3 major reasons for Manchester City’s downfall this season

1. Fernandinho’s absence in midfield

Fernandinho recently signed a one-year contract extension at Manchester City

Perhaps the biggest loophole in Pep Guardiola’s current Manchester City set-up is the defensive-midfield position. Veteran midfielder Fernandinho, who recently signed a contract extension with the club, was pivotal to City’s back-to-back league successes and their domestic treble triumph last season. But the Brazilian midfielder has been forced to slot in at the heart of Pep’s defence due to the long-term injury to his principle defender Aymeric Laporte. As much as Fernandinho has excelled in his new role, his most effective position still remains at the front of the back four which makes it almost ironical that, despite starting every match-week, the 34-year-old is not able to do what he best does in this City team.

Fernandinho is not the prettiest footballer, which is why his performances often go under-the-radar among this illustrious group of players. Each of Guardiola’s main midfielders have a technical speciality, be it Kevin de Bruyne’s incredible passing range, David Silva’s low centre of gravity, Ilkay Gundogan’s perfectly-timed lobs or Bernardo Silva’s immaculate control of the ball. Fernandinho does not have a “wow” factor in him nor does he represent Pep Guardiola’s “beautiful football” philosophy, but he is the one who makes everyone tick.

Rival fans and pundits have pointed out City’s “dark arts” throughout Guardiola’s reign, and Fernandinho has often been labelled as its chief architect. Nicknamed “the smiling assassin”, the former Shakhtar Donestk man has often been seen tugging a shirt here and there, tripping a forward or subtly breaking up play. But Guardiola’s formations over the years, which has usually included a lone defensive midfielder, almost compelled players like Sergio Busquets, Javi Martinez and now Fernandinho to commit the tactical foul. But there’s no doubt that the Brazilian is the team’s most effective player in terms of passing, tackling and intercepting the play. Throughout his six-and-a-half-year stay at Manchester City, he has been seen shielding the defence, complementing the midfield, gliding into the attack and even scoring the odd goal.

Rodri has been promising for Manchester City but is a long way from replicating Fernandinho

At centre-back, however, Fernandinho is constricted of his immense abilities. There’s no doubt that he is a natural defender of the ball, calm-headed when needed, robust when needed. Barring Laporte, he might actually just be City’s best defender given Nicolas Otamendi’s rashness and John Stones’ unpredictability. But at the centre of the pitch, Fernandinho rules the game. His quick reactions, game sense, transitional intelligence and defensive genius make him arguably one of the world’s best in his position. In Rodri, Guardiola still has a raw 22-year-old who has an impeccable work ethic but is still not a dictator of play. And Gundogan, who many would forget did an excellent job at defensive midfield towards the end of last season, is still not an original number six, but rather an attack-minded player who likes pinging balls over the top and making darts into the box.

Guardiola, therefore, has deployed both Gundogan and Rodri as a double-pivot several times this season which has called for severe backlash from the City faithful due to their ineffectiveness as a duo. The Catalan probably believes that the two can make up one Fernandinho and match his impossible standards, but that just tells us how incredibly valuable he is to this Pep Guardiola and his City team.