What do you mean, it was a bit like the Lyon game?
Nurse, NURSE!
A surreal 10-minute period briefly threatened to turn Manchester CIty’s Boxing Day party against Leicester City into an almighty hangover, as a 4-0 lead was slashed to 4-3.
Afterwards, Pep Guardiola said he felt the match tapped into English football tradition.
“A rollercoaster,” he observed. “It was a typical Boxing Day game, lots of goals. It was entertaining for everyone.”
But, while the eventual 6-3 scoreline looked like it belonged on the famous 1963 Boxing Day results list, events early in the second half recalled struggles of the far more recent past for City.
Leicester’s revival was inspired by Brendan Rodgers switching to a back five, having seen the Premier League leaders cut through his first-half 4-3-3 at will.
Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez rampaged down the flanks before the break but were becalmed as Leicester were able to match up against City’s five-pronged attack.
What happened closer to the centre of the field ended up being even more significant.
Fernandinho set up Kevin De Bruyne’s opener and played with an authority that bellied concerns about his advancing years up until the midway point. Joao Cancelo and Oleksandr Zinchenko each tucked in from full-back - always available to take the ball and keen to pass through Leicester’s lines.
Rodgers’ switch meant Leicester had a narrow midfield four in front of their defence after the break. This snared up the Blues’ previously slick midfield passing and gave the visitors numbers to capitalise - as evidenced when Ilkay Gundogan was bundled out of possession and Leicester streamed forward for their second goal.
It was a very similar tactic to the one employed by Lyon when they dealt City a chastening 3-1 defeat in the 2020 Champions League quarter-final.
Guardiola was so concerned about his team’s susceptibility on that day that he switched his normal formation to match the Ligue 1 side in a 5-3-2, but the results were awful as City lacked almost all of their usual fluency.
To an extent, it was mystifying that Rodgers did not start with five at the back given Leicester hammered City 5-2 using that formation at the start of last season as the fug of the Lyon reverse in Lisbon lingered.
Guardiola’s success in doubling down on City’s basic principles of play midway through last season - keeping wingers high and wide and always looking for the extra pass to methodically control matches - solved some of the problems those Lyon and Leicester matches highlighted.
On the other hand, three defeats to Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea, culminating in May’s Champions League final, showed a well-drilled 5-3-2 could still be City’s kryptonite.
City’s style under Guardiola has developed again this season, with the team looking smoother and more relentless than ever before. A dominant win at Stamford Bridge in September laid plenty of demons to rest.
The weekend provided a jarring reminder that an old weakness still remains, although it is true that Kyle Walker and Rodri being absent against a fantastically adept counter-attacking team left City more exposed than they would normally have been.
As the schedule and pandemic continue to impact teams across the league, Guardiola will not be alone in being unable to field his strongest XIs.
Opponents will have taken note of how Leicester discomforted the champions and it will be intriguing to see how City cope if presented with a similar puzzle to solve over the coming weeks.
You'll never guess what Brentford's preferred formation is...
Do teams fielding a 5-3-2 still spell big problems for Manchester City? Follow the City Is Ours editor Dom Farrell on Twitter to get involved in the discussion and give us your thoughts in the comments section below.
