MAN CITY 1 – 3 Bayern Munich – MY THOUGHTS
3 Oct
Let’s begin with a positive; we only have to face Bayern once more in the group stage.
If not quite a humilation, last night was a lesson. And while we were woeful in parts, abject in others and second-best throughout, there should be no forgetting the quality of the opposition. Bayern were sensational, the best team I’ve seen at the Etihad by quite some way. Their comfort on the ball, the vibrancy with which they passed it, the constant whizz of movement and their intense, collective pressing were remarkable. Any praise sent in their direction is thoroughly merited. They were magnificent and are, by a distance, the best side in the competition.
All that said, City were lamentably poor. Everything about the night from a home perspective was flat. Whether on the pitch, where we were made to look like novices being taught how to play the game, or in the crowd, full of half-and-half scarves, tourists taking pictures and a non-existent atmosphere, it was depressing. It was limp. It was sluggish. It was worrying.
Tactically, the team Manuel Pellegrini selected was naive and his refusal to change matters until far too late hardly inspires confidence. He got it horribly wrong, opting to go with a loose 4-4-2 formation than meant we were overrun constantly in midfield. It’s a system that doesn’t suit us if we are looking to impose our quality on proceedings, but against a side who were so effervescent in all areas, it was painfully obvious the manager had made a mistake.
The German side’s movement, the constant interchange of positions and the manipulation of our players were so sharp that they would have caused any team problems, but we aided them thanks to such an imbalanced midfield. Yaya Touré clearly views tracking runners as a job that’s below him, Fernandinho is not a natural holding player and with two attack-minded wider players in Jesus Navas and Samir Nasri, it meant that Bayern controlled the middle, had an extra man available at all times and our strikers were isolated.
Without a top-class defensive midfielder at the club, it’s hard to know what exactly Pellegrini should have done, but the inclusion of an extra body (James Milner, or slightly more radically, Pablo Zabaleta) in the centre, as opposed to a redundant second forward, would have offered a greater degree of solidity. And perhaps it’s time to give the fit-again Jack Rodwell an opportunity. To get it wrong to start with is perhaps understandable – hindsight is, of course, a wonderful thing – but that it took until Bayern had already eased off and the game was nominally over before Pellegrini altered the system was infuriating.
Equally deflating was the manner in which we conceded the goals. Against a side of Bayern’s indubitable quality, to ship three with such sloppy, careless play was inexcusable. Joe Hart was at fault for two and questions will continue to be asked as to whether it’s time for Costel Pantilimon to feature in the Premier League, Gael Clichy completely switched off for the second, while Fernandinho’s elaborate attempt to dribble through the away side’s midfield cost us the third. It was a comedy of errors.
In terms of individual performances, it’s hard to think of anyone who improved their reputation. Collectively, we displayed such a lack of passion, nous and, in comparison to our opponents, technique, and it was only when the visitors decided to take mercy on us when they notched their third that we began to string a pass or two together. Alvaro Negredo scored a delicious goal before he headed narrowly wide and David Silva struck the woodwork with a free-kick. Had both of those chances gone in and had we somehow scraped a point, it would have been the biggest injustice since, well, Aston Villa’s robbery of victory last weekend.
As it happens, casting aside the emotion that inevitably builds after such an insipid performance, the loss doesn’t really change anything, We all expected Bayern to finish top of the group and Viktoria Plzen to be perched at the bottom, so it comes down to our results against CSKA Moscow. Take four points from those two fixtures and then defeat Plzen at home and we should progress.
On the bright side, next up in the league is a home game with Everton. And we know what a great record we have against them…
Spot on analysis. Dzeko is a super sub at best. Toure was woeful. Fernandinho totally out of his depth and just jogs around aimlessly. Too lightweight. If Rodwell is fit it’s time to get him in and to give him the chance to prove himself that has been awarded to Fernandinho. JR will give us steel & guile. I’ve not seen Navas go past anybody since the first game he had for us. Milner must also be wondering what he’s got to do to get a start? Silva back in will lift us and give us that quality we’re missing.
its really time the owners were big here,they must realise they made a massive mistake bringing in Pelligrini…for me he has no idea….he’s clueless about the Prem. his team selections are nonsensical….letting Barry go was big error….!I think the only game that saved him is the derby…if we had lost that on top of this he’d be goner!!! sooner the better for me!We had a great team before and just needed another top striker…!
