Manchester City have been a dominating side in the Premier League since Pep Guardiola’s arrival. There have been very few occasions when someone has used the word ‘struggle’ for this star-studded team. Recently, the displays on the field for the defending champions have let their heads down and Pep’s men have lost their lead at the top of the table. Man City are winless in their last four Premier League matches and haven’t played their best football.
Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur held Manchester City to a draw. Pep’s team visited Villa Park and suffered a defeat at the hands of Unai Emery’s men. Rodri missed the last match due to suspension and Manchester City have a very poor record without their Spanish midfielder. Let’s take a look at City’s stats that show why their current form is a concern for the manager.
Leaking goals
Manchester City played a 4-4 draw at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea. Liverpool visited the Etihad Stadium and played a 1-1 draw. Tottenham Hotspur were the third team to stop City from winning. They played a 3-3 draw against Pep’s men. Unai Emery’s Aston Villa dominated Man City in their last game and won 1-0.
The defending champions have always been dominant and that has allowed the defence to keep a clean sheet. But in the last four matches, City’s defence has conceded nine goals. Their overall average of goals conceded has also gone above one in the current campaign.
Manchester City conceded eight goals in the first 11 games. This miserable run in the defence is a headache for the manager as City are not a team that concedes goal this easily.
Struggles at the top end
Manchester City are scoring goals at a rate of 2.4 per match. They take 14.3 shots per match and manage to hit the target 45% of the time. However, in the last four matches, the average has gone down to 11.5 shots per match.
Against Aston Villa, Manchester City were very poor in the attack. Unai Emery’s men attempted 22 shots and Pep’s men only attempted two in total. They were unable to create chances in the match. Overall, the average is 32.5 positional attacks per match. But against Villa, they created 22 positional attacks.
Manchester City will look to return to winning ways and cut the lead at the top. Pep’s men usually catch the momentum towards the end of the season. He will hope that Rodri remains fit and doesn’t get suspended.
Visuals via TFA data viz engine
