Pep Guardiola prefers a small squad but injuries, departures and suspensions are hampering the champions
Guardiola has said twice in the past week that Phillips is not the man he needs “when everything has to be perfect” and yet there he was in a game that was far from under control. He tried to keep things simple but the issue was that the others around him, City’s centre-backs, were doing that too.
Maybe it is the obvious reaction to a shock defeat but perhaps this was the day that they did in fact miss’s cool head and ability to spot a pass in midfield, and Stones’ contribution in possession at the back and alongside him. “Rodri missing was a big plus,” Wolves boss Gary O’Neill said afterwards. “Rodri makes that team tick a lot better and when he’s the pivot it’s a lot more difficult to stop.”
“When they defend that well, Kovacic and Ruben have to attack the opponents’ central defenders and we didn’t do it, that is why it was more difficult,” Guardiola said, explaining his side’s big tactical issue on the day. Together, these problems meant they registered their lowest expected goals figure on the season, showing how they struggled to create chances.
Wolves defended very well, they scored with their few attempts on goal and the rare ones that City had were swatted away under the crossbar by the impressiveGuardiola’s City remain unmatched in their ability to make countless tweaks and come up with the right answers, and they have looked excellent with their new, quicker approach.Perhaps a lack of depth was not their biggest issue in a thunderous game but if there was ever a time to note it, it was this one.
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