Ahead of the weekend’s match against Sheffield United, Pep Guardiola explained his recent tactical modifications to the press in detail.
Pep Guardiola is a problem solver at Manchester City, the Catalan manager realized his team wasn’t performing as they were in previous seasons. Once he found the issue, he did what he does best in order to fix it. As one of the most studied managers in world football, Pep knows how to search for a better alternative. Given that he lacks strikers at the moment, the obvious option was to fill the opponent’s box with offensive midfielders.
As many people as possible on the attack, coming from all over the place. It took the players a little while to get the idea but they finally did. We were very aware of the defensive game Guardiola’s team was using in recent weeks. It was pretty evident he didn’t like it and he decided to do something to change it. As we all know, Pep loves his ball possession but he loves scoring goals a lot more.
Guardiola’s modifications in detail.
During a press conference picked up by Sky Sports, Guardiola explained: “I didn’t like the way we were playing. In previous seasons, the wingers were wider and higher, so we came back to our principles. “For many reasons, we had to adapt to the quality we had and the players we had in that moment. That is the reason I tried to find the way. In the end, I felt having the wingers wide and high helped us to be more stable and the quality of the players do the rest. When we have the ball, we run less.”
“The reason we didn’t play well was because when we had the ball we ran too much,” he added. “When we have the ball we need to walk. When we don’t have the ball you have to run with your life. Now I think we are calmer. That system — the 5-3-2 — is difficult to attack. I am a little bit concerned about the game tomorrow.”
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