Manchester City’s tactical change against Tottenham didn’t exactly yield the results that they may have hoped for, but it was a step in the right direction. City looked like a weaker side due to the fact that they didn’t enjoy the same amount of possession that they normally do, which caused many fans to be upset, but it isn’t something to be worried about.
This season has been the second in a transition from a counter-attacking style to a possession-dominating one, and the change hasn’t brought in any trophies (yet) in the last two years. This ultimately stems from Pellegrini implementing a system that he doesn’t believe in, but was forced to work on anyway.
Manuel Pellegrini has often been criticized for his tactical inflexibility, something that was on full display against Leicester. City hold the joint-highest possession percentage in the Premier League at an average of 54%, whilst Leicester rank 19th in average possession held, allowing for the Foxes to expose a City side whose effectiveness in possession has gone stale.
Moving into a more possession based system has made the team heavily reliant on the form of players like Yaya Touré and David Silva, whose styles of play leans towards intricate passing. Both were enjoying some scintillating form at the beginning of the season, and not coincidentally City went five games unbeaten with no goals conceded.
The Spaniard and the Ivorian have not had the ability to extend this form into the latter stages of the season, and it has shown in City’s results. The Sky Blues have failed to record back-to-back wins since October, a record that simply isn’t good enough for aspiring champions.
The Foxes took full advantage of the the obvious dissonance in the squad and waited for them to pile the majority of their players into the offensive third, and then executed the counter-attacking plan which they have been perfecting since the beginning of the season.
While the first goal wasn’t a counter-induced Leicester classic, it was still indicative of a well coached Leicester side. Exposing Kolarov, one of the weakest one-on-one defenders in the league, was part of the game plan, along with countering fast, and exploiting the fact that Martin Demichelis was marking Robert Huth.
After being so badly exposed, the manager changed his approach in the Tottenham game. Pellegrini didn’t look to dominate meaningless possession and camp out in the opponents’ defensive third of the field, trying to break the defence down; he put the onus on Tottenham to create with the ball.
The Chilean himself has stated many times that he wants to play attractive and attacking football, not worrying whether the opponent scores as long as his side scores more. But with a long list of injuries and the knowledge that Spurs create a large number of chances via their high pressing system, he tried to expose them by playing his signature counter-attacking style.
Mauricio Pochettino has said that Spurs, under him at least, are a high press team. “I prefer to press high and we believe we can press the keeper.”. He has turned what was supposed to be a detriment, the squad’s youth, into one of his most important assets in his high press system. Dele Alli, Eric Dier, and Harry Kane are all very young players at 19, 22, and 22 respectively, which gives them a bit more energy across the span of a game and season. Their high pressing and youthful athleticism has allowed them to win back the ball in dangerous positions, giving them opportunities on the break.
However, although City didn’t pick up any points in the match, the tactical revamp was the correct approach to the game. More and more teams are moving towards some form of the pressing style. If City are to be successful in the latter stages of the season, a transition towards a system that can expose pressing teams will be key.
All that being said, if Pellegrini doesn’t believe in the possession-centric system, then why doesn’t he continue to implement it? This may be attributed to those higher up in the club suggesting that he move the team towards this style because of a plan which incorporated Pep Guardiola’s eventual arrival.
Pellegrini’s mantra doesn’t necessarily coincide with that of a possession-based team. This isn’t to suggest that these teams don’t attack, but usually teams who like to enjoy the majority of the possession are also defensively conscious, and prefer controlled results in which they boss the game even if they win by a slim margin, something that doesn’t bother the City manager.
The upcoming fixtures may allow him to resort back to the counter-attacking style that he so obviously prefers, and the loss against Tottenham should not deter him from doing so. With the quality and relative depth that City have in their squad they can afford to play a possession-based style against the weaker teams in the Premier League, but in order to succeed in the various matches against tougher and more tactically adept opposition, one must be flexible.
