Speaking before his team’s 2-nil defeat to Juventus last night Pep Guardiola implored his team to get back to basics. The Manchester City manager wanted to see his team get their passing game back on track against the Serie A giants. For large portions of last night’s match at the Allianz Stadium, his team did that. But the problem was that come the final whistle, the world champions found themselves in a familiar position. They went down to another defeat, which has been all too familiar over the past 10 games.
In the first half of last night’s match, Manchester City dominated possession. Although there wasn’t the usual crispness and cutting edge to their play they did keep the hosts pinned back for large portions of the first half last night. Although they failed to create any meaningful chances. They created one when Kevin De Bruyne played in Erling Haaland in the 39th minute but his chip was well saved. But for the first half, at least, there was a calmness to Manchester City’s play. But the threat of a Juventus counterattack did loom large.
READ MORE: City player ratings from Manchester City’s 2-nil defeat to Juventus.
At the beginning of the second half, it appeared that the game would follow a similar pattern. But that changed once Dusan Vlahovic gave Juventus the lead in the 53rd minute. From there Manchester City had to take the game to the hosts. While they did up their game they were met by a stubborn and determined Juventus defence. Try as they might City couldn’t break Juventus down. But the game was put to bed in the 75th minute when a swift Juventus counterattack was finished by Weston McKennie.
So Manchester City went back to basics last night. But the problem was that come the final whistle, the same problems were still evident. City’s susceptibility to quick counter attacks is yet to be resolved. Teams know how to get at Pep Guardiola’s side and they can’t find a solution to that issue.
Pep Guardiola was happy with his team’s performance but it didn’t produce a much-needed win.
Speaking after his team’s defeat Pep Guardiola was happy with his team’s performance. He believed defensive errors didn’t undo his team. Speaking after the game he said: “*Of course it’s tough. Except one or two games in this period that were not good, we played quite similar, and I give credit to Juventus. Tonight, I don’t think it was defensive mistakes much. That was not the reason [we lost], other games yes but not today. We missed that last pass when we arrived in the six-yard box. That was the difference today, but I love my team.*”
The basics of Manchester City’s play were on display last night. But it didn’t end up helping them pick up the result they needed against Juventus. The hope is City can dust themselves off for Sunday’s Manchester derby. They have to as the clash with Manchester United looms as a crucial game in City’s season.