Manchester City returned to winning ways after their draw against Spurs with a deserved 3:1 victory away at Bournemouth in the Premier League.
This was one of those games which Manchester City were expected to win having never lost to a Bournemouth team. But there are games against Bournemouth which are still seared in the collective memory.
I remember the madness of the 3:3 draw back in 1989 and the disbelief which permeated the Kippax stand around me as we watched our promotion hopes seemingly swept away. I also remember the red card Kevin Horlock received for “aggressive walking” back in 1999! Just imagine if VAR got hold of that!
The point I am making is that despite this being a game City would be expected to win there is enough history in the fixture to suggest the unexpected can turn up. We also remember how in some of our previous title defending recent seasons we have seemed to struggle to raise our game in exactly these kind of circumstances.
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So City raising their game to claim a victory despite a slightly sloppy at times performance is important. So what three things did we learn from this victory?
Battling
There is an important aspect of a title winning top side which can be often overlooked in the shadows of the shinier things like stunning goals – and that is the ability to weather a storm and come out on top.
Against Bournemouth in the early stages of the second half, City lost control of the game but importantly wrestled it back. Guardiola could see the issue and replaced Gundogan for Rodri and control was reasserted.
Battling when the game is lurching away from you is an important attribute and characteristic which sets us well on course for the season ahead.
De Bruyne is Racehorse
The thing about racehorses is the very best ones have to be exactly in the moment to produce their peak form. They have to arrive at the race in peak condition, the conditions have to be perfect and the horse has to be focussed and keen.
Against Bournemouth De Bruyne was a little off the pace of the game. Some of his passing and movement was just a little off and his running became awkward and at times towards the end of the game almost ungainly.
He looked a lot like he had a minor knock and was cushioning his movement to compensate. That is the thing with a racehorse – just a little off and performance drops. Hopefully De Bruyne will be able to achieve that against Brighton in our next game.
Our Fullbacks Remain An Issue
In the positional play of Guardiola the fullback is often the key to success. The fullback offers space and overlap – but also comes inside into the middle of the pitch if necessary to create an overload to press the opposition.
The role requires requisite ball playing skills, vision and stamina. Such a pivotal role is part of our the key to getting our side purring and it is no secret Guardiola has invested heavily in the position since arriving at Manchester City.
Whilst Benjamin Mendy’s injury woes have curtailed his impact and allowed Oleks Zinchenko to stake a claim, Kyle Walker has at times struggled to undertake all the aspects of the role. As a powerful and pacey full back he has few peers, but he can be prone to mistakes which can leave him isolated and at times his reading of the game and passing ability can let him down.
In the next month we hope to see Mendy back on the pitch and Joao Cancelo also deployed on the right. It will be interesting to see what this brings to our team as against Bournemouth there were still issues at full back.
As the fixture calendar hots up we will need to utilise our full squad and it will be important for Guardiola to have tactical changes available which can be deployed against specific opponents. There are interesting times ahead.