Man City is quietly rebuilding.

Last season, Man City played friendly matches against Celtic, AC Milan, Barcelona, and Chelsea before the FA Community Shield match against Manchester United. This summer, Man City will not play any friendly matches, only an internal training match against their "sister" team (owned by the same owner) Palermo in Italy's Serie B (on August 9th). Why?

Man.City âm thầm làm lại- Ảnh 1. — Waiting for Man. City *(center)* to show their potential in the new season.

Manager Guardiola said he had to try not to think about Manchester City's pre-season preparations because if he did, he would... go crazy! He wanted the whole team to rest as much as possible. He said: "Every game we can rest is good, every week we rest is good. Maybe in a few months, you'll ask, and I'll answer that we're exhausted. We've fallen into disaster. The FIFA Club World Cup ruined us. In short, I... don't know what the situation will be like."

In fact, the 2025 Club World Cup is a tournament that Man City desperately wants to conquer, to redeem themselves after a trophyless season. They were the only team to win all their group stage matches, but surprisingly lost to Al-Hilal in the first knockout round. And Man City has been almost completely silent since leaving the Club World Cup.

For a team considered a "super club" like Man. City to spend only around £150 million on just five new players in the transfer market is rather meager. None of the deals reached £50 million. Tijjani Reijnders (from AC Milan) was the only new player whose transfer fee exceeded £35 million. Everyone knows that summer transfers are always more exciting and of higher quality than winter transfers. Yet this summer, Man. City only spent about half of what they spent in the middle of last season.

Of course, their quiet demeanor doesn't mean Man City aren't actively preparing for the new season. On the surface, it's quite clear that manager Guardiola's plan to reclaim glory prioritizes strengthening the defense. Including the mid-season transfer window until this summer, Man City have added one goalkeeper (James Trafford, for £31 million – a considerable sum), three central midfielders, and five defenders. Conversely, they've only brought in two new faces in attack: striker Omar Marmoush and right winger Rayan Cherki.

Considering both the quantity and quality of shots on goal, statistics show that the defense is the most obvious "Achilles' heel" that Man City needs to improve in the upcoming season. In fact, Guardiola doesn't need to make any signings. The return of defensive midfielder Rodri, in theory, is worth as much as a "blockbuster" signing. With Reijnders and Rayan Cherki playing alongside Rodri, and Rayan Ait-Nouri at left-back, Man City already has almost half a completely new squad compared to last season.

Commentators are eagerly awaiting to see Cherki (21 years old, £34 million, from Lyon) as a noteworthy new star in the Premier League. But perhaps the individual most anticipated at Man. City next season is... manager Guardiola. After seven consecutive seasons of winning trophies, Man. City failed in every competition last season (excluding the Super Cup).

Coach Guardiola is under immense pressure ahead of this season. From Arsenal's Wenger to Jose Mourinho, every coaching legend eventually reaches the end of their career. Next up will be Guardiola, after nearly 20 years of illustrious coaching? It's time for observers to prepare for a thorough analysis.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/mancity-am-tham-lam-lai-185250807222534326.htm