Man City is restoring its status.

Club football has entered its final break of the year, making way for FIFA Days. Following this break will be a period of intense activity in the Premier League. Manchester City have managed to regain their best form just before this crucial period.

BACK IN A DIFFERENT STYLE

Liverpool and Arsenal have been constant topics of discussion since the start of the Premier League season, but right now, the most noteworthy team is Manchester City (Man City). They have consolidated their second place position and narrowed the gap with league leaders Arsenal to just four points. More importantly, Man City achieved this by beating Liverpool 3-0 in Round 11, thus confirming a related issue: Liverpool's hopes of challenging for the top spot are now clear. The title race is now defined, with only Arsenal and Man City remaining significant contenders. With a gap of only four points, the positions could change in the near future.

A new feature of Man City this season is their highly varied tactical approach. Previously, tactics were a major weakness, as Pep Guardiola's coaching philosophy meant the team was never tactically flexible. This season, Pep seems like a different person. Man City holds possession less, uses more long passes, and is ready to "park the bus" when needed. One-two passing combinations or building play from the back are concepts that have become obsolete, although Man City are now capable of playing that style of football.

Man City moved up to second place, now just four points behind Arsenal.

Photo: AFP

In Man City's recent important matches, manager Guardiola's tactical imprint has been quite evident, and more notably, it has been consistent. Man City have consistently won convincingly in those matches: 3-0 against Man United, 3-0 against Liverpool, 3-1 against Bournemouth (when Bournemouth were second in their group)... In the Champions League, Man City are unbeaten, currently sitting in 4th place despite a tough schedule (facing Napoli, Monaco, Villarreal, and Borussia Dortmund in their first four matches). This is also a far cry from last season, when Guardiola's team only made it to the play-offs after the group stage and were eliminated from the knockout phase.

THE STORY OF RODRI FALLS INTO FORGOTTEN

Last season, everyone thought Man City were falling apart because they couldn't fill the void left by Rodri, who was sidelined by long-term injuries... Before Rodri, there was Kevin De Bruyne. Guardiola's system-oriented playing style easily collapses when a crucial link is missing. That's the root cause of the major changes at Man City now. The current characteristic: Man City doesn't limit itself to any particular playing style, nor does it depend on any single star player.

When talking about Man City, you have to talk about Erling Haaland. But even though Haaland scored the first goal, he wasn't the best player in the recent 3-0 win against Liverpool. From the simple feelings of television viewers to the high-level analysis of experts, everyone unanimously agrees that Jeremy Doku was the best player. Before that, at times, Man City's star was Nico O'Reilly, at other times it was Tijjani Reijnders. Phil Foden also made a successful comeback after a period of poor form.

It was once argued that Rayan Cherki was the most important star at Man City this season, after he assisted two goals for Haaland in the win against Bournemouth. On one hand, this was due to their understanding and chemistry, as well as their creativity and exceptional sense of timing in moments when Cherki delivered passes that immediately created scoring opportunities for Haaland. On the other hand, Cherki needed Haaland up front, just as Haaland needed Cherki behind him. Yet, Cherki was only on the bench, and Haaland still scored in the subsequent win against Dortmund. And just when commentators questioned Cherki's ability based on the fact that he wasn't in the starting lineup, Cherki came on and sealed the 4-1 victory for Man City!

And so, Man City quietly reclaimed their position, and it seems everyone has completely forgotten that their midfield leader Rodri is still absent due to injury. Will Man City be even stronger when Rodri returns?

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/man-city-dang-khoi-phuc-dia-vi-18525111122263271.htm