Disclaimer: Today’s entry will be about soccer. If you have no wish to read about soccer, you can stop here—Friday is the NHL trade deadline, and I will have something more palatable for you next week. If you choose to continue reading, be aware that the language of soccer (herein denoted “football”, for consistency’s sake) is full of jargon that may be unfamiliar, and the way that the sport is discussed as a whole is very different from American sports. If you have any questions about what is said, please feel free to reach out.
It seems an odd assertion to say that Manchester City are struggling—they are in a very similar spot as they were at this time last season, which was one of the greatest seasons any English club has ever had. Last season, City won the Premier League, the FA Cup, and the UEFA Champions League—the aptly named “Treble”—with the only major title they failed to win being the Carabao Cup, a domestic competition that is generally considered to be the least valuable of the four major trophies. At this time last season, City were 2nd in the Premier League, hot on the tails of then league-leaders Arsenal, had advanced to the FA Cup quarterfinals, and were on the verge of booking their quarterfinal spot in the Champions League as well.
Fast forward 365 days (give or take a few weeks), and the circumstances are not much different. Manchester City have an FA Cup quarterfinal match against Newcastle in two-weeks’ time. They carry a 3-1 aggregate lead into their second-leg fixture against FC Copenhagen in the Champions League round of 16 at home. They are one point behind Premier League-leading Liverpool, with the two sides set to meet in Liverpool on Sunday—a City victory at Anfield would catapult the blues to the top of the table, albeit with ten league matches still to play, including a showdown with third-place Arsenal and a road trip to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, an arena that has become a bogeyman of sorts for City.
All of this is to say that, if you were to analyze City’s form simply by looking at their record, the very notion that they were struggling would be farcical. They have won nine of their last ten matches in the Premier League, their only blemish being a 1-1 draw at home against Chelsea. They have progressed with relative ease in the FA Cup and aim to do the same tomorrow in the Champions League at home against Copenhagen, entering the second 90 minutes with a two-goal cushion. They were eliminated early from the Carabao Cup, but again, no one really batted an eye when Newcastle emerged victorious—City fielded a comparatively poor lineup so that their better players were rested for the Premier League fixtures between which the Carabao Cup tie was sandwiched.
The struggle that City face is not one that shows on paper, but one that emerges tactically throughout matches, leading to unnecessary concession of goals against inferior opposition. The cause? In my opinion, the departure of (and subsequent failure to replace) last year’s captain, İlkay Gündoğan.
June 10th, 2023, will go down in history as the day that Manchester City finally got the monkey off their back—the day that they finally won the UEFA Champions League. A 68th minute goal from Rodri, arguably the best defensive midfielder in the world, was the only kick to make the net bulge, as City won 1-0. Hearing the final whistle was one of my greatest memories as a sports fan—finally being able to uncurl from the ball that I had folded myself into, incapable of watching City hang on for dear life as they repelled chance after chance from Inter Milan, who proved to be a very formidable opponent. To be frank, Inter outplayed City, although it did not help that one of the greatest playmakers in the history of football, Kevin De Bruyne, had to be withdrawn quite early due to a devastating hamstring injury. However, only the blues could find the back of the net, with Ederson making multiple key saves to keep a clean sheet and prevent the match from going to extra time. The image of City players shedding tears of joy as the final whistle sounded is permanently etched in my mind.
Inevitably, when a club accomplishes as much as City did last season, there are bound to be departures. Central defender Aymeric Laporte and winger Riyad Mahrez jetted off to the upstart Saudi Pro League, with the former joining Al-Nassr—a club led by Cristiano Ronaldo and full of talented players like Sadio Mané, Marcelo Brozović (who actually started for Inter in the Champions League final), Otávio, and Alex Telles—while the latter joined Al-Ahli, another prominent club in the SPL, where he was joined by Roger Ibañez, Edouard Mendy, Gabriel Veiga, Roberto Firming, and Allan Saint-Maximin, among others.
Other players to move on from City include academy product Cole Palmer, who is having an excellent season for a Chelsea side that, by all accounts, are failing to meet expectations, and the aforementioned İlkay Gündoğan, who decided to join FC Barcelona after captaining the blues to the Treble.
For the most part, City’s personnel department did a good job replacing these footballers. Croatian international Joško Gvardiol, regarded as one of the best young defenders in the world at the time of his signing, was purchased from RB Leipzig as Laporte’s replacement. State Rennais winger Jérémy Doku, a speed demon with a ton of potential, was bought to slot in for Mahrez. A replacement was not needed for Cole Palmer, as he was not overly used last season.
The endeavors to fill the massive void left by Gündoğan, Guardiola’s first ever signing as City manager and author of some of the most notable moments in club history (scoring the fastest FA Cup final goal in the competition’s history this past tournament against Manchester United, scoring two of the three goals that completed the comeback against Aston Villa on the final day of the 2021-22 season to clinch the Premier League title), however, were somewhat futile. Gündo’s acumen in both attacking and defensive situations made it very difficult to find another player of his skillset, so the club decided to sign two players instead: Mateo Kovačić, a midfielder who largely boasts a more defensive mindset, and Matheus Nunes, one who is largely disinterested in situations where his team is not in possession of the ball.
One of Gündo’s biggest assets was his ability to effectively track back and slow down counter attacks, while also being able to get forward in the attack. These tendencies allowed Rodri to operate in his defensive midfield capacity with much more freedom, knowing that his teammate could help stamp out any breaks. With Gündoğan, Pep Guardiola was able to run a 4-2-3-1 that morphed into a 3-2-4-1 in possession, as İlkay would operate next to Rodri out of possession and move up alongside the attacking midfielders and wingers in possession, also making it possible for defenders like John Stones to step into midfield and operate as a “false 6”.
More important than anything Gündo did physically was his awareness of the game. He seemed to always have the correct instincts regarding when to make runs into the attacking third, when to track back defensively, and when to push the tempo while on the ball. Without him, City have been routinely shredded on the counter this season, conceding bundles of goals despite dominating possession and chances in almost every match. One of the more cerebral players in the Premier League over the past five seasons, the intellect and football IQ with which he played have gone without replacement, which is more of a loss than his football play itself (as good as that was).
Without Gündoğan, City are more suited to run a 4-1-4-1 that morphs into a 3-2-4-1 in possession, but the issue is this: when the blues lose possession, the transition from the 3-2-4-1 to the 4-1-4-1 is less seamless as a result of not having a box-to-box midfielder like Gündo. Furthermore, Rodri is forced to take on more of a central midfield role without Gündo, as he is the main man in the center of the pitch. This can cause him to get caught out on the counter, exposing the back line and leaving them vulnerable. Rodri is not at all at fault—in fact, City have avoided defeat in 59 straight matches in all competitions that the Spanish 6 has started, a Premier League record for a single player. That does not negate the effect that not having a box-to-box midfielder has, though, as draws are often seen as a negative rather than a positive when you are in the title race.
Last year’s UCL final lineup: out of possession, Stones would fall back between Dias and Akanji, and Gündo would slot in next to Rodri, allowing for seamless transition between attack and defense
Now, I am not in a position to complain, especially after the season Manchester City had last year. They are still in the running for three major trophies and have a non-zero chance of repeating the incredible feat of winning the Treble. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that İlkay Gündoğan’s impact on the club last season cannot be understated, and that he is dearly missed. All things considered, the squad is doing remarkably well considering the sheer number of games they have played, the long-term injuries that Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne sustained, among others, and the shuffling of personnel in the summer. But, the lack of a quality box-to-box midfielder like Gündo hurts, and that gap may be exposed yet again on Sunday against Liverpool.