Closing an era of glory for Man.City

Man.City empty-handed

Last month, Crystal Palace led 2-0 at Man.City's Etihad Stadium, but lost 2-5 in the Premier League. Coach Oliver Glasner said after that match: "If we meet again, the story will be different, because I will not let Man.City repeat the way they played in that match." Now, Crystal Palace "only" leads by 1 goal, but that is enough for this team to win the first important title in its 119-year history. Although the opening goal came quite early (minute 16), Man.City still could not change the situation for the rest of the time.

Man.City empty-handed in 2024 - 2025 season

PHOTO: REUTERS

Playing according to philosophy is a very elaborate way of playing, requiring a lot of time to perfect, and when it is smooth, it is a very stable style of play. Coach Guardiola's philosophy is almost immutable. And Man.City's style of play is very difficult to change, in a flexible way to deal with different situations, opponents, and requirements. Coach Glasner boldly declared that if they met again, his team would win, precisely because of this. And, it is true that Crystal Palace won in an extremely important match for both sides, even historic.

Man.City have lost the Premier League title to Liverpool this season. They were eliminated from the Champions League before the knockout stages began. They lost to Tottenham in the last 16 of the League Cup. Now they are in the FA Cup final, hoping to avoid a trophyless season. In the end, Man.City still lost to a team that finished in the bottom half of the Premier League and has never lifted a trophy (Crystal Palace's win also meant they qualified for one of Europe's major competitions for the first time).

The FA Cup final was not only a match that confirmed Man.City's "blank" defeat of the entire season, but it was also a typical defeat. On the one hand, coach Glasner said in advance that he had a way to neutralize the opponent, as mentioned. On the other hand, Guardiola - a coach who has never been famous for his ability to adjust himself - also had his own failure. He completely abandoned midfielder Mateo Kovacic, putting the pair Kevin de Bruyne - Bernardo Silva in the midfield, even though both are attacking midfielders with low defensive skills.

Crystal Palace struck directly in the middle to score, with Eberechi Eze wide open. Then Crystal Palace pressed hard in the middle of the pitch. The 1-0 scoreline became solid. Crystal Palace's path to the final consisted of 4 clean sheets (this was the 5th match), and only 1 goal conceded in the remaining match. Man.City's path to the final consisted of 17 goals in 5 matches. Man.City are used to playing to score more goals, after taking the lead. They are not used to playing to... equalize.

"Self-adjustment", both during the match and throughout the season, has always been a weakness of coach Guardiola. Let me repeat: Man.City failed all season, on all fronts. Mr. Guardiola bought 6 more players, with a total cost of up to 180 million pounds in the "winter window". But he could only use Omar Marmoush in the FA Cup final. And Marmoush was the player who missed the penalty for Man.City.

An old, unchangeable Man.City seems to have ended an era of glory.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/khep-lai-ca-mot-ky-nguyen-vinh-quang-cua-mancity-185250518224556877.htm