Manchester City were scared off Leicester City but managed to get out unscathed.
Fans think they have nothing to worry about, maybe even Pep Guardiola.
Small wonder. Manchester City took a three-goal lead after 25 minutes and set sail in the gentle spring sun. Rivals Leicester City have languished in the relegation zone without a win since February, playing his first game under a caretaker manager and taking on the boredom and anxiety of a convicted convict I'm on the gallows. Hope is what kills you, they say, but it's also what keeps you alive and the slightest glimpse can be enough to restore confidence and inspire a last-ditch effort. to escape, to fall and swing. City walked away with all three points on Saturday, but they gave Leicester just enough hope to almost pay a heavy price.
Guardiola made a surprising squad choice by making two changes to what appeared to be a solid defence. It looks like the Blues boss has stabilized his squad for the rest of the season and there is little hope for Kyle Walker and Aymeric Laporte to return unless injury or suspensions arise. However, both entered their first match in a while, with Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake looking rather relaxed. There's no problem with that. City have an extremely talented squad, so everyone should be able to come in and do well, the same way they did with the way they were in the lead. City have a big trip to Bayern Munich this week and it's important to keep as many players fresh as possible.
But even before the game, Guardiola warned of the risks of making too many changes. I said:
“I would like to name more spins, but in my experience when you cycle in that period with more than four or five spins, there is a risk it will never work well.
Guardiola is clearly looking ahead to Wednesday's game and thinks - like everyone else, to be fair - that Saturday's game is over and goes against his own warning. Scorers Erling Haaland and John Stones were eliminated at half-time. Even that isn't really a problem. Julian Alvarez proved to be a capable replacement for the Norwegian and Manuel Akanji excelled, despite being tasked with playing in midfield.
But then even more changes were made. Kalvin Phillips replaces Rodri. Cole Palmer replaces Kevin De Bruyne Even Sergio Gomez replaces Jack Grealish. Regardless of the quality of these substitutes having dropped markedly, making too many changes when there is still a large portion of the match will be troublesome.
Trouble came seconds after Gomez was introduced as the Spaniard and Phillips couldn't hide his glory when he defended the corner that Kelechi Iheanacho conceded. The ray of hope Leicester needed. The foxes suddenly came to life and fought with all they had, tearing apart a city that had lost all momentum and cohesion, unresponsive to constant attacks. Even the usually unfazed Ruben Dias was left out of his game when he was stripped of his shirt to allow James Maddison to make a shot. It was a golden opportunity but Ederson - who had greatly improved his dueling abilities - chose the excellent position to turn him down.
blogpay
Total Comments: 0