The most surprising result of the Premier League weekend was the defeat of Manchester City. Brentford 2-1 at Eithad Stadium surprised Pep Guardiola’s team.
A closer look at the Citizens’ first half shows that Pep Guardiola was visibly uncomfortable with the tactical positioning of his players.
The report on the ESPN Brazil broadcast stated that Haaland had his positioning changed three times before halftime due to a lack of efficiency in the final third.
In addition, Manchester City needed 30 minutes for the first shot on target. The draw in the first half came thanks to the individuality of Phil Foden, increasingly a candidate to make a difference for England in the World Cup.
However, the break was not enough for the tactical improvement in Manchester City’s performance in the second half. Bad decisions, several tackles conceded and a solid defensive system from Brentford were the elements that got in the way of the Citizens.
However, it is worth mentioning that the main factor of the game consisted of a name wrong in the list of Gareth Southgate for the World Cup: Ivan Toney, one of the biggest promises of English football, gave the correct answer to the absence in the squad of the selection. English.
With the winning goal scored in the 97th minute, Toney stole all the spotlight of the weekend in the Premier League, receiving a cross from Josh Dasilva to overcome goalkeeper Ederson without major difficulties.
Sometimes statistics do not represent the reality of a match. However, the numbers this time were faithful with the performance of both teams in this symbolic game of the weekend.
Manchester City finished in 29 opportunities and accumulated 75% of ball possession, with 622 passes exchanged and 85% of success. However, there were only six shots on target during the entire game.
On the other hand, Brentford finished 10 times, kept only 25% of the ball, exchanged 216 passes and had a negligible 56% successful passes. However, the visitors managed to hit the target more than the Citizens, with eight shots on goal.
It is worth noting that ten players who were on the field in Pep Guardiola’s team will be playing in the World Cup starting next week. In other words, inevitably some players acted below the ideal rotation seeking to avoid problems on the eve of the world cup.
Still, Pep Guardiola gained an important lesson to study during the Premier League stoppage: how to overcome solid defensive systems without needing aerial crosses, a key factor for the next fixtures from December onwards.
Meanwhile, Arsenal continues to live an excellent moment, accumulating victories and showing ways to get out of complicated situations.
For many, Manchester City remain favorites to win the Premier League due to the technical quality of the squad. However, the World Cup could cause several problems for Guardiola, and a future prognosis at this moment becomes complicated.
