Pep Guardiola had first toyed with the idea 24 hours before September’s Manchester derby, during training out on the Etihad Stadium’s pitch.
Holding a session out there was highly unusual but so too was what Guardiola asked of his players. For the first time as City’s manager, he was looking at using a diamond midfield and wanted to see how his players could manipulate different spaces in the ever-changing Premier League he has often spoken about since.
The altered formation never came to fruition for the derby victory but Guardiola has felt confident enough in recent weeks to give it a go out of possession. It was on show at Anfield on Sunday and makes City’s press more efficient, narrowing their opponents in the final third, and is making them more of a threat.
When on the ball, City become a box – two midfielders in front of one another – and the guy leading their out of possession diamond needs to drastically move positions to ensure it works.
It should come as absolutely no surprise that the man tasked with that is Bernardo Silva. He ran more than anyone at Liverpool and in the first half of this win that pressurises Arsenal, was on the toes of Fulham’s central defenders as goalscorers Erling Haaland and Antoine Semenyo split to close passing lines.
The move is a fresh look at defending from the front among a team that had lost their tigerish menace to turnover high up the pitch. Silva’s the instigator, a man who understands Guardiola more than anybody else and whose energy levels defy a man who has played 60-odd games every year since 2017. A true captain who has led City back into contention.
‘When Bernardo isn’t playing, we cannot play that system,’ Guardiola gushed. ‘He is irreplaceable.’
Three first-half goals saw Manchester City ease to comfortable victory over Fulham
Antoine Semenyo had opened the scoring for Man City, his fifth goal in eight games for the club
Nico O’Reilly was also on target in the 3-0 win as Man City increased the pressure on Arsenal
SILVA SERVICE
Silva was deservedly afforded a rest for half an hour as City led by three – Nico O’Reilly netting the other by ending a divine nine-pass, 22-touch move that started in their own box and had Guardiola and Pep Lijnders embracing.
Haaland scored his first from open play in the league since December 20 before his manager revealed the striker had a ‘niggle’ and asked to come off as a precaution at half time. With that in mind, City ought to be looking at this next nine days with relish.
Salford City arrive in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday and then a free week ahead. Guardiola is usually gracious with time off and City finishing in the Champions League top eight means they can relax somewhat before going to Leeds United the following weekend. It is a luxury they must use wisely as we approach the title run-in.
Bernardo Silva has become integral to Man City operating in a diamond out of possession, with Pep Guardiola giving him a rest in the final 30 minutes with their comfortable advantage
BOBB ON
Oscar Bobb only left City a fortnight ago yet was back already with an 18-minute cameo off the bench for Marco Silva. He’s working his way back to full fitness after injury and chose Craven Cottage after a strong pitch led by Silva – which points to the Fulham boss having considerably more say over transfer targets than some of his peers.
Borussia Dortmund couldn’t find the £27million quickly enough to land and the Norwegian who was given a heartening ovation from the home crowd on his return. He even helped Rayan Ait-Nouri when the left back went down with cramp. ‘We gave away cheap goals,’ Silva rued.
Oscar Bobb was given a heartening ovation from the Man City crowd on his return to the club
FANS LOSE OUT
The unmistakable pockets of empty seats scattered across the Etihad mirrored those in a number of games this midweek and further marked a worrying trend up and down the country.
City are due to open their expanded new stand at the end of the season, revealing corporate bars in a glossy online unveil with the heading “Welcome to the North” which, given the lofty prices incurred for seats with access to these VIP areas, felt a somewhat incongruous strapline. The season ticket holders located in that stand certainly don’t appear overly welcome.
There were almost 4,000 available tickets on general sale in the day before this game and plenty more available at cheaper prices than the £53 a head on re-sale websites. Season ticket holders who can’t attend games struggle to transfer their barcodes to whoever they like. The whole thing looks like a pain and it is sadly the same across the division.
Fulham gave around 2,000 of their allocation back to City and, given they are on the longest losing streak against a single opponent in English history – now standing at 20 games – few can blame them.
