Breaking Teams Down - Manchester City

An exhilarating attack, a water-tight defense and a bullish midfield – Manchester City have got it all. The Champions of England won over many with the surprisingly attacking brand of football they showcased during the entirety of last season, the pinnacle of which was the drubbing of the neighbours in red across the city. Sheikh Mansour and his team finally achieved what they had set out for, back in 2008.

Here, in this series, I shall break down this City team and point out the major areas of weakness, and how the Champions can be beaten by the pretenders. To make matters simple, the analysis is broken down into 3 parts – The defense, the attack and the midfield.

The Defence

Center Backs -

There is a stereotypical tendency of the football lover to classify center backs into broad categories – The ball playing defender, and the no-nonsense defender. Before I proceed further, let me clarify the meaning of the above terms. A ball playing defender is one who possesses the technical ability to play the ball out of defense, and is the more positionally astute of the two (in most cases.) A blood and thunder defender or the ‘no-nonsense’ defender is the one who pushes and puts in his tackles early – to stop the opposition. In most cases, the no-nonsense defender is also the better header of the ball.

Taking a look at the triumvirate of City’s center backs, it is observed that all three are equally adept at both roles of a defender – the ball player and the ‘no-nonsense’ defender. In some matches, it is Kompany who plays as the ball player, with Lescott playing as his cover, and in some it is Lescott who plays as the ball player, with Kompany playing the no-nonsense defender role.

Full Backs -

City, arguably, boast of one of the best crop of fullbacks in the Premier League. Pablo Zabaleta has been a revelation since the turn of 2011. Mancini has since added Gael Clichy to the squad, who has steadied the ship on the left flank. In attack, these fullbacks are usually instructed to maraud down the flanks and make up the numbers in attack, besides being equally adept at keeping the opposition winger quiet.

The Midfield

Central Midfield – On paper, City’s central midfield is the perfect blend of grit, steel, power and determination. Mancini has mostly opted for the double pivot of Yaya Toure and Gareth Barry. Whereas Yaya Toure has found a new leash of life as a box to box midfielder, Gareth Barry has excelled in sitting deep and playing the holding midfielder’s role. As a backup, Mancini added Javi Garcia to the squad in the summer, who himself is a holding midfielder. Jack Rodwell, who was also bought last summer, has failed to make any sort of impact so far. In Toure’s absence, Javi Garcia has often played as the box to box midfielder alongside Gareth Barry, but has failed to deliver.

Attacking Midfielders – David Silva and Samir Nasri are the two out and out number 10′s City possess among their ranks. But Roberto Mancini has often used the duo on the flanks, thereby giving them freedom to cut in and squeeze into midfield. Inverted wingers were not much to be seen in England, but Roberto Mancini has placed them as the heartbeat of the Citizen’s attack.

James Milner – Be it as a wing-back, a central midfielder or a winger, Milner has played in various positions across the park for the Citizens, and has done a job for his manager. He has been mainly played on the right wing to cover for the opposition full-back, or as a right wingback in the 3-5-2 that Mancini has tried on the odd occasion.

The Attack -

City’s main firepower lies in their stock of strikers, who have racked up goals for fun. Sergio Aguero is the undoubted hitman, and is ably supported by Carlos Tevez. Edin Dzeko adds the element of surprise with his pace, power and aerial threat in games.

A Spanish paper states that “His cutbacks, dribbling and chips are works of art. Agüero is a virtuoso who’s worth the entrance fee. He destroys his opponents with pace and strength, spilling creativity, ingenuity and pure talent all over the pitch.” Since arriving in England, Aguero has created more than a few ripples across defences in the Premier League with his movement and eye for goal. And when you add his ability on the ball to that, you get one of the most complete center forwards of the game currently. The only thing that probably Aguero lacks aerial presence, but given City’s style of play, that has not haunted him much.

His compatriot, Carlos Tevez, is another player who is one of the most complete center forwards, currently – being both mobile and good on the ball. Edin Dzeko, the hefty Bosnian, has somewhat earned the reputation of being a super-sub because of his goal scoring exploits when coming off the bench. Despite being of decent physical stature, Dzeko is quite mobile in terms of his linking up with his midfielders, and is also quick off the mark.

Dissecting Manchester City’s gameplay – Potential Strengths and Weaknesses.

On the extreme left, is the 3-5-2 which has been used in some of the European ties, and domestically (on occasions.) The forte of the 3-5-2 is that it allows for greater flexibility within the system, allowing the likes of Tevez, Aguero and Silva to express themselves in different parts of the field. But this formation also puts the onus of wingplay on the wingbacks alone. And this is where City have been found out this season. Teams have figured this area of weakness, and looked to bite the champions from there. For instance, Rodgers took full advantage of this by handing Raheem Sterling his debut against the Citizens in the early season fixture at Anfield. In that game, he was essentially playing two roles - firstly, he defended against James Milner – by stopping the supply of passes to him. Secondly, Sterling also gave Liverpool’s attacks urgency and directness – Rodger’s men looked to attack City and looked to penetrate rather than just keeping the ball aimlessly.

Now, let us have a look at the formation at the extreme left – the 4-2-2-2. This setup quintessentially is devoid of any width since both the attacking midfielders prefer attacking through the central areas. The concentration of players in central areas meant that it allowed City to retain the ball, and David Silva with his precision often cut apart opposition defences. City were highly successful last season because of this setup, which was something of a novelty in English Football. But this season, City have been found wanting as teams across the country have figured out potential loopholes – the most obvious one being the lack of bodies down the wing. To counter City, teams have looked to keep the center of midfield tight, and launch swift counters through the wings. This was most evident in the Manchester Derby this December, in which two of United’s goals came from the wings – out of which one was directly assisted by Rafael. A quick scan of stats reveals that Rafael and Evra had abundant time on the ball in attack, which made United’s attacking all the more fluid.

The board in the middle, which depicts the 4-4-2/4-4-1-1 (depending on Aguero’s relative position), has brought the most joy to Mancini. On paper, this side looks the most balanced of the three, with the hardworking Milner on the right. Though this system provides stability, City do not pose much threat down the wings, and are susceptible to the same problems as mentioned above.

Following last night’s performance against a fully charged Saints, many have called into question City’s dominance in England. The blues from Etihad have been a mere shadow of themselves over the course of the campaign and it will surely take a herculean task by Mancini and his men to replicate the wonders of last season, with the gap slowly widening at the top of the table.