The recent travails of Manchester City have seeped into the wider public consciousness to such a degree that they went political primetime a couple of Fridays back.
Football doesn’t often wing its way onto Have I Got News For You and yet, as the panel discussed how a high percentage of Manchester residents weren’t working, Paul Merton piped up to suggest that number was swelled by Pep Guardiola’s squad. With a big old smirk.
Merton’s apparently a Tottenham supporter. A knowing laugh followed. Either a knowledgeable crowd or the slump has prompted significant interest among casuals. Almost certainly the latter.
For however long this lasts, the fall of those who have lorded it for so long will always offer fascination – from a human interest perspective more than anything else.
Fascination that Guardiola clearly doesn’t care for as he bristles his way through this rocky patch. One which has now taken us to the point of City being ordered by their manager to play ‘a thousand million passes’ to restore some semblance of calm.
Calm this wasn’t. They will leave Italy on Thursday morning having lost a seventh game in 10, gifting it away really, and sat in 22nd of a 36-team Champions League with no reasonable hope of reaching the top eight. So it’s another two matches in February, providing they even make the playoff round. Oh, and a wounded Manchester United are up next on Sunday.
Weston McKennie pulled off a superb strike to snatch a home win away from Manchester City
The visitors have now lost seven of their last 10 matches as limp form crossed into Europe
Pep Guardiola’s players did not perform particularly badly nor disobey orders but were downed with little effort in Turin
The worst aspect about this was that City hadn’t even performed particularly poorly and carried out Guardiola’s instructions.
In telling his team to go back to basics, to play a ‘simple’ game, Guardiola unleashed his inner James Carville this week. It’s the passes, stupid. City have not been nearly economical enough with the ball in recent weeks, have not recycled with the patience for which they are renowned.
The message had been heeded, with City playing square balls, often without much risk, to draw Juventus out. The Italians largely stayed exactly where they were, thank you very much. It led to something of a stand-off.
Rushed is effectively what Guardiola had labelled his team – in stark contrast to a usually forensic working over of opposition. That, more than anything else, is an indictment of where this current squad are at.
And as the results became increasingly more worrying across November, his players wore agitated looks, started trying to bash down doors only in need of a knock. It has led to more hectic matches and they walked into a fiery Allianz Arena fearing the same.
Only sixth in Serie A, Juventus are draw specialists under Thiago Motta – a young midfielder coming through at Barcelona as Guardiola’s time came to an end – and the intrigue surrounding their patchy form has been a similar topic of debate here to City’s back home. Motta wants to control games in a way the guy stood to his right always has, although this was perhaps not the night for that.
They sat and waited for opportunities to nick possession high up the pitch. City, in this current guise, will give you that and indecision by Rico Lewis in the left back area offered a glimmer for Francisco Conceicao. One of Ederson’s botched clearances provoked brief panic.
‘Everybody is involved to change a little bit of the dynamics, that is all,’ Guardiola said to explain why the Brazilian was in from the cold after three matches on the bench. Given the persistent injuries, it’s the only real position where Guardiola can influence meaningful change, having given Stefan Ortega a run to see if that altered their fortunes.
Under Thiago Motta, Juventus have become draw specialists, and saw out a cagey first-hald
The hosts punished their English guests for missed chances as the stand-off continued
But Dusan Vlahovic proved the difference eight minutes into the second-half to draw Juventus ahead on Wednesday
Erling Haaland saw came close five minutes before the break but couldn’t put the chance away
Kevin De Bruyne also tried to mount a comeback on foreign soil but couldn’t pick the lock
Guardiola’s side continued to look low on confidence – and seem perilously close to missing out on Champions League knockout qualification altogether
It didn’t make a material difference, while City still found themselves giving up chances that could be punished in Turin. Not huge chances but those Guardiola wants to cut out and believes a calmer approach to their build-up play will prevent. Kenan Yildiz, Turkey’s teenage sensation, fizzed one effort wide as Ederson scrambled, later beating Kyle Walker to almost engineer an opener.
There was a reminder of what this team can do though. Erling Haaland saw the whites of Michele Di Gregorio’s five minutes before the break and owed it all to Kevin De Bruyne, whose extraordinary reverse pass had Juventus stumbling over their own feet – the obvious ball initially seemed to be for Bernardo Silva out on the right – only for Haaland to not quite lift the chip properly. Guardiola rubbed his face. Less of that, you’ll leave a mark.
Dusan Vlahovic made his eight minutes into the second half, Juventus leading and City not helping themselves. Federico Gatti’s sweet volley was kept out by Ederson but Josko Gvardiol could only pass into space, allowing another cross to come in. Vlahovic nestled between defenders and bulleted a header straight at Ederson. The force was such that it dragged the goalkeeper behind the line with it.
Another avoidable moment in a long, long list now, with Ederson failing to hold a vicious Yildiz cross and almost gifting a second. Rico Lewis, Jeremy Doku and Bernardo Silva all had efforts blocked at the other end as City continued to try to pick locks in a way we haven’t seen much over the past month or so. De Bruyne fired wide from distance, Doku couldn’t quite pick out Haaland – going far post when the striker had darted to the near – and Di Gregorio tipped Ilkay Gundogan curler wide.
The final ignominy came 15 minutes from the end when Weston McKennie volleyed in Timothy Weah’s smart cross. That’s Weston McKennie who left Leeds United after 20 fairly hopeless appearances.
