Manchester City got their Premier League campaign off to the perfect start on Saturday night with a comfortable 4-0 win over Wolves.
The victory at Molineux has banished any talk of last season for now, with most pundits fixated on the brilliance of new signing Tijjani Reijnders and the sharpness of Erling Haaland in front of goal.
Wolves manager Vitor Pereira was impressed by what he saw from Manchester City on Saturday, and the Portuguese coach was not the only one with Jamie Carragher praising Pep Guardiola’s side on Monday night.
The Sky Sports pundit has noticed a big difference in the Manchester club compared to last season, and has credited a new arrival for the changes at the Etihad Stadium.
Pep Guardiola hugging Pep Lijnders during Wolverhampton Wanderers v Manchester City.
Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images
Pep Lijnders praised for influence on Manchester City defence
Guardiola admitted over the summer that Pep Lijnders has already impressed him since his arrival at Man City, and the Dutch coach’s influence is already being seen at the Manchester club.
City were spotted playing with a very high line against Wolves, and Carragher has stated that this tactic surprised him, but having worked, the Sky Sports pundit was keen to praise Lijnders for his work.
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“I can’t get it out of my head what Pep said last season when he was talking about where the game was going, and he was actually saying, it’s not really my football, the football that was seen of teams in the Premier League, sort of transition end-to-end football,” Carragher said on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football.
“I think he mentioned sort of Brentford. He was talking about Bournemouth. He wasn’t just talking about the real top teams. How many teams in the Premier League were playing like that. So it just stuck in my head that.
“I feel there’s been a lot of change on the pitch, but also off the pitch, in terms of Pep Lijnders coming in, big coach, big influence on Jürgen Klopp and Liverpool’s style of play. And I just thought, did I see little instances of that Liverpool team?
“So, going off what Pep said last season, and also the influence of Pep Lijnders, who is obviously really hands-on as a coach.
“But what I wanted to look at here. As this pass is coming across as if it’s almost there, and we just stop it there now [explaining an action where Man City used a very high line to catch Wolves offside], so that ball’s on its way. I was watching the game at the beginning. I couldn’t believe what I saw.
“The players were all jumping high up now to try and catch the Wolves players offside. This is very Liverpool-like in terms of under Klopp, when you think, is sometimes that line too high?
“But they actually jump before the ball actually gets to his feet to try and catch the most players offside. So we run it on. Now you see the players jump forward. Now, really high, really high, pushing up. And again, it just made me think how much influence is maybe the new coach having on this team.”
Pep Guardiola, head coach of Manchester City, speaks with Pep Lijnders, assistant coach of Manchester City, during a training session open to the public advertised as the 'City are Back' event at Joie Stadium.
Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images
How many times were Wolves offside against Man City
The 4-0 scoreline was a clear indication that Man City’s tactics against Wolves worked, but in terms of the high line specifically, the numbers also back the use of it.
Guardiola’s men caught Wolves offside four times on Saturday, while City were never offside throughout the 90 minutes at Molineux.
Barcelona were one team that utilised a high line very effectively last season, and if Man City can have the same success as the Catalan club experienced throughout the 24/25 campaign, Guardiola is likely to be a happy man come the end of the term.