. They bring dynamism but do not create stability.
Phil Foden is reviving strongly while Jeremy Doku is exploding on the wing. However, that has overwhelmed the role of holding midfielder Nico Gonzalez. Man City now plays more dedicated and direct but reduces the ability to rob opponents with endless long passing streaks, which is Pep Guardiola's brand.
Their strength leans towards a quick attack, but when lost the ball, the full-backs have difficulty in immediately retreating to defend. That is part of the reason why Man City is unpredictable and also dangerous for themselves.
Reasons why Man City can still hope
However, it is undeniable that Man City still owns a squad of many European champions such as Haaland, Foden, Bernardo Silva, Rodri, Ruben Dias and Donnarumma. The problem lies in the fact that young people and inexperienced people appear in key positions such as the two edges and the midfield area.
When mentioning the midfield, it is impossible not to mention Rodri. Although the injury has kept him absent, Pep believes that if the Spaniard returns at the end of the season, Man City will be much stronger. Nico Gonzalez has tried very hard to fill Rodri's role, he played impressively but could not create a big influence like his senior.
In addition, Erling Haaland is still the biggest hope. Only Mbappe has scored more goals than the Norwegian striker in the Champions League this season. The simple comparison of Man City won because Haaland played, Real lost because Mbappe was on the bench is unfair. However, it is clear that Man City has become much more normal when Haaland did not play like the loss to Leverkusen.
Man City is no longer at a level that no one can reach
This season, Man City is no longer the incestuous crusher like in 20202023. They show fragility, unpredictability and sometimes chaos. That makes The Citizens' Champions League journey more dramatic but also more risky.
Man City has been considered the strongest team in Europe in recent years, but when it comes to the ability to win the title, not many people think they are the number 1 candidate. However, at present, Man City's strength is not as good as before, they are not even in the group of 34 strongest teams.
Man City just beat Real Madrid at the Bernabeu. It shows that they are still of class to beat anyone, even though they are going through a period of tactical and personnel transformation. They are not as perfect as before but dangerous in a different way with more directness, explosiveness and unpredictability.
Sometimes, to succeed in a journey like the Premier League or Champions League, it is unpredictability that makes the difference.
