In the middle of the season, due to the team's excellent performance, the Premier League title race seems to have become a "one-man show" for Manchester City. However, due to the slight fluctuation of the team's competitive status, coupled with The strong recovery of Liverpool's state, the gap between the two teams has been narrowed, and the championship competition has re-entered the "two strong competition" mode. From the analysis of the situation in the standings, although Guardiola's team has a 6-point lead, they have one more game than their opponents, and if the worst result is expected, then their lead is actually only one game, that is, 3 points. In the league sprint, both sides need to take care of European competitions, and this point difference makes the championship competition this season still have enough suspense.
From the perspective of the team's tactical style, Manchester City's tactics this season are unique in the league. With many teams using a three-back system, Guardiola still sticks to the traditional four-back formation. His research on this tactical system has indeed reached the point of pure fire, and the operation of the three lines is very smooth, ensuring that the players at both ends of the attack and defense can play their best role. Therefore, even if some of the main players are absent due to injuries or because of poor form, the overall strength of the team will not be significantly weakened. Moreover, since there is no center with the starting strength in the team, Guardiola's system pursues flexible and rapid rotation positions, and can also maximize the "life" of the attack in the front court, disrupt the opponent's defensive system, and thus make up for the shortcomings in the front line.
From the perspective of player performance, De Bruyne is obviously the "eye" of Guardiola's lineup. Although he is in his thirties, the Belgium international has proved with his outstanding performances this season that he is still one of the top five midfielders in Europe's top five leagues. In terms of offensive scheduling, he has a very high ball quotient, has a significantly higher reading ability than other players, has a very good decision on the field, and has a very good passing ability as a guarantee, which makes De Bruyne the last offensive player opponents are willing to face. In addition, in terms of defense, De Bruyne also did quite well, especially when the team switched from attack to defense, De Bruyne and his forward teammates were able to quickly arrange the first line of defense in the front, to maximize the opponent's offensive rhythm, slow down their advance speed, and buy enough time for the midfield players to set up a defensive formation.
If the opponent successfully breaks through the first line of defence, City's forward liners will not give up, they will quickly retreat to the middle line and organize a second line with the rest of the midfield. On the defensive line of midfield, the likelihood of successfully regaining the ball increases significantly as the team's defensive players are more densely packed. Judging by City's performance this season, many of their threatening attacks are secondary counterattacks formed on the spot after intercepting the opponent's attack in midfield. When the ball is successfully obtained, De Bruyne's role will quickly change and become the "starting point" of the team's attack. If the opponent's offensive to defensive changes are not done in place, de Bruyne's excellent passing ability is likely to directly threaten the opponent's goal. From this point of view, De Bruyne's role at both ends of the team's attack and defense is irreplaceable. This is perhaps the main reason why Guardiola values him so much.
However, while de Bruyne's midfield attackers have played well enough to ensure that the team has made great progress in all competitions this season, the team's shortcomings in the center position are indeed an unavoidable problem. If the team can't solve this problem, then they may still lose in the key game, which is undoubtedly a situation that the whole team is unwilling to face. Judging from the current situation, top scorers such as Haaland, Kane and even Levan are on the player's reinforcement list, but there is no substantial progress. City need to improve the efficiency of transfer operations so as not to let other teams get ahead of the curve. However, in the winger position, Manchester City has already gained a lot. According to transfer expert Romano, Manchester City have confirmed the signing of an 18-year-old Brazilian talented winger named Savigno. The potential of this young player from Atlético Mineiro is outstanding. It is reported that Manchester City paid him a transfer fee of 6.5 million euros, as well as some floating terms based on the performance of the players.
However, signing Savigno is more of a reserve for the future of the team, and they also need to sign some players who are ready to play. According to French media, The 40 million euros Tilaimans has received a lot of attention from strong teams, of which Manchester City is one of the most active. For Manchester City, if they can sign Tillemans, the player's excellent organizational strategy and scoring ability are expected to "seamlessly connect" with the team's tactical system. (The picture comes from the Internet, if there is infringement, please contact to delete)