Thread by @afchxrsh, [THREAD]Man City vs Lyon: An attempt at understanding and explaining Pep Guardiola's [...]

[THREAD]

Man City vs Lyon: An attempt at understanding and explaining Pep Guardiola's game plan for the quarter-final vs Lyon and how it backfired for Man City.

It was another night of sorrow for Man City in Europe, as a 7th placed Lyon threw the English club out from the Champions League. Pep Guardiola's unwarranted variations plus an inefficient partnership of Jesus and Sterling meant Man City were dispatched home. (1/n)

My first thought when I saw Man City's XI was that Pep has deployed a 3-5-2 to counter Lyon's deep block, but instead, he played a 3-4-3 with Rodri and Gundogan forming the double pivot in midfield and KDB operating through the right channel; a big mistake. (2/n)

The first phase of build-up was quite easy for City, as their 3 atb comfortably dealt with Lyon's fairly weak pressing. Lyon fell back into their 3-5-2 mid-block once City bypassed their first line of press. (3/n)

The problems arose when Man City tried to break down Lyon's mid-block and in the first half, they absolutely could not. If playing a double pivot against a midfield-heavy team was not enough, Pep also instructed KDB, the best in b/w the lines player, to operate as a RW. (4/n)

In simpler terms, Lyon had numerical advantage in midfield. When Garcia deployed a 3-5-2, his aim was to limit penetration through the centre and push Man City's attacking onto the flanks. Pep Guardiola played into his trap. (5/n)

The worst-case scenario for Lyon was a 2v2 on the flanks and it seems they spent the majority of their time in Portugal preparing for it. Walker and KDB were not a match to Marcal and Cornet's defensive play, as only 30% of City's attacks came from the right. (6/n).

Sterling was a constant threat; he got the better of Denayer plenty of times. This was because of Gundagon's positional play. He pushed up to make it a 3v2, and as a result, Denayer had 2 men to mark. This is why 50% of City's attacks came through the left. (7/n)

The game shifted to Man City's favour in the second half, when Pep brought on Mahrez to replace Fernandinho. This meant City were back to their normal 4-3-3, with KDB as the highest midfielder. Eventually, Man City created chances in abundance to outscore Lyon (8/n)

One extra man in midfield was all City needed to disrupt Lyon's lines and achieve an advantage. As a result, City attempted 13 shots in the second half compared to 5 in the first. The goal also came because of Sterling making the in-behind run and cutting it back for KDB. (9/n)

Lyon's game plan was clear. Exploit the high line and spaces left by Man City's slow centrebacks. Ekambi's run in-behind created the first goal, Moussa's run in-behind created the second. Offensively, Lyon were precise and efficient in the chances they created. (10/n)

Conclusion:

Pep either did not trust his players or overrated Lyon. There was no need to change Man City's 4-3-3. If anything, it was Garcia who should've tinkered with his system out of worry of facing the best team in England, but he showed faith in his players. (11/n)

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