Manchester City and Sunderland played out an eight-goal thriller at the Etihad Stadium as the Blues extended their winning start to the season
Manchester City played out a thrilling 5-3 win over Sunderland at the weekend, but better performances are needed
Manchester City played out a thrilling 5-3 win over Sunderland at the weekend, but better performances are needed(Image: Getty Images/Opta)
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After the victory over Sunderland on Sunday, Enzo Maresca stifled his enthusiasm over the high scoring result. "To be honest, I prefer to win 1-0 than 5-3 but I expected a very difficult game," the Manchester City head coach said.
"I know it was a difficult game but happy because we found a way to win the game and the good thing also is that these seven official games we played, they are all different. We experienced different things, the last one with 10 men, today was a complicated one, the Bournemouth one we were losing 1-0 so also a chance to learn from the game.
"I am always concerned, always trying to see what we can do better. For sure, two of the three goals we conceded were too easy."
Maresca's chief concern after the result would have been his defence. City invested heavily in their squad in the summer, but the defence was largely untouched. Before leaving, Pep Guardiola added Marc Guehi to the back line and, unlike the midfield, City managed to secure new contracts for key players in the backline.
However, the Blues' defence was clearly the weak spot on Sunday. Through balls caught City out twice in the first half with Brian Brobbey proving a particular thorn in their side. The centre-forward had not scored before Sunday's match. He now has three to his name after a hat-trick at the Etihad.
A clear issue for the Blues was Brobbey's physicality. Both Guehi and Ruben Dias struggled to cope with his hold up play, as shown below by his touch map, courtesy of Opta.
Brian Brobbey's touch map for Sunderland against Manchester City
Brian Brobbey's touch map for Sunderland against Manchester City
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Another concern for Maresca will be how easily Brobbey managed to stack up touches in the penalty box. Seven for the centre-forward is a lot to concede, particularly when six are around the six-yard box.
It was no surprise then that Brobbey accumulated an xG of 2.35 from five shots. City allowed the striker to dictate the game and he punished them. The Blues will not always come up against a defence as leaky as Sunderland's was, so Maresca has to find a way of tightening the back line up.
The alarm bells will definitely be ringing when he analyses City's duels. Antoine Semenyo said after the game that City were told they had to win their duels. Clearly that was easier said than done.
According to Opta, Dias won just three of his 13 duels against Sunderland, a startlingly low number. We have rarely seen the captain be outmuscled quite so often in one game.
Ruben Dias' duels against Sunderland
Ruben Dias' duels against Sunderland
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Maresca has put a lot of faith in Dias this summer. He has handed him the armband this season and with that responsibility, comes an expectation for him to lead by example.
Guehi won all four of his duels. Dias appears to have been targeted by the Black Cats and he clearly struggled.
Now is not the time to panic. City managed to weather the storm and eventually held firm to see out the three points. Of course, Dias had a hand in that too.
Plenty of City fans have question marks over the skipper and City have Abdukodir Khusanov as a central defensive option while Josko Gvardiol could move inside.
For now, the Sunderland game will be put down to an anomaly but it is one City and Dias must learn from.