Understanding the gaping hole in the Manchester City ranks
While Manchester City slumped to a 2-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain for the first time in their history; an already existing problem in the City ranks made sure to make its presence known.
City have a gaping hole in their attack and despite boasting of a squad filled with some of the biggest names in the circuit, the attacking threat that the defending Premier League champions once posed is no longer there.
City club legend and record goal-scorer Sergio Aguero left the club this past summer in favor of Barcelona. This meant that the Sky Blues lost their only recognized number nine. Gabriel Jesus is currently the only recognized number nine in the line-up but the Brazilian has himself admitted that he sees himself more as a winger than an out and out striker.
Problems are aplenty for Pep Guardiola in the final third. In the game against Paris Saint-Germain, City had absolutely no chance when it came to chance creation but when it came to putting the ball at the back of the net, that’s when the difficulties arose. Despite being in a good run of form, Bernardo Silva could not help but fire a simple volley against the cross-bar in a crucial moment of the game. That could’ve seen City equalize with PSG in the first half.
The game against PSG was not the only instance wherein City’s poor summer window came back to haunt them. In the League game against Southampton, City failed to register a single shot on target and that alone speaks a lot by itself.
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Finishing is an issue for City currently and the club even tried to address it in the recently concluded summer window when they tried to sign Harry Kane from Tottenham Hotspur. City made two massive bids for the English striker but Tottenham’s firm stance on not wanting to part ways with their main man meant that City failed in their pursuit of the 28-year-old.
Kane and City are a match made in heaven in many ways. The striker’s natural game style fits into Pep’s ideologies and the English skipper is not only an out and out goal-scorer but also a playmaker.
City will look to address this issue sooner or later. The Sky Blues are still in the market for a striker though it is debatable if they would return for Harry Kane, once again. In many ways, the way City’s pursuit of Kane ended was humiliating. In the midst of some massive speculation and reports indicating that Kane indeed wanted to move to City, the 28-year-old himself announced on Twitter that he would be staying in North London for the ongoing season, thus ending the hopes that the Cityzens had of landing him.
The upcoming January window once again presents with an opportunity for the Cityzens. City hardly ever engage in the winter window but the next year could see that changing. City could decide to take a gamble though.
Erling Haaland is one of the hottest prospects in European football at the moment and the Norweigan striker’s £77 million release clause gets activated next summer. City are said to be in pole position to sign the 21-year-old and the Sky Blues will want to fancy their chances of signing the rising star in Haaland.
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However, it is easier said than done. The likes of FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Manchester United, and Bayern Munich are also said to be in the race to sign Haaland and the race could very well get heated.
To cap it off, City’s problems in the final third are just starting to resurface and it will be down to Pep Guardiola to handle the situation with poise and ease. The likes of Ferran Torres and Gabriel Jesus have been used to solve the finishing issues in the final third but either of them haven’t really done enough to warrant their place in the XI for the ‘big games’.
Do you think Pep Guardiola will be successful with his ‘false 9’ tactic once again or will the former Barcelona coach pull out a new trick from his hat?