Former England centre-back Rio Ferdinand was left perplexed by Manchester City‘s tactical approach in their Champions League quarter-final.
A 3-1 defeat to Lyon saw the Etihad club exit earlier than they had hoped for, after Pep Guardiola opted to switch from the team’s usual 4-3-3 variation to a 3-5-2, essentially matching up with Lyon.
But the change cost City some creativity in the final third and didn’t particularly help them out defensively either, and Ferdinand says even aside from the starting system, Guardiola misjudged his bench, too.
“Every game since the restart in the Champions League the subs have had an impact, it’s so important now with the depth of your squad,” he said on BT Sport.
“He’s going to have to look at himself for his selection and how he changes his formation.
“The most creative players were off the pitch and they looked much better when [Riyad] Mahrez came on.”
City got themselves back on level terms in the second half through Kevin de Bruyne, but conceded twice on the counter-attack in the latter stages to crash out.
Ferdinand pointed to a lack of adaptability in the game as being costly and says City will have to undergo an internal assessment of sorts to determine how they progress from this point.
“The high line was suicidal, it was the crux of their downfall. Indecision and naivety.
“This will definitely hang over them, they’ve got soul searching to do. They’ll dust themselves down and they have to go again.”
