This might finally be the year. It might finally be the year that Pep Guardiola and Manchester City don't win the Premier League. Despite that, they've still been the most tactically complex team in the league, carrying on from much of the tactics that brought them a treble-winning triumph last season. Here is what Pep Guardiola has imposed in 2023-24, continuing to make City one of the most dominant forces in the world.
In 2022, I established my 'Role Continuity Evaluation System', on the basis that players should be assessed by the metrics and traits important to their specific role on the pitch. Through this understanding, players are then classified into what is now 20 different roles, and assessed accordingly to see how they stack up to other players fulfilling the same player type. Here is an explanation of my scouting & analysis system and how I use the system to compare central midfielders.
Manchester City might have won the UEFA Super Cup, but it was not the most convincing of victories from the Citizens. The match against Sevilla served as one of the first examples I've seen of Guardiola going against his typical brilliance in adapting to the moment and his players available, and sticking to a system instead. Here's an analysis of why Manchester City set up in a way that was less than optimal against Sevilla.
Much has been made this summer about Real Madrid's lack of a natural Karim Benzema replacement up front, and the downgrade of Joselu entering that position for Los Blancos instead. But sometimes, you don't need to replace a player in the transfer market with a like-for-like switch. Sometimes, all you need to do is tweak the shape of the team. This is what Real Madrid have done in finding a solution for their Benzema dilemma. In the process, they've also presented a solution to the conundrum regarding how to fit all their fantastic pieces in midfield together.
After five fairly stellar and underappreciated years at Chelsea, Mateo Kovačić has left the club and signed with Manchester’s most recent treble winners. New ownership at Stamford Bridge led to a drastic rebuild from their 2021 Champions League winning squad, and the time came for one of their most consistent performers over the years to exit the building. Manchester City took full advantage, making him an apt replacement for the loss of Ilkay Gündoğan and the potential loss of silky smooth Bernardo Silva.
Since suffering defeat to his old club at the end of October, Graham Potter's Chelsea have lost seven of their last eleven matches. Injuries have evidently played a part, but Potter's problems persist even despite a wealthy eleven still at his disposal. The balance of the team remains up in shambles, even despite a recent redemption victory against Crystal Palace. With that, we examine what's wrong with Potter's Chelsea from a tactical perspective, and how the former Brighton man can turn his fortunes around.
After taking a few days to reflect on Canada's disappointing loss against Croatia, I have been able to take away many positives from the performance. Kamal Miller won't get much in the way of praise after being hung out to dry at the end of the game, but he had another brilliant performance at the back. Alphonso Davies meanwhile bagged the nation's first goal at a Men's World Cup inside just two minutes of action, waking my neighbours up as I yelled of joy. But in dissecting the game further, it's clear to see that Croatia operated at a higher level, with their fanciful one-touch triangulations causing chaos for Canada every time they had the ball. For what feels like the first time ever, a few things will need to drastically change from a tactical standpoint heading into the next fixture from John Herdman's team. Here are my reflections on Canada's 4-1 defeat to Croatia.
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