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MNF Extra: How Manchester City's new full-backs have improved them

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The latest MNF extra examines how Manchester City's new full-backs have improved Pep Guardiola's team.

Eyebrows were raised when Manchester City spent close to £130m on full-backs in the summer. At £50m and £49.2m respectively, Kyle Walker and Benjamin Mendy became the two most expensive defenders in history. A further £26.9m went on Danilo from Real Madrid.

The expenditure was unprecedented but for Pep Guardiola it was a necessary overhaul. Pablo Zabaleta, Bacary Sagna, Aleksandar Kolarov and Gael Clichy had served City well but at the ages of 32 and over, it was no secret that their best days were behind them. As Guardiola targeted trophies in his second season, there was an obvious need to freshen things up.

Manchester City offloaded defenders Gael Clichy, Bacary Sagna and Aleksandar Kolarov in the summer
Image: Manchester City offloaded defenders Gael Clichy, Bacary Sagna and Aleksandar Kolarov in the summer, in addition to Pablo Zabaleta (not pictured)

"The full-backs were a big issue, not because of their quality, just because of their age," says Jamie Carragher. "If you're a Pep Guardiola full-back you've got to be able to run up and down the line, you've got to be attacking at one end and defending at the other. It's high-intensity football, winning the ball back quickly.

"Zabaleta, Sagna, Kolarov and Clichy were all the wrong side of 30, and in the modern day game you will see very few full-backs of that age at the top level. Dani Alves is one, but he is an absolute freak of nature, maybe one of the best of all time in the position. So it's not a position that lends itself to someone in their 30s. It had to be changed."

Guardiola admitted his full-backs didn't have the legs to go "up and down, up and down" after City's 0-0 draw with Manchester United in April, but the new trio - together with makeshift left-back Fabian Delph - are all 27 or under and have not been found wanting for intensity. Premier League tracking data shows City's full-backs are averaging 67 sprints per 90 minutes compared to 52 last season.

SPRINTS

They are more involved in City's build-up play, too. According to Opta, Walker, Danilo and Delph are touching the ball more than 90 times per 90 minutes this season. It is another big increase on last year, when none of City's full-backs averaged more than 86 touches per 90 minutes.

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TOUCHES

The benefits are obvious. With their full-backs dominating the flanks, City are beginning to look like a Pep Guardiola team. Their record-breaking start has yielded 28 points from a possible 30 and they have smashed 35 goals. Walker, Mendy, Danilo and Delph have already provided seven assists between them - four more than their predecessors managed in the whole of last season.

"Twenty or 30 years ago the full-back was seen as a position which maybe wasn't as important as others but now it can be as important as any," says Carragher. "I've played in that position. I wasn't a Pep Guardiola full-back but I realised playing there that you get so much of the ball. You are expected to create chances and score goals.

"I'm not quite sure the full-backs they have got are the quality of Dani Alves or Philip Lahm, but they are a major improvement on what they had last season. Pep has seen one of the glaring deficiencies which stopped City challenging Chelsea last season, and it looks like he has addressed it."

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 23:  Kyle Walker of Manchester City during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Crystal Palace at Etihad St

Walker has been particularly impressive. The low cross for City's third goal against West Brom last weekend was his fourth assist of the season. No defender has made more. "A lot of eyebrows were raised when he came in for that price but at the moment, in the early stages of the Premier League, he is looking well worth it," says Carragher.

City's wingers are feeling the benefits. Raheem Sterling has seven goals and two assists this season, while on the opposite flank, Leroy Sane has plundered six goals and five assists. "Their numbers are a lot healthier than they were," says Carragher. "A lot of that is down to Guardiola but it's also from having better full-backs in support of them, working with them. There's no doubt that has helped."

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While Walker has been practically ever-present at right-back, Carragher describes Delph as a "revelation" since Mendy was struck down by injury last month. The midfielder shone when he was drafted into the unfamiliar position in the 1-0 win at Chelsea at the end of September and he hasn't looked back since.

"City's full-backs sometimes tuck in and play like midfielders so maybe it wasn't as big a change for him as it might have been under a different manager," says Carragher. "It will be interesting to see if he can continue at his current level, especially with the games coming thick and fast, but City also have Danilo there and you wouldn't be surprised if Guardiola pulled out another surprise either."

City are now well-stocked in a position that used to be problematic. Their summer spending may have been questioned at the time, but three months into the season and it already makes sense. "You've got to be able to tick a lot of boxes if you want to be a full-back at the top level, especially under Pep Guardiola," says Carragher. "To get that, you have to spend some money."

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