Manchester City put in one of their worst home performances in a long time on Saturday when Southampton held them to a 0-0 draw at the Etihad Stadium.
The Blues were restricted to just one shot on target all game and were arguably lucky to take a solitary point from the contest.
Pep Guardiola attributed City's creative struggles to an inability to build up attacks from the back, something that has become a trademark of his side.
While the absences of certain key men like Aymeric Laporte and Rodri were partly to blame, the effectiveness of the tactical set-up employed by Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl should not be underplayed.
The German coach explained after the game that he had taken inspiration from City's 6-3 Champions League win against RB Leipzig last Wednesday and developed upon elements of what his former employers tried to do.
The pressing system utilised by Hasenhuttl is similar to those used by Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool and Thomas Tuchel at Chelsea. Worryingly, they are City's next two Premier League opponents.
This raises a question: do City struggle against a 'German' style of football?
Hasenhuttl explained that the formation Southampton used made life difficult for City.
"We did it so well during the first half. 4-2-2-2 was the shape and we did that perfectly. It works against Pep fantastically because he wants to play football. It's tough against any team that tries to play through", he said.
The formation allowed Southampton to defend compactly, but then also have plenty of passing options when they got the ball. While Chelsea, City's opponents on Saturday, play a 3-4-2-1 system under Tuchel, it produces a similar effect.
As City found out in the Champions League final back in May, Tuchel's Chelsea are similarly tough to break down and are excellent at transitioning into attacks and providing the ball carrier with passing options. It was through one such transition that Kai Havertz scored the all-important goal that ended City's hopes of glory in Porto.
Southampton were also able to disrupt City's rhythm by targeting holding midfielder Fernandinho, pressing him when in possession and cutting off the passing lanes available to him.
"We knew we had to get the front players to pressure them because Manchester City [build-up play] perfectly. When they have time, they always find the right pass.", Hasenhuttl said. "When you are brave in this area, it is tough for them. That's why they did not have any big chances, to be honest."
City have come up against similar systems in the past, particularly when facing Liverpool.
Jurgen Klopp's side have become famous for their aggressive pressing and closing down of passing options, forcing mistakes and pouncing on them to devastating effect. It was through that approach that Liverpool were able to inflict heavy defeats upon City in 2018 and 2019.
This presents City and Guardiola with a big problem.
Fernandinho looked every day of his 36 years against Southampton and, with Rodri a doubt for the trip to Chelsea, it could mean the veteran starts. While his physical attributes are understandably beginning to deteriorate with age, last weekend his decision making and passing were off too. A similar display against Chelsea's press could be curtains for City.
A solution could be to play Ilkay Gundogan as the holding midfielder.
Calm down. Don't throw your phone through the window. We know that did not go well at all in the Champions League final.
At Estadio do Dragao, Gundogan was easily bypassed by Chelsea's attackers as Kyle Walker and Oleksandr Zinchenko pressed the opposition wing-backs and left oceans of space in behind.
Walker was left in no man's land for Havertz's winner, having charged forward to press Ben Chilwell and arrived too later to prevent his England team-mate from playing a cute first-time pass to Mason Mount.
If City's full-backs press a little bit more conservatively, perhaps leaving the wide attackers to pick up Chelsea's wing-backs, then Gundogan's ability on the ball, agility and awareness could be the solution to last week's sluggish build-up.
A lot will come down to how well both Chelsea and Liverpool execute their respective game plans - Leipzig and Southampton took similar approaches, the former doing it badly and the latter doing it well.
What is undeniable, though, is that City tend to struggle against sides led by German coaches that employ intensive pressing systems. If City are to emerge unscathed from the week from hell, then Guardiola will have to find a solution.
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