Manchester City’s Defence – Improvement Needed

Manchester City’s convincing 4-0 victory over Bournemouth on Saturday was the perfect build-up to the encounter with Paris Saint Germain in midweek. Pressure had been mounting on Manuel Pellegrini’s men, with a poor run of form extending to six months and West Ham’s impressive results combining to make Champions League qualification uncertain.

A dominant display, therefore, was just what was needed. City were back to their free-flowing, exciting best, with Kevin De Back playing a starring role on his return from injury. Does that mean everything is rosy as we draw to the end of the season? Well, not quite.

Ahead of Pep Guardiola’s arrival, there are many areas of the squad to assess. Primary amongst them is the defence. For all the talk this season of City’s misfiring attackers and ageing midfielders, it is the vulnerability of the backline which is so concerning to supporters.

Especially at the heart of the back four, Vincent Kompany’s injury troubles have flared up with increasing frequency, Nicolas Otamendi has endured an up-and-down debut season in England, Eliaquim Mangala looks as raw and hesitant as he did last year, and Martin Demichelis’s legs have gone, simple as that.

Demichelis suffered a shaky period when he first came to Manchester, giving away a penalty and receiving a red card against Barcelona in the most high-profile match of the season. His critics painted the picture of a rash defender, someone prone to jumping into challenges and then not having the pace or athleticism to recover.

He did recover, however, and for the next eighteen months, was City’s finest and more secure centre-back. As the Blues won the Premier League in Pellegrini’s first season, Demichelis was a rock during the later part of the campaign, using all his knowhow and experience to guide the defence through games and over the finishing line. The following season he was superb again, carrying on where he left off.

This time around, though, it looks like his time at the club is coming to an end. He is slower off the mark than previously, not quite alert enough to anticipate danger and cut out attacks. A horrid performance in the Manchester derby, when he was at fault for the visitors’ goal and was then replaced early in the second half to avoid further humiliation, suggested the nadir of his City career, but then revelations broke last week of his breach of football’s betting regulations.

Demichelis was reported to have placed twelve bets on football games around the world – crucially not those involving his current club – but such an act is forbidden by the Football Association and Demichelis now faces a fine in the near future. As he was pictured on the substitutes bench at the weekend, smiling at City’s performance, it was tempting to wonder whether he had also achieved success playing casino games. In such a growing and popular market, he would not be the only one.

As it is, we now await to learn of his fate. It seems almost certain that he will move on when Guardiola arrives, but his departure will not be the only one in a defence where a major reshuffle is needed.