So much has been said, heard, written and seen about Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City side terrorising the Premier League. They have been nothing short of spectacular, seemingly winning most matches before even a ball has been kicked. As Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher recently pointed out on their show “Monday Night Football”, Guardiola has actually overperformed with Manchester City, despite the great resources and the players.
It is nothing short of amazing how he has managed to improve even the most established and world class players at the club, including David Silva and Sergio Aguero. And let’s not forget about this City team breaking multiple records last season: goals scored, total points, most wins et cetera et cetera. But it’s also so much more than just the incredible numbers. Manchester City now play a brand and style of football that no other team in the world currently plays, except maybe FC Barcelona, but even there Guardiola has had a big part to play.
Apart from the obvious and immense influence he has had on his team, Pep Guardiola has also completely transformed the dynamics of the entire league. While he was criticised heavily in his first season for being too ‘stubborn’ and not ‘adapting’ to English football (the peak was when the press attacked him for not coaching tackles), the Catalan remained as firm and unwavering in his Cyuffian principles as ever: play out from the back, press high and maintain possession near the opposition goal.
In his second season, the City players had become well versed in the incredibly complex and comprehensive concepts, and the Premier League could not keep up. Soon, for teams besides the top six, playing City became an automatic exercise in damage limitation. How matches were played completely changed. It was completely new in England to see any team constantly dominate for 90 minutes while the opposition hung on for their lives around the penalty box.
Even when Ferguson’s United and Mourinho’s first Chelsea side won games and dominated, the football match did not follow this dynamic. They did not have as much possession, they did not create as many clear-cut chances, and they did not play so much of the match in and around the opposition box.
There’s also the matter of how Guardiola sets up his teams. He has somehow managed to play a midfield three of Fernandinho, David Silva and Kevin De Bryune. Only Fernandinho can be classed as a central midfielder; the other two both belong to the “number 10” position.
Before Guardiola came to England, it was unthinkable that a team could pack so many attacking midfielders together. Everyone thought that it was suicide, that you would get overrun in midfield and the defensive balance of the team would be fragile. But Guardiola doesn’t play by the rules, not even those set in stone for decades by the so-called protectors and proponents of ‘English football’, whatever that means.
Guardiola’s City also do not let the opposition reduce the game to the usual English tactics of second balls and tackles – his play, instead, is an exercise of sheer dominance, of constant possession aimed at attacking the opposition box. ‘Lesser’ sides have no choice about the style of play; it is a matter of “damned if you do, damned if you don’t.”
But the biggest influence that Guardiola has had on the league has been the effect on City’s title rivals, namely Liverpool and Chelsea. He has completely changed what it takes to win or even challenge for the Premier League title.
On Saturday night, Liverpool drew 1-1 away to Arsenal, who have also enjoyed a great start to the season under Unai Emery. A draw away to Arsenal has always been a good result, for anyone. I’ve been following football since my childhood, and you would always take that, no problem. But last night, Liverpool fans were deflated.
Imagine that – Liverpool have 27 points from 11 games (one point above City, who have a game in hand), having already played four of their strongest rivals (three of them away from home), yet Liverpool fans were disappointed with a draw away at the Emirates. And it wasn’t just Liverpool fans. Martin Keown, ex-Arsenal player and pundit for BT Sports, said that this was the sort of game Liverpool had to win in order to challenge Manchester City.
That’s what Pep Guardiola has done to the Premier League. He has made Arsenal away feel like a must-win game. He has made almost every game feel like a must-win game simply because his City side win almost every single game. That’s just how good City are. What City are doing is equally incredible and hard to match. Last season, there were only six games in which Manchester City did not win. They amassed 100 points. No one has ever done that before. The closest team to match that points total is the legendary Liverpool team from 1977-78 that got 97 points (in a 42-game season).
That’s what Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp are up against. They know that winning the Premier League now means getting above 95 points, and even that might not guarantee it. That is absolutely staggering, especially considering that in previous years getting above 85 points almost always got you the title. That’s why this Liverpool side are facing the biggest challenge of their careers, and so is every other side who is aspiring to win the league.
This Liverpool side and these Liverpool fans are probably the unluckiest. This is the best equipped Liverpool team to win a league since the club last won it in 1990. This side has gotten off to the best ever start in Liverpool’s Premier League era. And yet, Manchester City’s shadow looms large. There is a sense of it being so close yet so far.
For Liverpool fans everywhere, one potential scenario continues to enter their heads; Liverpool get 95 points and still lose the title because City get, say, 98 points. This is very much a possibility.
However, this will not mean that Jurgen Klopp has ‘failed’ or that this Liverpool side have ‘bottled’ it. Far from it. That’s why it is important that Liverpool fans enjoy the ride and do not simply focus on the end result.
Because the end result is far from certain.
It is absolutely relentless. The margin for error is negligible. The pressure is extreme. And the quality on show is frankly ridiculous.
But if you’re Liverpool you have to triumph against all these forces. And then there’s the small matter of winning more games than Manchester City.
All the best.
The Half-Spaces 