Manchester City News: Pep Guardiola sets strict standards in defence
IF anything is in danger of being lost amid an electrifying start to the season which has seen Manchester City hit five twice, six once and now a seven, it is the performance of the defence.
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola orchestrated a huge win over Stoke
But John Stones demonstrated just how high standards have been set during this campaign when describing their failure to post an eighth consecutive clean sheet as “a sickener”.
Pep Guardiola’s side are rightly earning plaudits going forward with 29 goals after eight games, more than anyone since Everton 124 years ago.
But while victories may be built on goals scored, titles are generally built on the rock of defences and City have conceded just four, fewer than anyone bar Manchester United’s two.
Given those numbers it is no surprise that Stones insisted there was a sense of frustration among the defenders in the City dressing room after Stoke’s two goals on Saturday.
“Obviously scoring seven is massive but we conceded two which is frustrating from my point of view. We will go away and work on that because it’s been a great run of defensive play from all of us,” said Stones.
“It was a bit of an unlucky first goal which was a bit of a sickener really because we have been playing so well. As a back four and a keeper we have shown real progress.
Obviously scoring seven is massive but we conceded two which is frustrating from my point of view
Manchester City star John Stones
“That comes from hard work, simple hard work, and knowing what to work on to keep clean sheets. Up to now I think it was seven. That kind of goes under the radar but, for us defenders, people know that gives us a kind of platform to go and score and the boys up top can score.”
One criticism of Guardiola last season was that he seemed unable to construct a viable rearguard when Vincent Kompany was unavailable. But even without the Belgian this season, and after finally ditching the error-prone Claudio Bravo, he is making significant progress.
Asked for the reasons, Guardiola argued he made little distinction between defence and attack with the effectiveness of one impacting the other.
“There is a tendency to split attack and defence. But in football, you cannot,” he said. “When you attack well, you defend well, and when you defend well, you attack well.
“When you have the feeling you are going to score goals, you defend better. When you defend better in your actions, you are going to score more.
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“It’s not a coincidence. It’s difficult to find a team who have a lot of clean sheets but do not score goals. It’s so, so difficult to find it.”
Manchester City certainly have no problem scoring goals and on Saturday it is no exaggeration to state they could have reached double figures. Leroy Sane and David Silva both missed big chances, a couple of efforts grazed posts, and Jack Butland made a superb save from the peerless Kevin de Bruyne.
The goals that did go in were generally works of art with City’s patterns from 25 yards to five so intricate, all acute angles and cutbacks, that Stoke’s defenders were often literally running in the wrong direction.
De Bruyne was instrumental in four and provided direct, raking passes to assist for two – Gabriel Jesus’ second and Sane for the sixth. His pass for the latter to lay on Sterling’s opener, City’s second, was the best moment of his 66 glorious minutes on the pitch. There was also a piledriver from Fernandinho from 25 yards.
Mark Hughes’ side will not be the only ones this season to leave from the Etihad with twisted socks and severe bruising. And the former City boss had little encouragement to offer those to come.
“At the moment they’re quite devastating if they get into that rhythm of playing and movement, getting their patterns going,” he said. “It’s very difficult to keep them out.
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“Sometimes you’ve got to understand things are going completely against you and take a few blows on the ropes, rope-a-dope them a little bit and try and get the momentum to shift in the opposite direction.
“But that’s easier said than done, as we’ve obviously experienced today.”
Such a start to the season will resonate not only through England but Europe and it is to the continent that City’s attentions switch tomorrow with their toughest looking Champions League group opponents, Napoli, the visitors.
After describing them as one of the three best attacking sides in Europe, Guardiola said he intended to go through the threat they pose with his players today and insisted there was no danger of over-confidence from his side.
“That isn’t going to happen,” he said. “I will show them, like I showed them Shakhtar Donetsk, how good they are.”
If they are doing the same in Naples, it will have made uncomfortable viewing.
GETTY
Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne was impressive against Stoke
MAN CITY (4-1-2-3) Ederson 5; Walker 7, Stones 8, Otamendi 7, Delph 6; Fernandino 8 (Toure 73, 6); De Bruyne 10 (Gundogan 66, 7), D Silva 8; Sterling 8, Jesus 8 (B Silva 63, 7), Sane 8. Goals: Jesus 17, 55, Sterling 19, D Silva 27, Fernandinho 60, Sane 62, B Silva 79. NEXT UP: Napoli (h) tomorrow, CL.
