5 Things We Learned: City - Southampton/Bayern

What a weekend. On the heels of arguably the best Manchester City performance in a UCL ever, we are absolutely buzzing. Last week we launched our weekly “5 Things We Learned” matchday series after our fixture against Liverpool and we’ve decided to combine the Southampton and Bayern Munich fixtures for the second installment of the series this week. Without further ado, here are our key takeaways from the past two matches.

(+) Our Defense Is The Real Deal. 

For the past few fixtures, Pep has gone with the 4 CB backline. It’s not particularly sexy but how does one argue with an aggregate score of 41-3 in the past 9 games? Surreal to say but I find myself equally as confident in our defense as I am that Haaland will score goals. While 1-0 leads may have given me anxiety in the past, I’m now barely any doubt that our defense will hold strong and keep the clean sheet. For a fanbase that has been accustomed to flying fullbacks and inevitable goals conceded on the break, to now have a defense that we can rely on while our attack is firing away.. It feels.. Unstoppable? Maybe we shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves. 

(+) Rúben Dias is the key.

Manchester City haven’t conceded more than a single goal with Rúben Dias on the pitch since August. After an earlier season injury spell in which we lost 4 games during his absence, we currently boast an aggregate score of 41-3 in the past 9 games. Against Bayern he was our runaway MOTM, routinely putting his body on the line to repel the relentless attackers of Bayern, all of whom were repeatedly stifled. Rúben is the key to organization, he is the leader, the on-field general who demands excellence and inspires confidence. His only weakness in his early City years was his on-ball ability, something he has clearly spent much time improving. His impact on the club and with the team on the pitch is palpable. 

(+) Every player will have a role to play.

In the earlier years of Guardiola’s City tenure, we boasted world class options at each position. Today, City’s depth is a myth. While several players are versatile enough to play multiple positions, we simply do not possess the same squad size we used to. With Phil sidelined due to surgery, our winger options are Grealish (who is undroppable), Bernardo (who also operates as midfield depth), and Mahrez, who is currently fasting for Ramadan. Mahrez looked visibly fatigued and lethargic against Southampton, struggling to beat the press and constantly misplacing passes. However, the introduction of Bernardo changed the game. Against Bayern, many would have preferred “Ramadan/Champions League Mahrez,” but Bernardo put in a masterclass. With Pep preferring a smaller squad this season, it looks like we’ll need everyone’s help as we chase the elusive treble. 

(+) Pace is overrated.

For many, a prevalent narrative around the team this season has been its lack of pace. Traditionally “pacey” wingers like Sané, Sterling, and Jesus were sold in the summer and of our two world class, flying fullbacks, one was sent on loan to a CL contender and the other has been relegated to the bench. To be fair, pace is incredibly sexy and it sells. But it’s abundantly clear now that it’s not necessarily something we need to play incredible football and keep winning. Instead of Sané, we have Grealish, who may not be as fleet of foot, but plays a selfless game as the perfect partner to Haaland. His contributions defensively are well-known, an area of the game where the heart and determination he plays with outshines any speed merchant. Upon learning we drew Bayern, the most prevalent debate was around how we would contain Bayern’s pacey attackers. To be fair, Sané, Mané, Gnabry, Coman and Co. are enough to make most defenses shudder. Rather than choosing to go with the pace of Kyle Walker, Guardiola stuck with the backline, put his faith in our defense, and put together a gameplan that simply took Bayern’s pace out of the game. Meanwhile, our “slow wingers” in Grealish and Bernardo both had an absolute field day of a performance against arguably the fastest backline in Europe of Davies, De Ligt, Upamecano. Is pace a great asset to have? Of course. Is it essential to winning? It doesn’t appear to be. 

(+) Ederson can do it for us. 

The much maligned Ederson has been quietly putting together one of his finest seasons during his time with us. Whether it’s the new and improved defense, the return of Dias from injury, or anything else, credit where credit is due, without the presence of the Brazilian against Bayern, we would not have won that game. There is no GK in world football that is better with the ball at their feet and with our defense in top form, Eddie appears to be peaking at the right time as well, making key crucial saves and pinging deadly accurate passes all across the pitch. While questions rightfully remain about his shot-stopping at times, he has proved that when he’s on his game, he is absolutely the guy who can make the save.

Written by: Sheikh