This is how Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City is defeated: great coaches of the world speak

Rarely a final of the Champions League already has a candidate as clear as this year, in which a defeat of the Manchester City against Inter would be, without a doubt, a surprise. One of the measures of these times to show the favoritism of a team is what the bookmakers pay: while the victory of the English club on Saturday in Istanbul (2 pm, Espn TV) is between 1.45 and 1.5, the Italian is above 6.00.

City’s campaign in this Champions League has been spectacular: five draws and seven victories, several of them spectacular: 0-4 and 3-1 against Sevilla, who have just won the Europa League; 7-0 to RB Leipzig, 3-0 to Bayern Munich and 4-0 to the defending champion, Real Madrid.
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It is not the same

Inter, on the other hand, have had to pedal much more. They came second in their group, behind Bayern, but sending the Europa League to Barcelona. Then he beat Porto with just enough (1-0 and 0-0), he left out the other great of Portugal, Benfica, and he took out his historic rival, Milan, in two classics without much shine.

This overwhelming Manchester City, which has already won the Premier League and the FA Cup, wants the treble. How to win? Only five teams could do it: Liverpool (twice, 3-1 in the Community Shield and 1-0 in the Premier League), the surprising Brentford (who beat them both league games, 1-2 and 1-0, but the latter, with substitutes in the rival formation), Manchester United (2-1), Tottenham (1-0) and Southampton (2-0, in the only elimination, in the League Cup).

The Inter coach Simone Inzaghi, knows that the challenge is huge. On Monday he said that for his team to win the Champions League for the fourth time in history (the last time, in 2010), they must play with head and heart: “I know we will face the strongest team in the world right now. We will have to be very attentive to play as a team. We know the squad they have and that they have a coach like Guardiola, who is the best in the world and who has marked an era. That is why we will face it with respect, but without fear. We know that we have to be good in possession and cover every inch of the pitch well, with a great mentality,” he said.

The recipe of the wise

It seems that the game, the tactical and strategic plans and the quality of Manchester City players are second to none. His triumphs, the imminent possibility of winning the treble, the high individual performances of his footballers and his suffocating playing style of concert of passes and pressure have produced, in addition to results, several and repeated football recitals of the highest quality.

According to what has been said on previous occasions by several of the greatest coaches in the world who have faced the powerful City, some with greater success than others, the ‘universal recipe’ to try to defeat this football machine has two fundamental ingredients: a solid , closed and intense defensive play, which does not rule out some individual marking to close passing lanes, and an explosive and effective counterattack, which ends in a goal.

To this must be added the salt of an attitude of struggle and unwavering dedication, with a large spoonful of concentration, without leaving aside the pepper of the still ball for and against.

The German Thomas Tuchel, current coach of Bayern Munich, and who defeated Guardiola and his City with Chelsea in the 2021 Champions League final with the formula of waiting and counterattacking, said at the time: “The key to defeating Guardiola’s Manchester City is to have a winning mentality and stay focused throughout the match. You can’t afford to relax for a single second against them. In addition, we must be efficient in finishing off the scoring opportunities that arise, since they are usually rare”.

Klopp speaks

another german, Jürgen Klopp, current Liverpool manager, He has faced Guardiola 28 times in different European, German and English competitions. He has a personal best of 12 wins over the Manchester City manager, with 11 losses and 5 draws.

“Manchester City have a very strong possession game, so it’s important to constantly put pressure on them and not give them time to build their game. You have to be aggressive in midfield and prevent your playmakers from finding space. Also, you have to take advantage of set pieces: it can be crucial against them”, Klopp analyzed some time ago.

Carlo Ancelotti He lived the glory of eliminating City (3-1) last year in the Champions League semifinal that he won with Real Madrid last year –the last defeat for the English in that competition–, but he was crushed just three weeks ago ( 4-0) in this year’s semifinal.

“To beat Manchester City you need to have a solid and well organized defence. Guardiola is a master of tactics, so you have to anticipate his movements and close the passing lanes. He also recommends taking advantage of quick transitions and executing counterattacks with precision”, he recounted before facing him in the first leg of last month’s semifinal.

For his part, the Argentine coach of the Atletico Madrid, Diego Simeone, Considered one of the kings of defense, he said at the time: “When you play against Guardiola’s Manchester City, you have to be tactically disciplined and defend with great intensity. It is important to close the spaces and prevent them from having time to think and execute their movements. Also, it’s vital to take advantage of counter-attack opportunities, as they tend to leave space when attacking.”

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