Half a month of preparation is not enough
Like Manchester United, Manchester City only has about half a month to focus on preparing for the new season. The 3-1 victory over Wolves in the opening match did not leave much quality control as in this round, the "Wolves" lost 0-4 to West Ham away.
Man City's style of play is more than Man United's in terms of passion and still maintains control, crushing opponents in the midfield. But De Bruyne alone is not enough to carry both the attack and the defense. The result was a score of 2-5 after un acceptable plays due to individual errors.
Man City lacked smoothness in the final coordination and finishing. Facing Leicester's two-line defense, sharp passes like a scratch are no longer there, instead they are deadlocked.
Obviously, when there are new personnel in the squad, there is not enough time to connect, causing Man City to lack the option to finish the match early.
Amateur defense comes as a surprise
The four defenders, Walker, Garcia, Ake and Mendy, all left their mark. Ake scored the first goal for the new team from a classy header, but the remaining 3 in the quartet directly brought 3 penalties to Leicester City.
Subjectivity, non-sticking and lack of touch are the most obvious violations of Walker, Garcia and Mendy against opponents in the penalty area. If they only get one penalty in one match, it's normal, but the actual frequency is three times as high, a title contender like Man City cannot accept that.
The obvious lack of movement of the quartet is something Pep has seen, but his shouts on the sidelines are not enough to turn the situation around. Losing Laporte and Zinchenko could not play from the start, the thin and weak defense was what defeated Man City in this match, not Vardy's hat-trick.
Just a few hours after the defeat, The Citizens made an important addition when the Benfica homepage confirmed that they had sent center back Dias to the Etihad Stadium. On the other hand, Otamendi will come with 15 million pounds.
Dias arrived at an unfinished time when the tournament had already run 3 rounds. How to connect him will be a headache for Pep because he can't help but use Laporte, but there is still Ake's excitement.
Championship dream may dissipate soon
With just 1-2 games like this repeating, Man City could lose to Liverpool when the new season enters the warm-up phase. Pep's 5th year at the Etihad, winning the Premier League may not be his number 1 goal.
But just play recklessly and lackluster like this, the Premier League should not dream, let alone the UEFA Champions League.
