Defeat at Aston Villa has brought an outpouring of ranging emotions online from Manchester City fans; calls for some players to never start a game again, questioning the midfield selection, curiosity over other players’ lack of game-time, urgent need for investment in January – the list goes on.
Perhaps many will disagree but defeat at Villa Park felt like “one of those days”. City came up against a resilient and stubborn defence when they fell behind to a Matty Cash wonder goal, and their build-up, coupled with a high-pressing unit when out of possession, simply did not click except for a promising opening 15 minutes.
City’s midfield felt disjointed and weak in the absence of Nico Gonzalez, with Tijjani Reijnders in the deep-lying role for the first time in his Etihad Stadium career, coupled alongside John Stones in possession. Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden offered little in the way of physicality against the likes of Amadou Onana. Many will wonder why Gonzalez was not able to start, given he was physically prepared to enter the contest at its most transitional and physical state in the second half.
And then we come on to the wide attacking pair of Savinho and Oscar Bobb; a duo that Pep Guardiola views as his best solution when wanting to press teams high and hold the game in the opponent’s half. While that works as an idea, that same duo brought very little in the way of end-product and decisive cutting-edge, leaving Erling Haaland desperate for routes to the ball.
Guardiola’s questionable selection then left him with too much to do towards the end of the contest, putting every attacking option available on the pitch at one time. Rayan Cherki, Omar Marmoush and Jeremy Doku were all unable to find the key to unlocking the Aston Villa door, despite Gonzalez and Nico O’Reilly bringing some stability to central and build-up roles.
It really did feel like one of those days, and one you would hope the players feel too whilst retaining confidence built over the course of their nine-match unbeaten run.
City fans would hope a brief distraction from Premier League duties in midweek in the Carabao Cup, which brings an opportunity to hand some much-needed game-time to City’s recently-injured stars, before resuming top-flight duties against one of the most in-form outfits in the division in Bournemouth next weekend.
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