Manchester City’s recent problems have seeped into the wider public consciousness to such an extent that they entered political prime time a couple of Fridays ago.
Football does not usually feature on Have I Got News For You and yet, as the panel discussed how a high percentage of Manchester residents were not working, Paul Merton intervened to suggest that number had been increased by Pep Guardiola’s team . With a big old man’s smile.
Merton is apparently a Tottenham fan. A knowing laugh followed. Either an informed crowd or the crisis has sparked significant interest among the informals. It is almost certainly the latter.
However long this lasts, the fall of those who have dominated it for so long will always offer fascination, from the perspective of human interest more than anything else.
Fascination that Guardiola clearly doesn’t care for as he makes his way through this rocky area. One that has now taken us to the point where City’s manager has ordered him to play “a billion passes” to restore some semblance of calm.
Don’t worry, this was not like that. They will leave Italy on Thursday morning having lost a seventh game in 10, really giving it away, and placed 22nd in a 36-team Champions League with no reasonable hope of making the top eight. So it will be another two games in February, as long as they make it to the playoff round. Oh, and an injured Manchester United will be next Sunday.
Weston McKennie produced a magnificent shot to snatch a home victory from Manchester City.
The visitors have lost seven of their last 10 games as their weak form reaches Europe.
Pep Guardiola’s players did not play particularly badly or disobey orders, but they were taken down with little effort in Turin
The worst part about this was that City didn’t even perform particularly badly and carried out Guardiola’s instructions.
Telling his team to go back to basics, to play a “simple” game, Guardiola unleashed his inner James Carville this week. It’s the passes, stupid. City have not been economical enough with the ball in recent weeks, they have not recycled with the patience they are famous for.
The message had been heard, and City played square balls, often without much risk, to get Juventus out. The Italians pretty much stayed where they were, thank you very much. This led to a confrontation of sorts.
Rushed is, in effect, what Guardiola had described his team, in stark contrast to the usual forensic analysis of rivals. That, more than anything else, is a test of where this current team is at.
And as the results became more and more concerning throughout November, his players had agitated looks and began trying to kick down doors only when they needed a hit. This has led to more eventful matches and they entered the fiery Allianz Arena fearing the same thing.
Only sixth in Serie A, Juventus are draw specialists under Thiago Motta (a young midfielder who came to prominence at Barcelona as Guardiola’s time came to an end) and the intrigue surrounding their patchy form has been a similar topic of debate here to that of City. Motta wants to control the games like the boy to his right always has, although this may not be the night for that.
They sat back and waited for opportunities to take possession high up the pitch. City, in their current form, will give him that and Rico Lewis’s indecision at left-back offered a ray of light to Francisco Conceicao. One of Ederson’s botched clearances caused a brief panic.
“Everyone is involved to change the dynamic a little, that’s all,” said Guardiola to explain why the Brazilian came out of the cold after three games on the bench. Given the nagging injuries, it is the only real position where Guardiola can influence a significant change, having given Stefan Ortega a chance to see if it would alter his fortunes.
With Thiago Motta, Juventus has become a specialist in draws and had a cautious first half
The hosts punished their English guests for missed opportunities as the standoff continued.
But Dusan Vlahovic proved the difference eight minutes into the second half to give Juventus the lead on Wednesday.
Erling Haaland came close five minutes before the break but couldn’t take advantage of the opportunity
Kevin De Bruyne also tried to come back on foreign soil but couldn’t open the lock
Guardiola’s team continued to look low on confidence and looked dangerously close to missing out on qualifying for the Champions League round of 16 entirely.
It didn’t make a substantial difference, while City still found themselves missing opportunities that could be punished in Turin. They are not great opportunities, but Guardiola wants to eliminate them and believes that a calmer attitude in the preparation of the game will avoid them. Kenan Yildiz, Türkiye’s teenage sensation, missed a wide attempt as Ederson struggled, then beat Kyle Walker to nearly score the first goal.
However, there was a reminder of what this team can do. Erling Haaland spotted Michele Di Gregorio’s whites five minutes before the break and owed it all to Kevin De Bruyne, whose extraordinary reverse pass saw Juventus trip over their own feet (the obvious ball initially appeared to go to Bernardo Silva for the right). only for Haaland to not lift the chip correctly. Guardiola rubbed his face. Less than that, you will leave a mark.
Dusan Vlahovic served eight minutes of the second half, Juventus led and City did not help themselves. Federico Gatti’s sweet volley was saved by Ederson, but Josko Gvardiol could only slot into space, allowing another cross to come in. Vlahovic squeezed in between defenders and fired a header straight at Ederson. The force was such that it dragged the goalkeeper with it behind the line.
Another avoidable moment in a long, long list now, with Ederson failing to hold up a cruel cross from Yildiz and almost giving away a second. Rico Lewis, Jeremy Doku and Bernardo Silva all had efforts blocked at the other end as City continued to try and pick locks in a way we haven’t seen much of over the last month. De Bruyne shot wide from distance, Doku couldn’t spot Haaland (he went to the far post when the striker had dived close) and Di Gregorio deflected Ilkay Gundogan’s curler.
The final ignominy came 15 minutes from time when Weston McKennie volleyed home Timothy Weah’s clever cross. That’s Weston McKennie, who left Leeds United after a rather desperate 20 appearances.