How Man City became a title choice less than three months after they struggled in 13th

‘By the time we were 12th we were thinking “forget about the Premier League, [see] if we can be in the Europa League next season ”, Pep Guardiola added after his Manchester City side won their 13th game in a row at Burnley on Wednesday night.

While you suspect Guardiola would believe all of his sides could bounce back up the table, their turnout has been phenomenal since they lost 2-0 to Tottenham on 21 November. City were indeed 13th at the end of that round of Premier League games, eight points behind Spurs, who were at the top, and below the likes of Crystal Palace, Wolves and Southampton.

Now, they are three points clear at the top with a game in hand over their rivals, while Spurs are 14 points behind. They set a Football League record for winners in a calendar in January – with nine wins out of nine – and are not showing signs of slowing down ahead of the clause on Sunday with the Liverpool champions at Anfield.

So what has changed? As title winners in 2017-18 and 2018-19, we are used to seeing City go on as they currently are, but a little over two months ago it looked like that Guardiola’s time would end with a whimper.

Let’s start with the defense. Up to and including the Spurs loss, City conceded 13 goals in 13 matches in all competitions, including five at home to Leicester in September as a result of that. a summary of their poor condition. Since that game, they have conceded just four in 18. Two of those goals came with weak lineups in cup competitions, and the two league goals conceded in the that time – against West Brom and Chelsea – when one of Ederson ‘s gamekeepers arrived and center backs John Stones and Ruben Dias did not play.

That means, almost surprisingly, City have yet to concede a goal in 12 matches with those three on the pitch. That equates to 1,080 minutes of football – or 18 hours if you like – without the extra time.

Aymeric Laporte, whose absenteeism was a major reason for City not retaining the title last season, after Spurs’ loss for Stones and City looked back, as the Englishman has recovered along with Dias ’summer symbols – which are already similar. one of the best defenders in the world at 23. Laporte left-back left at Burnley and he certainly has a big place to play, but Pep will not break up the Stones-Dias partnership once any soon.

It’s one thing not to concede goals, but you still need the score to win games – something City struggled to do early in the season. Again, the Spurs game can be used as the rain in the City season. So far, only 10 goals in eight Premier League games. Since then, 29 in 13.

City need to learn to deal without two club legends this season, which have been at the heart of their attack for so long – Sergio Aguero through injury, and David Silva after his departure in the summer. Early in the season, City looked like a side mourning that their absent friends are heavily dependent on Kevin De Bruyne. Their recovery, however, has happened through other players stepping up to the plate and Guardiola throwing his tactics.

Ilkay Gundogan has been impressive in the middle of the park, filling the gap left by Silva when many thought Phil Foden would be. Joao Cancelo has broken through after a difficult first season, Bernardo Silva is looking back to his best and Foden has succeeded in the front line. With no forward focus space and so many more players adding, Pep has transitioned to a more streamlined system, with Cancelo stepping into midfield to turn 4-3-3 into a 3-1 attack. 3-3, while the forward goes on players spin more without Aguero as a mainstay. Weaving everything together at the bottom of the midfield is Rodri, who is getting better, now hardened in his second season in the Premier League.

Being forced to deal without Aguero and Silva for so long means that this new, more flexible City attack has ruled out okay without star De Bruyne, out with leg injuries to March. City have won all three Premier League games they have lost so far with an overall score of 8-0.

Aguero, City’s talisman so far, should be back around the same time as De Bruyne, going to coincide with the return of the Champions League at the end of the month. The Argentine has suffered a personal nightmare this season, missing most of it with a knee injury, before being returned by Covid. If this is a good City without De Bruyne and Aguero, imagine how good they will be when they return?

They are in second place for the Champions League behind Bayern Munich but would like to build their chances against the German keepers, who are not as good as they were last year. Talk of a Quadruple may be premature, certainly for City to make further progress in Europe and the FA Cup, but he is quietly lying behind as they keep up the march relentlessly seo.

Back to the original question of why and how City have turned their season from sitting 13th at the end of November. There are two other factors to consider: one, City had a shorter turnout than most after last season; two, Guardiola’s new contract.

City were beaten by Lyon in the Champions League semi-final on 15 August. The last season in the Premier League ended on 26 July, with the new one starting on 12 September. The European finalists were given an extra week’s rest before the Premier League, but their season lasted nearly three weeks longer, meaning the rest of the league had to lose. two weeks on City in terms of fitness and preparation. This undoubted effect on Manchester United’s slow start to the season can also be seen.

After the best part of a year of deliberations, Guardiola wrote a new two-year contract with City on November 19th. They then went and lost to Tottenham two days later, but there is no doubt that clearing future uncertainty will have a positive impact on the club. As Liverpool clinched the title last season, City looked near a crossroads with many expecting Guardiola and a two – year European ban to hang over them. The ban was lifted in July and with Pep promising the next few months, City had a strong sense of resilience before the results reversed – and it’s no surprise that they did.

So the creation of a strong defensive partnership, changing to a smoother attack without Aguero and David Silva, after two weeks of shorter break than most of the league and Pep clearing his future in the November has all contributed to the shape of City’s season so far – a slow start growing into a strong return to form.

The scary thing for Liverpool, their opponents on Sunday, and the rest of the Premier League and Europe, is whether it looks like Guardiola is just starting out as he builds his brilliant second team in Manchester City.