now man city played leicester at home in the epl . i had been reading all the headlines in the english media about the game . even in the match commentary there were too many things about the project restart . gaurdiola had accused the other team of not playing and just sitting back and not coming out to play football . what does he expect that the opposition should match him while he purchases the best player in the world and the opposition should play as he wants . to be honest this is the type of team that i wanted him to coach and lets see as to how he manages to get the result . to be very honest the football that is played right of now is very hopeless . they are devoid of any creativity while trying to open the opposition defenses . i havent seen a team which has good cohesion and is playing a good football and players have a proper plan when they are going forward . bayern who were playing good football had been not that good after the restart . now about gaurdiola this team hasnt got a flair player . earlier they had silva who was very good in passing the ball as well using the spaces himself and could tick the team around him . there is only player in the team who is good but he is more useful on the counter attacks or crossing the ball but not in playing those intricate one two passes in the close cordons. graham souness had already said that liverpool will have the trophy not because they are good but because the opposition is very poor .
city started the game with their 4-3-3 formation while leicester started it with 5-4-1 . city had sterling in the no.9 role while leicester had 3 at the back and they were very compact and rodgers had drilled them very well and they worked in tandem with each other . now there is lot that is made about city's defense . yes that a point but the real point is the city's offense . in the entire game city didnt created a single chance from open play . they were poor . for me the real problem was not city's defense but city's offense . the team wont come out and play if they are afraid of the opposition and its offense . city started sterling in the no.9 position . the idea to start sterling in the no.9 position is theorotically very good but the trouble is executing it . the three leicester centre backs were very compact and they tracked the runs from players very nicely .
the game started with leicester sitting back and city in the asendency . leicester played deep knowing that any space that they offer behind back four can be exploited by city . since there was no space in the middle city had to get the ball wider to the fullback positions in trying to stretch leicester . the idea was correct but the thing is when you are trying to execute you need to do it correctly . city were taking the ball wide but they were not able to bring the ball inside . leicester should be commended for their defensive effort . the real reason that i blame gaurdiola is he should had read the situation . they were not able to string four passes together near . they were hurrying on and were crossing the ball to sterling who i dont thing can win an aerial duel against any leicester's centre backs . city were not able to work there passes in an around the leicester's defense or between the lines . just look at the crosses that were coming to sterling they were coming from atleast 20-25 yards and leicester's defense could see the danger coming . city should had been able to put four passes together in between the leicester's lines . they should had played the passes crisply . most importantly when you play sterling as a no.9 you cannot play off him . city were just too monotonous and one dimensional in their offense . they were just kept on crossing the ball from wide areas. they should had tried to control they should had moved the ball around and done more passess in and around the box . didnt you see the movies where on the coach tell them to make atleast 5 passes before you take the shot . city were not able to string three passes together inside the box which it should because the leicester had good shape to their defense and they wouldnt be penetrated or peircsed by just two pass moves . while it can be claimed leicester's good defensive effort but at the same time its city's poor offense . just tell as to how many chances did city create from open play and how many saves did schmichael had to make .
most importantly while trying to stretch leicester city over stretched themselves . the distance between two players when playing a ground game matters . if the distance between two players is more that 8-10 yards then the ball takes a bit more time to reach the player and that time can be used by the opposition to close down the player or can make adjustments to their shape . for me the distance between two city players was a bit too much and city should had played a more closed game which would had allowed them to make crisper passes and open leicester defense . secondly they should kept the ball instead of crossing and city's fullbacks should had been instructed to not cross the ball and keep the ball passing and rolling trying to stretch leicester's defense . city's crossing the ball after few passes made it easier for leicester to defend .somebody had watched the first 30 minof this game then they would had thought that city were just going to roll over leicester . but i think rodgers had a good plan in mind . he knew that the pressing eventually would get laxed and that they can play the ball out after 30 min . most importantly the confidence that mendy got after he turned over to pass barnes was the game changer because teilmens is a very good player but he wasnt getting the support from mendy . but once mendy got that confidence over the ball leicester looked like a different side and i think that was the key moment in that match . at times i think barnes spend too much time on the ball and i think rodgers need to make him aware of the moment and not waste that because it can cost them in other games .
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