Is it naïve to think City are on the way back?
- davidjwalker1
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
Updated: 9 hours ago
As Manchester City slowly begin to turnaround their worst start to a season under Pep Guardiola, there’s a whiff of optimism in the air, albeit tempered by a sense of déjà vu.
Crushing the not-so-noisy neighbours from Trafford Borough 3-0, a comfortable 2-0 win over a largely Kevin De Bruyne-less Napoli and a pragmatic piece of Pep bus parking at Arsenal to secure a 1-1 draw, made for a very rewarding week after the international break.
A 2-0 League Cup victory at Huddersfield with first team debuts aplenty for the Academy kids, followed up by the mandatory battering of Burnley (the 5-1 win meant City have won the last 10 topflight encounters by a margin of 32-3) had fans and pundits musing if City ‘were back’?
Suddenly, the back-to-back defeats at home to Spurs and away at Brighton weren’t quite as raw.
The ‘happy clappers’ feasted on the four points garnered at the expense of Amorim and Arteta – City lost the corresponding fixtures last season – and Guardiola’s gladiators were on the rise.
In a most unlike City fashion, they’d surrendered their traditional possessional superiority, with United having 55% at the Etihad and Arsenal a staggering 68% at the Emirates - but it worked.
Whereas even the Pope’s notional intervention wouldn’t make Amorim change his formations, Pep was prepared to compromise his football philosophy, if it yielded the desired outcomes.
When UEFA’s supercomputer spewed out City’s opponents for the Champions League ‘league’ stage; Napoli, Monaco, Villarreal, Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen, Real Madrid, Bodo Glimt and Galatassaray, it was all too easy to pick out Monaco away as one of the least demanding matches.
Notwithstanding their status as the second smallest sovereign state in the world (after Vatican City, home of Ruben Amorim’s noninfluencer), Monaco had only lost one of seven Champions League games against Premier League opposition, at their tiny 18,523 capacity Stade Lois II stadium.
City had fallen foul of Monaco’s star-studded ensemble comprising Mbappe, Bernardo Silva, Fabinho, Moutinho, Falcao and a certain Benjamin Mendy in 2017, losing 3-1 – crashing out on away goals - after an action packed 5-3, 1st leg win at the Etihad.
Spanish referee, Antonio Mateu Lahoz, had sparked a long-running feud with Pep after denying City a stonewall penalty.
Aguero was upended by Monaco keeper Subasic, before Lahoz rubbed salt into the wound by booking the Argentine striker for diving.
Lahoz poured oil on the fire the following year, playing a key role in City crashing out of the Champions League to Liverpool..
He disallowed a perfectly good Leroy Sane goal which would’ve given City a 2-0 lead, as they battled to redeem a 3-0 Champions League quarter final 1st leg loss at Anfield.
Guardiola rightly remonstrated with the official before Lahoz showed him a red card.
At the time the City boss remarked: “Mateu Lahoz is a special guy, he likes to be different, he likes to be special.”
Was Pep being diplomatic? Possibly. Was he being sarcastic? Definitely.
Fast forward eight years from Aguero’s non-penalty, to another Spanish referee embroiled in more penalty controversy between Monaco and City.
Step forward Jesus Gil Manzano, a man who displayed the same, ‘I’m the star of the show’, traits as Lahoz.
Having produced more cards than The Magic Circle’s AGM, he proceeded to give Monaco a free kick – after an innocuous City tackle – one that led directly to a highly contentious last-minute penalty.
Nico Gonzalez’s high boot was adjudged to have made contact with Eric Dier’s head, as the former Spurs and Bayern Munich defender stooped to nod the ball towards Donnarumma’s goal.
Any contact was minimal but Manzano – having been sent to the pitch side monitor – awarded the penalty, which was duly converted by Dier.
Guardiola’s teams generally don’t get the rub of the green in games with Spanish officials.
He refused to comment directly on Manzano but hinted at his displeasure: “I have nothing to say to Spanish referees.”
It might be a bit of a stretch, but could it have anything to do with a nationalistic political grudge against Pep – a vocal and high-profile advocate of Catalan independence?
Hard to prove, but nonetheless, worthy of consideration.
What was more easily evidenced was City maddening inability to kill off a weaker opponent and put a game to bed. The worrying woes of last season’s disastrous Champions League campaign were plain to see.
Possession, possession and more possession (71% in total) counted for nothing as City twice relinquished the lead to drop two vital points.
It could and should have been so different.
Haaland was just being Haaland as he netted a brace via a beautifully deft and athletic finish, followed by a magnificent header, conjuring up power and precision to convert O’Reilly’s lofted assist.
City would’ve sailed home had thunderous strikes from Foden and Reijnders not smashed back off the crossbar, but the trend of squandering Champions League points continued.
The performance was far superior to last season’s sh*t shows against Sporting Lisbon, Feyenoord and PSG, when one, three and two goal leads were meekly surrendered. Pre-match expectations were such that the 2-2 draw felt more like a defeat.
For those of a glass half full persuasion, it’s now six games unbeaten, Haaland’s hitting dizzying heights, Foden’s on fire, Doku’s delivering dynamite displays, and Marmoush and Cherki aren’t far off a return to first team duties.
The glass half empty merchants will cite Rodri’s rocky road to recovery – Pep doesn’t expect the Ballon d’Or winner to be back to his best until 2026 – a high line defence still susceptible to swift counterattacks and – despite Haaland’s fine form – an annoying profligacy in front of goal.
That said, a win at Brentford on Sunday would act as a timely top up for those whose glasses are already half full.
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by David Walker
‘X’ @ReadButNeverRed @djwskyblu