When the newspaper journalists and TV pundits are left stunned by a Manchester City defeat, rather than perhaps being something negative, it’s actually a good indication of just how strong the team has been under Pep Guardiola.
“It was a bad day, sometimes it happens,” Guardiola explained in the simplest of terms, following the 0-2 loss at home against Wolverhampton Wanderers. Having now lost twice already and drawn once in their opening eight games of the season, the result leaves City eight points behind Liverpool at the top of the Premier League, after the Reds maintained their perfect start to the 2019-20 campaign with an eighth consecutive win.
PEP Today was the day we were not on our level. The previous games were were good.
— Manchester City (@ManCity) October 6, 2019
The distance is big, Liverpool have not dropped points. Now is the time to come back. The results will dictate the situation but we are in October and there’s a long way to go.
Of course, the world hasn’t stopped spinning for Man City, who will stay in the hunt for a third consecutive Premier League title, not to mention remaining being a popular choice in football accumulator tips each weekend, given their usually habitual winning record. “The distance is big,” admitted Guardiola after the Wolves defeat, “but we are in October and there’s a long way to go,” he insisted, certain that his talented array of stars will bounce back quickly.
The biggest surprise about the Wolves result is perhaps the fact that City didn’t score for the first time this season. An interesting statistic is that with 18 chances created against Wolves, the team actually generated more opportunities to score than they did in the victories against Brighton or Everton. That said, football is so often about circumstances and key moments in games, which can sometimes decant games one way or another.
A tough afternoon at the Etihad...
— Manchester City (@ManCity) October 6, 2019
#ManCity #MCIWOL pic.twitter.com/0ugTUIhA0L
Without the preferred pairing of John Stones and Aymeric Laporte available, the heart of the City defence has been makeshift at best for several games this season. Nicolas Otamendi hasn’t produced the best of his form, either, making notable mistakes that have led to goals in both of the Premier League defeats this season, while being partnered at the back in various games by Fernandinho, a 5’9” Brazilian with a preference for playing in midfield.
Nevertheless, Manchester City had still managed to produce five consecutive victories and concede just one goal, even with their patched-up defence. However, Pep’s men were hit far too easily on the counter-attack against Wolves, who had also managed to resist wave after wave of City attacking moves. That said, the result at the Etihad might have been entirely different, had a free-kick from David Silva curled into the back of the net, instead of striking the crossbar.
67. OFF THE WOODWORK! We were SO close to breaking deadlock through a superb free-kick from @21LVA.
— Manchester City (@ManCity) October 6, 2019
El Mago's effort soared towards to top corner but cannoned off the crossbar. Ahhh!
0-0 #ManCity #MCIWOL
Credit to Wolves where it’s due, their pressing game caused City all manner of problems throughout the whole game. Nuno Espirito Santo got his tactics spot on and Pep’s men frequently rushed their final pass when attacking, causing a lack of the typical verve and fluidity we’ve grown accustomed to. Meanwhile, frailties at the back were exposed with every stray pass, intercepted with vigor by the Wolves forwards.
The fact that Man City have still scored considerably more goals than any other team in the Premier League, with 27 in just 8 games, suggests that such results as those against Norwich City or Wolves are exceptions to the norm. While it’s true that Liverpool might look untouchable at present, their dips in form will surely come, perhaps even against City when the two sides meet in November. As Pep himself has underlined, there’s still a long way to go.
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