Manchester City are just four wins away from achieving greatness and Sunday’s victory over Everton demonstrated why they are so close to achieving an incredible Treble. People often talk about a team having a winning mentality without truly understanding what that entails, but City’s performance at Goodison Park was the perfect example of what their success requires. I was surprised to see that Pep Guardiola had chosen three of the back four who had faced Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final on Wednesday, with the only change being Aymeric Laporte for John Stones. This was likely due to the threat posed by Everton after their recent performances, as well as a sign of Guardiola’s complete trust in the players he selected – not just in terms of their physical condition, but also their mindset – during such a pivotal week of the season.
No Razzmatazz, No Problem
One of the most difficult tasks in football is to play a major game and then go straight into one that, on paper, is much less significant. City did this when they went from playing away at the Bernabeu in a monumental match between two of the best teams in the world that was watched worldwide, to a Sunday afternoon at Goodison Park against a team battling relegation. Not only does Goodison lack the same razzmatazz, but there was also the risk that, given Everton’s league position, some City players would think they could just turn up and win easily. However, this complacency didn’t happen due to the professionalism of the team, with all of them doing their part defensively when it mattered. At the heart of it all was a rock-solid back four, with Manuel Akanji giving Alex Iwobi the same respect he did Rodrygo and Kyle Walker treating Dwight McNeil as if he was as good as Vinicius Junior. The same attitude was displayed by forwards Riyad Mahrez and Phil Foden, who were left on the bench against Real then came back in on Sunday. They didn’t sulk or look frustrated about missing the big game, instead they knew they had a job to do and completed every part of it – which included Foden tracking back in the second half to win an important defensive header at the back post. That’s the mentality you need to win trophies – not only do you need the ability to win games through creativity and goals, but you also need the mindset and physicality to go the distance on so many fronts every season, which is exactly what City do. Most of their players went to the World Cup before Christmas yet they all look so strong and, fitness-wise, it is as if they are peaking at exactly the right time. After watching them on Sunday, I think they all deserve credit. There are so many individuals in City’s squad that could be praised, but it is their collective that has got them in this position and earned them points against Everton.
The Premier League title is almost done, with one more win against Chelsea, Brighton or Brentford needed to finish the job. Now it’s just a case of what else City will win – and who can stop them. It will take an incredible performance from Real Madrid to end their Treble hopes at Etihad Stadium on Wednesday and the same applies to the FA Cup final against Manchester United. These teams don’t just have to find a way of stopping City, they have to try to score against them too.
City’s Best Defence Under Guardiola?
City are renowned for being amazing to watch, brilliantly creative and for scoring lots of goals but they don’t always get enough credit for how good they are at keeping the opposition out. Especially in recent months, they have been really solid and stable, no matter who has been in their back line. They’ve won their past 11 league games while conceding only seven goals and I’d go as far as saying they are as good defensively now as I’ve seen since Guardiola arrived at Etihad Stadium in 2016. I remember at the start of the 2019-20 season when Laporte was injured and City were left with only two senior centre-halves in John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi, a pairing that Pep clearly didn’t trust. Vincent Kompany had left that summer and had not been replaced and Fernandinho had to fill in at the back. Now there is huge competition for places and room for great variation across their back line, but changing positions or trying different combinations does not seem to matter. When Joao Cancelo left to go on loan to Bayern Munich in January, I wondered who would play at left-back, but Nathan Ake and now Akanji have both been brilliant there. I would argue that both of those players are playing the best football of their careers, and it definitely helps that most of City’s defenders are doing the same. John Stones looks happier than he’s ever been at City, whether as a right-back coming into midfield or at centre-half, and even Kyle Walker seems to have gone up a level at the age of 32. He just looks unbeatable defensively and is at the very top of his game. I remember being impressed by Akanji when he played for Switzerland at the European Championship but he is someone else who has improved. This is his first season in the Premier League but you would never know it – he is confident and classy on the ball and physically great without it. The only one of their regular defenders who I wouldn’t say has got better is Ruben Dias, but that’s only because he has been so good for so long. Ake has forged a great partnership with Jack Grealish down the left flank and while Laporte hasn’t played as much as he would probably like, he showed against Everton that he can easily slot back into the team when he is needed.
Reliable Rodri is The Best In The World
City don’t just have a fantastic defence, they have the world’s best holding midfielder sitting in front of it. That’s how good I think Rodri has been this season – I’ve not seen anyone better – so it helps that he is so durable and reliable, week after week. The Spain international has been at City since 2019 and the lowest amount of games he has played in a single season is 46, in 2021-22. He has already played 51 times in this campaign. Rodri had just turned 23 when he joined from Atletico Madrid and he has grown into a phenomenal footballer. When he first joined, he was more pragmatic with his thinking when he had the ball and focused on the defensive side of his job. Now he is far more productive in possession, pops up with some handy goals and always wants the ball in what seems like really dangerous positions. But defensively he is still absolutely brilliant at spotting danger and on top of that he is a real physical presence at set-pieces too. He is going to be massive for City when they face Madrid and, the way he is playing, it will be the same story in the Champions League final against one of the Milan clubs too.