#足球助力团 #
Why Manchester City's win over Fulham was one of their greatest performances
Even with only 10 men left, Manchester City can always control the situation on the pitch, constantly creating scoring chances, and even if they can't win in the end, no one will think that the opposite team is the dominant side.
That's why they were able to beat Fulham on Saturday and it will be one of the most important games at the end of the season
Haaland's 95th-minute penalty was one of their latest goals since Raheem Sterling's 96th-minute goal against Southampton in November 2017, without which there would be no 100% season that year.
Goal-outs like this always add to that excitement, especially given that Joao Cancelo was sent off early in the game and Manchester City played with 10 men for 70 minutes.
If you turn on the TV after half-time to watch the game, you probably won't even see that there are only 10 people on the pitch at Manchester City – they have 73% of the possession and 71% of the full range of possessions in the first half.
A similar situation has happened in three of the last four games in which they received a red card, including against Aston Villa in April 2021 and against Crystal Palace last season. Manchester City fans may even remember how Pep Guardiola's Bayern Munich battled City with one less man in 2014 – only Sergio Aguero ended up leaving them speechless with a belated hat-trick.
The opposing team's approach is very important, though: teams usually stick to their game plans, even if there is an extra man against Manchester City, which usually requires sitting down and waiting for a counter-attack.
Fulham manager Marco Silva has shed light on his team's thinking.
"We know it's not going to affect them much on the ball because they're capable," he said. "Of course, if we show more ball control and bravery, it could be tough for them and I don't think we're doing it with enough quality.
"Be a little braver when you get the ball, it could be different," he continued. 'We're talking about a team that's in the league, scoring more than four goals per game on average at home, and we know what they are capable of.
So Fulham had a factor that wasn't pushing as much as other teams, perhaps fearing what City would do to them.
However, last season Crystal Palace stuck to their approach and – in the end – did well. When Laporte was sent off, they were already 1-0 up but had to get through after half-time as City's performance was very similar to last Saturday's. They still controlled possession, fought for chances and had a blown equaliser, City were more direct, but Crystal Palace were a threat in defence – they were more capable than Fulham – which culminated in Gallagher's second half-time goal.
This result proves how difficult these games are: there is always danger. As with scoring goals yourself, one of the biggest challenges is not letting the opponent score
On Saturday, it was a crucial part of City's victory.
'We finished the game at the right pace,' Guardiola said. "In a 10-on-11 situation, you can't just think about playing fast, you shouldn't take the initiative to increase the tempo because the opposing side has more people, they can always play faster than you, their passes are always faster than people.
"I think Bernardo [Silva], (Ilkay) Gundogan, Manu (Akanji), everyone in the middle of the road knows this intuitively, they know exactly where they should be, if they don't have a guarantee to attack, just pass it back, we can attack again with the ball. Let the team recover once before you strike, and when you feel the opportunity is coming, go on.
'It can happen at any time [to find new chances] because we have possession for a long time, we can't attack so fast, we can't just think about speed, we have to wait for the right moment.'
De Bruyne added: "You need to find your moment, you can attack without reservation when [11 guys are there], but it's hard if you don't have the numerical advantage. ”
Overall, Manchester City must be patient or the counter-attack could kill them. They are more patient with Fulham than with Crystal Palace.
Their tactical approach on Saturday paid off thanks to last-minute penalties, but they excelled regardless of win or draw. Although the team didn't create many chances, they were excellent tactically – staying in control – and excelled individually.
After the red card, Manchester City's squad completed a flexible change without substitution, as a central defender, Nathan Acker soon changed to a left-back position to attack the outside line, John Stones played right back, and more appeared on the inside as half a back. Bernardo dropped from the winger position to midfield to play alongside Gundogan while defender Rodri moved to central defence.
Essentially, the aim is to have people in place both up front and back, but it's not easy to keep the overall formation compact.
Pep Guardiola changed tactics several times in the second half, constantly trying new things and correcting them if they didn't work. Sometimes three defenders, sometimes four, sometimes Gundogan joins the striker, sometimes keeps retreating and does not attack.
"After the red card, they made a decision at certain moments, almost in a person-to-man way without the ball, they have that ability and the physicality to do it well," Marco Silva stressed.
Pep Guardiola also pointed this out. 'We talked about trying to keep a high position when their goalkeeper is in possession of the ball, or even one less player. It's a brave but necessary approach because, as De Bruyne says, "it's hard because you can't put pressure on one less person".
Last weekend, Leicester manager Brendan Brendan said of City: "If you use a four-man defence at the back, City will have five [forwards]. If you decide to use five defenders, they will try to field six strikers there. ”
Manchester City may be one less man, but there are still five strikers in tandem at times, with Kevin De Bruyne and Jake Grealish stretching out plenty of breadth while still being flexible to play different roles at all times.
They can also use Haaland and Phil Foden's individual abilities to help change the game. The changes may herald a more direct approach, but Pep Guardiola's men remain patient enough to keep the situation under control.
The players are smart enough to do it, and in fact, the tough game of the game produced some of the most impressive individual performances that these top players have ever put in.
Guardiola unanimously raised this point. 'We were patient and tried not to concede the ball, of course they had some counter-attacks in the final moments, but you look at John [Stones's] defence, he's not a natural full-back, but he's playing great, like Bernardo, Rodri, everybody.'
This may seem like an exaggeration for those who have never seen a game, even for those who have seen it, but there are some historic performances on the pitch over the weekend. "Bernardo, Gundogan, Rodri, especially Kevin, they were all great today," Guardiola said.
These four people are amazing. When Marco Silva talks about City's one-on-one physicality, it is largely thanks to the foursome, who have compensated for the disadvantage in numbers with incredible efficiency.
Pep Guardiola said the players were exhausted when beating Brighton two weeks ago, they didn't even have the strength to look at their phones in the dressing room. After that, they may have a full week off before they can continue playing.
Rodri and Bernardo shuttled back and forth between midfield and centre-back, whether they had to win the ball back or pass it out. "Rodri helped us do this double job, being a point midfielder and centre-back," Guardiola said, as you can see in the example below. Gundogan had to break into the striker to help while sitting in midfield, and Kevin De Bruyne was everywhere.
It was one of Kevin as one of the best performances as a Manchester City player, and the hard work he put in and anything else he did on the pitch was enough to prove it
Once, without even raising his head, he completed an overtaking pass directly on the left sideline, brought the ball to the touchline, and finally kicked a beautiful cross with his reverse left foot to secure a header for Haaland, but the Norwegian was offside. Of course, he also won the winning penalty in the end.
"Today he put the team on his shoulders," Guardiola said.
"Everyone is brilliant," he added proudly after having his players circle the pitch.
He enjoyed that, and he had every reason to do so.