Talk about calling it a bit early, Mancini’s last season was well below par of what should be expected, this guy is a proven quality coach, we need to give him a decent chance. ….To be honest i thought that were was a great effort by the players but just that Bayern are a top, top quality opposition, i think Bayern on that form could hav
e the beating of anyone in Europe. Personally i would like to see Milner start with Negrado and Aguero, or even just Negrado with an extra man in midfield. I believe though this managers attacking philosophy if we the fans and the players stick by the manager.
Yes, very much my thoughts as well on all scores. Why wait so long to change what patently wasn’t working, and that we were being overrun in midfield was apparent within minutes. I’m all for an attacking approach, but not for a totally reckless one. One striker was all we needed from the start, and a point would have been perfectly acceptable.
Worryingly clueless.
Spot on why did it take Mp so long to change things it was obviously not working after 15min. For me the jury is still out on the man but hes got to be given time. Dezko after a good start to season has gone backwards, Hart should be rested last night his confidence looked to have gone, ,Negrdo should start games we look better with him. Guess its all down to how long the owner is prepared togive MP.
Yaya , completely overhyped , yes can take a static free kick and ‘surge’ into open spaces or against tired / weak opposition but last night did nothing and has had too many games when he has done nothing , is he he really over six foot because I am yet to see him win a header and there was one shocking limp wristed attempt of a tackle on the edge of our box that had me screaming at the tv ! No passion and little pride nd seemingly un sub able , hart,s mistake will lead to a change but his poor efforts pale compared to toured litany of abject / disinterested performance over the last year , get rid and get someone with hunger , Barry going appears a poor call also and de Jong a year too soon , bayern were class though.
Yaya remains our best player, with Merlin and Vinnie. Rodwell is never fit to string more than two games together and is not the answer in midfield, he must be sold.
We lost due to poor tactics and rubbish keeping. Hart maybe the best in England, but we can buy better and I am sure we will.
I am very concerned about this season.I agree with all the comments made. There are two main concerns 1. the Manager doesn’t seem to know about tactics,his failure to strengthen the midfield was alarming! We even knew their formation Before the match! 2. there is no holding midfield player at the club apart from Rodwell. You can’t operate in either the Premiership or Europe without a holding midfield player. Beware Everton on sat. Their team looks really well balanced, good defence, midfield and attack. Lucky that Barry can’t play! I think we will struggle to win and we will need to perform a lot better.
VfaB’s analysis is pretty much spot on and well written too.
Our tactics not our players lost this game. From KO we were swamped and the old fashioned inflexible 442 ripped to shreds. The unwillingness to react to this was pig headed at best and naive at worse. Pellegrini is a very good manager/coach and has achieved a great deal with very little in the past. I am more than hopeful that he will learn the lessons we were taught big time last night and that City will be a better side for this.
We have many first class players, including the ones being slagged off today, especially Yaya, who shouldn’t be faulted for being outnumbered and over run in a mess not of his making. That would be like faulting Bowie and Crockett for the loss of the Alamo!!
I’d add that the 442 left us with two redundant strikers 90% of the time when playing a side that went with only a nominal striker and which had most of the possession. They had the numbers to swarm over our player when we gained possession but left us chasing smoke when they had it. Pep Guardiola is probably as good a coach as there has been and he has added the best of the Barca style of quick passing, slick movement free flowing, striker less attacking to the raw pace, the direct, physical, pressing style of the old BM. He’s married the best of the two best teams and styles of play and done it almost to perfection. Losing was not a disgrace, the manner of the defeat almost was. A feisty end to the game when Silva, Negredo and Milner came into the fray helped a bit to save a bit of face; not much though.
We won’t have to face that in the PL and if the lessons are learned and our players get stuck in determined to regain pride we could be all the better for it!
I like Joe Hart, I think he is a great athlete and a dedicated sportsman; he’s a first class keeper, but that doesn’t mean he is either infallible or guaranteed a starting place. I’d make this point tomorrow selecting Pantilimon to start, a very good keeper who has much better distribution than Joe and who catches the high balls better. This will inevitably shine the spotlight on Joe but he needs to buckle down and earn his place back.
Alph
I agree with most of the points highlighted but the game changer was the first goal. After that the dynamics of the competition changed completly and BM being the team they are could smell blood and went for the kill. 2-0 all over. Yaya & Fred had 2, 3, 4 players round them each time they had the ball. Vinny n Nasti had no one to actually mark as Mhuller played so deep. I know its radical but I would have pushed Nasti forward into midfield n tucked the fullbacks into a 3 with Vinnie.