Manchester City slogged through with a 1-1 draw away at Borussia Monchengladbach and in the process guaranteed a place in the Round of 16 and a 2nd place finish in the group behind Barcelona. Manchester City dominated possession for most parts but it was the Gladbach side who took the honours in the opening 45 minutes. City were relieved to have managed to level before the break as a deficit to take into the 2nd half would have been nerve wrecking for the away side.
Eventually, the match finished with the same scoreline with 10 men from both sides. Gladbach will now be looking at the Europa league knockout stages while City will have to play out a dead rubber before waiting for the draw.
Let us take a look at the talking points for City.
GUARDIOLA WANTS FLUIDITY BUT IT WAS MORE OF CONFUSION
City went in with a back three for the first time in an away game this season and the uncertainty was there for all to see. It might be argued that City are through but it raises questions whether such an experiment was needed in one of the most important matches in the UCL till now. Kolarov was played all over the pitch. Navas and De Bruyne deputised at right-back at times and while it is expected from Pep to do the unexpected, maybe he doesn’t have the personnel yet to make it click in an optimum manner.
WINNING UGLY MIGHT BE A BOON, NOT A BANE
It is two unfashionable performances on the bounce now and both have yielded favourable results. While Pep reckons that a performance like the one at Selhurst Park will not win titles, he might have to lower his stance a bit in the coming months. City do have talented players but there are areas in the team which needs vast improvements if the Catalan’s complex tactics are to work fully. And for that sole reason, City must not lose their habit of winning ugly in some matches.
AN EXTRA GAME TO EXPERIMENT
Although Pep will aim to win against Celtic in the last group match, he is likely to make a number of changes in personnel and formations to work on his Plan B and C in Europe. The likes of Sane, Maffeo, Fernando, Adaribioyo and Iheanacho will likely come into the picture.
Pep needs to mould Maffeo so that he can be an alternative with the ageing right-backs offering no guarantees anymore. But for now, he is determined to focus on the Premier League without any distractions and it is certainly a warning to the rivals.
