MCI FA Cup Post-Match Review: Man City vs. Huddersfield

January 8, 2024

A five star display from Manchester City saw them overcome a resilient Huddersfield Town deep block and book themselves a place in the next round of the FA Cup. The in-form Phil Foden bagged twice in a game which saw the return of Kevin de Bruyne from his long-term hamstring injury, as well as the return of his Belgian compatriot Jeremy Doku, who also recovered from a spell on the sidelines. In fitting fashion, it was KDB with a delicately clipped cross to Doku, giving eager City fans a glimpse into the potential their partnership has to offer in the near and distant future. 

Julian Alvarez and the ever impressive Oscar Bobb were the other two players to add their name to the scoresheet, in what was a comprehensive victory for Pep Guardiola’s side. Huddersfield made it difficult for the Blues by sitting deep and compact, meaning there was very little space to maneuver in, particularly in the first half. With Manuel Akanji’s injury from a rash tackle leading to an enforced City substitution, Guardiola took the opportunity to make a slight tactical alteration, with full backs Rico Lewis and Sergio Gomez offering width higher up the pitch.

This allowed space for City’s most dangerous creative players inside to get plenty of touches of the ball, namely Foden, Bobb, Matheus Nunes, Jack Grealish and De Bruyne. This was promising to see as a City fan as in previous games this season it’s been apparent that City have struggled to break down low blocks, particularly without Doku and without Foden playing centrally. Finding a way to shoehorn all of City’s most dangerous attackers centrally can only benefit the way City control games in the future, a key element of Guardiola’s tactical thinking.

What comes next for City?

City face a tough trip to St James’s Park next Saturday, where they’ll face Newcastle United fresh off the back of beating their local rivals Sunderland in their FA Cup 3rd round tie. Eddie Howe’s side have been out of form lately but will no doubt be a tough opponent for the Blues, due to their raucous home atmosphere and their high-quality pressing, as well as the individual brilliance of players such as Anthony Gordon and Swedish standout striker Alexander Isak.

5 notable talking points:

  • Kovacic excelled as the lone 6. The 29 year old buzzed around the pitch, shifting the ball around and winning it back from transitions, and provided a lovely flick to assist Foden for his second goal. This is very promising given his poor performance playing as the single pivot earlier this season against Wolves. Hopefully, this is a sign of things to come for the Croatian.
  • Foden changed the game for City. The Blues were initially struggling to break Huddersifled’s low block down, and looked quite slow and lethargic. But Foden began showing for the ball more often, and had a big hand in the second goal, as well as scoring the first and fourth goals himself.
  • Bobb should be viewed as a first team option. The silky Norwegian winger shone again, first on the right hand side and then down the middle. The goal his performance thoroughly deserved was unfortunately retrospectively taken away from him due to a deflection leading it to being an own goal, but that should take nothing away from his performance. He should no longer be viewed in the same eyes as the other academy graduates; like Foden and Lewis before him, he has now fully completed the move into the first team squad.
  • Gomez was excellent at left back. He has faced a lot of scrutiny for his past performances in a City shirt, but I thought he was exceptional linking up with Grealish in the first half, and looked comfortable tucking into midfield. Should be given more minutes, particularly in games where City can afford to throw more players forward.
  • The return of the king. De Bruyne looked understandably slightly rusty, but notably less so than the 2018/19 season when he came off the back of a much shorter injury lay off. Rounded off his cameo with a lovely assist for Doku, who it must be said finished the move off excellently.

    • Player ratings:

    Ortega - 7

    Akanji - 6.5

    Dias - 6

    Gvardiol - 7

    Gomez - 8

    Kovacic - 8.5

    Lewis - 7.5

    Foden - 9 (POTM)

    Bobb - 8

    Alvarez - 7

    Grealish - 6.5

    -

    Nunes - 7

    Doku - 7.5

    De Bruyne - 7

    Wright - 6.5

    Hamilton - 6.5

    Written By: Will Russell

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