Pep Guardiola chose the wrong personnel against Tottenham Hotspur Sunday. It’s time for a new approach from the Manchester City manager that features Leroy Sane.
Playing for 90
If it wasn’t obvious how valuable Kevin De Bruyne is to Manchester City, it should be after last week. Without him, Pep Guardiola‘s men looked mortal against Celtic; against Tottenham Hotspur, the extent of their mortality was fully realized in a humbling 2-0 defeat.
The truth is De Bruyne is the club’s lone No. 10. No one else can play it. No, not even David Silva, as he lacks both the goalscoring and dribbling the Belgian boasts. No matter whether its counterattacking or in build-up play, City is just much more dangerous when De Bruyne’s on the pitch.
Additionally, his defensive work rate when it comes to winning the ball back in the midfield has been excellent this season. In the derby, Manchester United rarely got the ball into City’s territory for most of the first half thanks to his efforts. He also was a ball hound against Bournemouth.
Simply, City’s is a higher caliber side on both sides of the ball with De Bruyne rather than without him. Luckily, there’s a promising young stopgap to alleviate these issues, and his name is Leroy Sane.
It’s long overdue to see what he gives City in a starting role. Put him in for Nolito opposite Raheem Sterling, who’s in excellent form. Not only is he a goalscoring threat from distance, Sane is a handful when taking defenders on — go ask Luke Shaw in the second half of the derby.
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It was after the debuting 20-year-old’s introduction that the match again tipped in City’s favor. Fernando was brought on to bolster the central midfield. The switch was a tactical success largely due to the attention Sane was drawing on the flank. United’s midfielders moved further right to aid the embattled Shaw as he contended with the shifty winger, granting room for City to regain control of the field’s central corridor.
As De Bruyne is not expected to return from injury until the end of the month, Guardiola should aim to replicate these tactics with his team selection for the showdown against Everton on Oct. 15. Both Sane and Sterling, with their pace on the ball, are potentially deadly on the counter attack. Sane gives City two wing players, not only one, to run at defenses and take players on in 1 v 1 situations. That ability attracts other bodies to contain penetration in the final third.
Some of these reinforcements are likely to come from the middle, freeing Silva, Ilkay Gundogan, Fernandinho or whomever to dictate the game for City. They are now more difficult to man-mark and harder to press. In other words, Sterling and Sane would stretch the field, playing on opposite sides of it. More width means more space and translates into increased verticality for the creation of chances.
There’s also a defensive incentive to compensate for the lack of De Bruyne’s ball-winning. If Silva and company have more room, they’re likely to have possession for longer periods. The greater the possession, the less likely the likes of Aleksandar Kolarov or Pablo Zabaleta will gift goalscoring opportunities. Hooray for that!
So I’m pushing #deployleroy. Jesus Navas needs to be sacrificed. Nolito’s about to hit the big “Three-O” this month and probably doesn’t have the legs to play both matches against Barcelona midweek and Southampton in the weekend’s domestic fixture. Sane should start in at least one of those matches, and in my mind, the tie also with Everton. Sans De Bruyne, the Blues need more aggressive creativity of the kind the ginger provides. Despite Nolito’s great start at City, that’s not him but Sane.
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Give him the nod, Pep. Minus well — the club shelled out £37 million plus add-ons for him. It’s time to see what the young German can do.