Ebene News – GB – Unparalleled depth puts Manchester City in pole position for Premier League and beyond

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – JANUARY 10: Bernardo Silva of Manchester City celebrates with teammate Riyad [] Mahrez after scoring his team’s first goal in the FA Cup Third Round match between Manchester City and Birmingham City on January 10, 2021 in Manchester, England (Photo by Alex Livesey / Getty Images)

Manchester City are ten points ahead of the Premier League, 16 points ahead of defending champions Liverpool

They have gobbled up their games’ points in hand, climbed to the top of the table and are now unbeaten in 16 league games after winning their last 12 games with an aggregate score of 31-3

In addition to this league domination, they are also unbeaten in 24 games in all competitions and are the favorites to win their very first Champions League trophy

In a season where squad depth is key and the ability to keep players fresh and fit at the right time is paramount, no team comes close to Manchester City

There’s a reason the club do so well in national cups and have won six of the last nine national trophies available

Just take a look at one of City’s lineups in a National Cup game Guardiola is said to respect the cups, but even with a rotating roster it’s hard for him not to For other managers, it’s less a lack of respect for these competitions and more a lack of depth

Depth is something the city does not lack In their attempt to address issues that crop up across the team, whether in defense or offense, they have stockpiled some of the best players in world football

In a condensed season where this national cup depth also applies to league play, it’s no surprise that they are flying high, and it will be more surprising if they don’t complete the trophy sweep. English as they did in 2019

Vincent Kompany of Manchester City with trophy during the FA Cup Final match between Manchester City and [] Watford at Wembley Stadium, London on May 18th, 2019, (Photo by Action Foto Sport / NurPhoto via Getty Images)

A number of tactical adjustments to shore things up, aided by the addition of cunning tactician and mentor Guardiola Juanma Lillo, ensured that this City team was positioned to make the most of their abundance of talents

The fact that they had one of their most dominant times and one of their most impressive runs during Guardiola’s tenure, without a player widely regarded as one of the best in the world – Kevin De Bruyne – testifies to this depth

The last time City were without De Bruyne for a while, they won the league title in 2019 with Bernardo Silva arguably the best player in the league

The Portuguese have had to play a supporting role over the last year or so with De Bruyne running the show again, but it has become more important during the Belgian’s last absence

On this occasion, however, De Bruyne’s replacement in the role of best player in the league was Ilkay Gündogan It was a big moment for the German who suffered an injury in the middle of his career, but his performances over the past two months have been among his best ever

It may have highlighted how much of the shadow Gündogan has always been for this great team, but a sustained run in the squad and the addition of goals in De Bruyne’s absence brought him in. to the next level

De Bruyne and Gündogan not being able to start the last game against Everton, the torch was once again taken by Bernardo Silva, one of the many players who filled the void left by his namesake and City legend, David Silva, who left the club last summer

While these three midfielders have played a key role in keeping City running in the absence of either, a whole host of other players such as João Cancelo, Phil Foden , Rúben Dias and Oleksandr Zinchenko played key roles

You could probably pick any player who played in this recent race and stress their importance.This is tactically down to the fact that world-class players are still able to pull it off

Not only have City been without De Bruyne, they’ve also been without the best player in club history, and one of the best strikers in English football has seen, Sergio Agüero And they haven’t. missed The Argentine has remained an unused substitute in the last two games in which City still managed to score six goals

Some big names should also be mentioned, and the three City players in the top five transfer fees for English players – Raheem Sterling, Kyle Walker and John Stones – also contributed

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 07: Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling is congratulated by teammate [] John Stones after scoring their team’s third goal in the Premier League match between Liverpool and Manchester City at Anfield on February 7, 2021 in Liverpool, England Sports stadiums across the UK remain under tight restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic as government social distancing laws ban fans inside venues, resulting in matches being behind closed doors (Photo by Matt McNulty – Manchester City / Manchester City FC via Getty Images)

Elsewhere in the squad, Eric Garcia is a wanted player by Barcelona, ​​but has only played 200 league minutes for City this season $ 56 million signing Nathan Aké barely featured due to injury, but they didn’t need him

Even an injury to Aymeric Laporte has seen Stones play some of their best football games for Man City thanks to the extra support provided by Rodri and the reverse full-backs in this system

Riyad Mahrez is reportedly entering most of Europe’s squads, but has had to settle for a place on the bench in nine of City’s 24 Premier League games, and for their fixture against Liverpool earlier in the season, he didn’t even make the team of the day

Academy players Liam Delap, Tommy Doyle and Taylor Herwood-Bellis have played a handful of minutes here and there, but when Guardiola spins on his side he mostly has world-class players to call on

This is in stark contrast to their closest and only challengers in recent seasons, Liverpool, who have fallen alarmingly due to key injuries in defense and an inability (for whatever reason) to replace those players

But it’s not only City’s richness youth product Foden and Guardiola-molded attacking midfielder turned full-back Zinchenko have shown the Catalan manager’s coaching ability, but the resources are unmatched, and so the depth of the team

City have even had the luxury of spending millions of dollars on young players this season before sending them out on loan for regular football

In a year where fixtures pile up due to the tight schedule and players’ bodies are pushed to their limits and often beyond, it’s no surprise that the squad with a world-class squad and the tactical sense to make the most of it, are beginning to prevail, and by a considerable margin

From the Americas to Africa I cover football around the world for Forbes My match day reporting focuses on English Premier League teams, Liverpool, Everton and

From the Americas to Africa I cover football around the world for Forbes My match day reporting focuses on English Premier League sides Liverpool, Everton and Manchester City from press boxes across the Kingdom United and Europe Wider angles focus on world football: From World Cups to Champions League finals, from youth football to international matches, I’ve written about all aspects of the beautiful game for media such as The Guardian, BBC and Goal I have reported on matches in Europe’s top footballing nations including Bundesliga, Serie A and La Liga, and have also written extensively on football in North America and Africa. Some of my work involves in-depth tactical analysis and reconnaissance reporting, examining the styles of play of various head coaches, the numbers behind the game and its future stars. I am the founding editor of the football media World Football Index, which produces articles, podcasts and features by journalists, scouts, coaches and fans!

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