Coach Pep Guardiola's talent in commanding the players raised their level, helping Man City win 12 consecutive matches to win the 2022-2023 Premier League.
Captain Ilkay Gundogan lifts the 2022-2023 Premier League trophy at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester on May 21. Photo: Reuters
Arsenal have "shot themselves in the foot" in the race for the 2022-2023 Premier League title, having drawn or lost six of their last eight games. In the previous 29 games, the "Gunners" had only dropped points in six. However, according to goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, his team missed out on the title because of Man City's lightning-fast sprint.
By round 24, Man City had never won more than three consecutive matches in the Premier League. But since then, Pep Guardiola's team has created a 12-match winning streak, earning 36 points, to take the lead and win the championship.
In the same period, Arsenal only won 21 points, 15 points less than Man City. But the results of Mikel Arteta's team are not necessarily disastrous, because Napoli only achieved the same number of points as Arsenal in the same period. The problem is that in Serie A, no team has shortened the gap with Napoli. Bayern, PSG or Barca also did not win more than 27 points during this time. That shows that Man City's sprint speed is on another level in the final stage of the season .
For more than three months in 2023, Arsenal were still eight points ahead of Man City. However, while the Manchester club won all, Arsenal drew three consecutive matches against Liverpool, West Ham and Southampton. Man City took advantage of their opponents' mistakes to take control, and made no mistakes.
There are many factors that have contributed to Man City's success . First is the performance beyond expectations of players like Nathan Ake, Manuel Akanji, Rico Lewis and Jack Grealish. Man City once had a difficult time when defender Joao Cancelo "rebelled" and wanted to leave, but young defender Lewis and then Ake played well in this position. Akanji also took the starting position of the declining center-back Aymeric Laporte.
Grealish has also been a bright spot for Man City this season, scoring an average of 7.33 points per game according to Whoscored , behind only Kevin de Bruyne and Erling Haaland. He has also secured his starting position, as Phil Foden has struggled with injuries and form after the first few rounds. With five goals and seven assists, Grealish has doubled his goal contribution compared to last season.
Midfielder Jack Grealish (left) in Man City's 4-0 win over Real in the second leg of the Champions League semi-finals on May 17, 2023, also at the Etihad Stadium. Photo: Reuters
Several City players have also improved in the latter stages of the season. Defender Kyle Walker has reclaimed his starting place after being on the bench for much of the first half. Midfielder Ilkay Gundogan has been involved in eight goals in his last 12 games, double his tally in his previous 18.
Of course, the consistent performance of stars like Haaland, De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Rodri cannot be denied. Haaland has broken the Premier League scoring record, with 36 goals in 34 matches. De Bruyne is the best passer in the league with 16 assists. Silva takes on many positions in each match, or each moment of the match. And Rodri not only plays the most minutes for Man City after goalkeeper Ederson, but also ranks first in the league in terms of passes and dribbles.
Rodri's 2022-23 season stats, with heatmap (left), passes by zone (middle) and defensive actions (right).
Rodri has been more prominent this season, despite his defensive midfield role not being given much attention. Guardiola once said that "without Rodri, Man City would not be able to do what they are doing now". "Rodri is very important for us," he added. "He is like a machine, helping the team dominate every opponent."
The most important factor for Man City is still Guardiola's talent in using players . The most obvious point is the way he uses the central defenders this season, such as promoting John Stones to play as a shuttle midfielder whenever the home team has possession. With more people in the middle, Man City increases the amount of time they have possession, averaging more than 65% per game, the highest figure in Europe this season.
Akanji or Ake is primarily a centre-back, but has also played in a variety of defensive positions. Akanji has played in all five defensive positions, while Ake has often been deployed as a left-back.
Akanji's minutes played in each position this season. Photo: Sky Sports
Guardiola also adjusted his system to suit the personnel he had. For example, in the first phase, Man City mainly played with a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 formation. But when Cancelo was no longer there, they switched to a 3-2-4-1, by pushing Stones into midfield. In the second phase, Man City played without a real left-back, because Ake would take that position.
The tactical diagram is also only relative, the important thing is that Man City's formation distance is always kept reasonable. For example, when Stones pushes up high, the remaining three defenders move closer together to prevent the risk of counter-attacks. When losing the ball, Stones also quickly pulls back to help Man City have four defenders to defend. "Man City's tactical system has changed, much different from before," Guardiola said in April 2023. "Stones has to adapt to this adjustment, but he is gradually doing better and deserves praise."
Guardiola's adjustments have helped Man City impose a better game on their opponents. They lead in most passing metrics, far ahead of their opponents in the league. For example, Man City have made approximately 800 passes of 10 or more consecutive balls, compared to only 600 for the second-placed Liverpool. The number of Man City's attacks originating from building up the ball from the back has also reached 210 times, 1.5 times higher than the second-placed Arsenal.
The highlight of Man City this season was probably the 4-0 win over reigning Champions League champions Real Madrid in the second leg of the semi-finals on May 17. In the Premier League, after securing the championship, Man City's second team was also enough to win against Chelsea in the 37th round yesterday.
From left: CEO Ferran Soriano, Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak, Guardiola and Director of Football Txiki Begiristain, at Man City's coronation ceremony on May 21. Photo: Reuters
With five Premier League titles in the last six seasons, Man City are dominating the league and showing no signs of slowing down . Their first team, U23 and U18 teams have all won the English Premier League in the last three seasons, showing that the club is being invested from the ground up. After 10 years of operation, City Football Group owns 12 clubs around the world , of which Man City is of course the most interested.
Guardiola's team still have two finals ahead to complete the treble, against Man Utd in the FA Cup on June 3, then Inter in the Champions League on June 10. If they win both matches, Man City will become the second English team after Man Utd to win three major trophies in the same season, and could be the best club in English football history.
Xuan Binh
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