The sight of Rodri parading the Ballon d’Or before kick-off at the Etihad Stadium was a reminder of what they were missing. But it was nothing compared to what happened next. Tottenham inflicted cruel punishment. Manchester City’s core had no choice but to watch.
Ange Postecoglou’s team ran riot in the area of the pitch he usually dominates. An area left vacant by his absence. Even before City’s results deteriorated, their vulnerabilities were clear. But I’ve never been exposed like this before.
This can be seen in how James Maddison accelerated untracked through a gap in City’s defense to score the first goal. Seven minutes later, he repeated the trick, this time free to collect Son Heung-min’s pass instead of Dejan Kulusevski’s cross.
Tottenham’s third goal would be an even more painful sight as Pep Guardiola mustered his courage to watch the game back, with Kulusevski powering through powderpuff resistance in his own half and Pedro Forro ending the match under siege. It will. When he hit the finish home there was nothing but grass.
Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Gary Neville has given his verdict on Manchester City’s 4-0 loss to Tottenham.
“What are we seeing?” asked sky sports‘Gary Neville on joint commentary. But City suffered their heaviest home defeat under Guardiola when Tottenham’s fourth was scored by Brennan Johnson from Timo Werner’s cross.
This was actually the biggest home defeat of Guardiola’s career.
The sight of Werner darting past a heavy-legged Kyle Walker ahead of the fourth goal was a reminder that Rodri’s absence is not City’s only problem at the moment. “This is more than a roadie.” Neville said. However, its importance cannot be overemphasized.
This time around, due to Mateo Kovacic’s injury, 20-year-old full-back Rico Luis and 34-year-old Ilkay Gundogan have taken their place in the deepest midfield positions.
“They are all great players but who would want to do the dirty work in that midfield?” asked Jamie Redknapp at halftime.
The pair almost misplaced their passes, as did the third member of Guardiola’s midfield, Bernardo Silva. But none of them got close to their opponents off the ball. Meanwhile, they committed more fouls than tackles. Spurs ran through them and not just for the goal. Postekoglou’s side was outstanding from start to finish.
Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Watch Tottenham beat Man City for free
Of course, City have been here before.
They have now clawed back a bigger deficit than their five-point gap with Liverpool. And even if Arne Slot’s side win against Southampton on Sunday, that will continue considering City recovered from a 10-point deficit to overhaul United under Jurgen Klopp in 2018/19.
But this time it feels different. Manchester City went unbeaten through the first two months of the season, but the warning signs have now become deafening alarm bells. This mistake became a crisis that even the news of Guardiola’s contract renewal could not alleviate.
“City have lost the odd game here but we have rarely seen them dominate in every department and that is what we are seeing,” Neville added.
“They look very short, as short as we’ve seen since the first Pep Guardiola season. I’ve never seen anything this bad.”
The numbers certainly support that claim. Manchester City has conceded 17 goals in 12 games this season. This is the same figure as 18th-placed Crystal Palace and on average almost 40% higher than the trophy-less first season under Guardiola.
This is a result of giving up higher quality opportunities. It is all too easy to open up about Rodri’s absence, which has become not only a technical and tactical problem, but also a psychological one. No Premier League team has given up more shots on fast breaks this season. Fortunately, many more aspects were not capitalized.
There is also a problem on the other side. Erling Haaland remains strangely prolific. He is showing higher scoring ability than last season. But the problem is that on an off day like this one, when he misses consecutive first-half invites, no one else steps up.
The Norwegian has scored around 30% of his goals in the last two seasons, but has scored over 50% this season. Manchester City’s second highest scorers in the Premier League this season are Josko Gvardiol and Kovacic, with just three goals each.
City’s back-up forwards had provided a steady stream of goals in previous seasons. This time there is just one between Phil Foden, Jeremy Doku, Savinho and Jack Grealish. It’s not sustainable, especially with 33-year-old Kevin De Bruyne’s fitness levels fading and Julian Alvarez long since gone.
Sunday, December 1st, 3:30 PM
Kickoff at 4pm
Nonetheless, goalscoring problems are again at least partly due to Rodri’s absence. Simply balancing City’s defense would not have won him the Ballon d’Or. He scored 9 goals last season, 8 of which came in the Premier League. He missed not only on offense but also on defense.
Manchester City will no doubt hit the transfer market in January looking for a solution. However, there are seven Premier League games remaining before the transfer opens, starting with a trip to Anfield to face leaders Liverpool next Sunday.
This evidence suggests that things may get worse before they get better.
