De Bruyne strop and Haaland reaction in latest Man City shambles gives Pep Guardiola new problem

Manchester City lost against Juventus in the Champions League to prolong their bad record ahead of Sunday’s derby vs Manchester United.

Ruben Dias was searching for someone to blame after Juventus had twice attempted to get a cross in for Weston McKennie on the break, but he was still unmarked. Josko Gvardiol had followed Dias to the near post to mark Dusan Vlahovic, leaving the scorer free. As Juventus celebrated, Bernardo Silva simply turned around and walked back to his mark, leaving Erling Haaland to rally his teammates for a last-ditch effort to turn around Manchester City’s most recent setback.

Dias talked fervently about how City needed to get back to their roots and how their legacy would be determined by how they responded to this disastrous run. He acknowledged that the six captains have taken turns stepping in to attempt to improve the situation in recent weeks and that they have the correct voice at the right time when things get difficult.

The fact that five of the six members of the leadership group were on the field at Allianz Stadium but none of them had any answers was alarming. After doing everything their manager asked them to do to regain their confidence, City fell apart once more.

It wasn’t as though they were up against a very self-assured team either. When the League Phase draw was created, this was one of the most anticipated games; nevertheless, it turned out to be more of a mid-table match between two teams that were in terrible form. Prior to their trip to Turin, City had only won once in nine games, while Juventus, who have won just twice in 10 games this season, are unable to win.

Before the Manchester derby, City should have had a chance to regain their rhythm by following their manager’s pre-game instructions. Keeping things simple meant being patient with the ball and regaining possession as soon as it was lost. In recent weeks, as he sought to shift the focus away from the injury issue, he thought they were doing the exact opposite.

Grealish’s comeback contributed to a tactical first half, with Guardiola retaining him in midfield and praising his pre-game retention abilities. Bernardo Silva ended up out wide as a result, which further increased Guardiola’s desired attacking patience. Perhaps the plan also included Ederson’s recall, as the Brazilian is more adept with the ball than Stefan Ortega, who tends to go long.

De Bruyne skillfully found Haaland in the box as they fashioned out a first shot just before halftime, much to the annoyance of home fans who lamented the lack of directness. But it was exactly what the manager wanted when they had two thirds of the possession.

“What will save us is the way we play,” Guardiola underlined 24 hours ago in the Allianz Stadium. “With the ball, it’s being really patient. Let them run and run. Now we are in a moment that we attack so quick and we do a lot of things not in the right tempo that we lose the ball and have to consider a lot of transitions.

“[We must] possess the ball and pass it to a teammate at the appropriate pace, with the appropriate footwork, and with the appropriate footing. Simpler things are more effective. You won’t be able to picture how you will restore your confidence after making an additional thousand million passes and participating in the game. You are fully involved. That supports our identity.

Even if the final output wasn’t very entertaining, City was meticulously following the instructions if that was the directive. Juventus was limited to long-term initiatives, which strengthened the notion that the strategy was effective.

That is, until another unforced mistake that Guardiola hoped would be eliminated undid all the hard work. Ederson stopped superbly from Federico Gatti, but Josko Gvardiol’s clearing was mishandled and he was then outjumped by Dusan Vlahovic to force a header onto Ederson’s shoulder before it dropped just over the line.

City were furious with the awarding of the goal, but once again they only had themselves to blame. This one a truly funny combo of blunders.

Haaland broke out for the cutback, but Guardiola had his head in his hands as Jeremy Doku sent a cross along the face of goal. Before the game, the manager claimed repeatedly that City’s problems are not due to a lack of confidence, but it was evident how brittle the team’s mentality is right now.

After making one mistake after another, City found themselves in a difficult situation once more.

With heads falling even lower and only Haaland providing encouragement, the second goal was nearly as awful as the first. toward full time, De Bruyne and a few of his colleagues stood with their hands on their hips, while many more stood there staring toward the far end.

Guardiola might need to reconsider his claim that this team lacks confidence. With a Manchester derby coming up, it’s now just one win out of ten. A top-24 finish now appears to be more important than a direct path to the Champions League knockout stages.

Not only do they lack confidence, but they currently lack leaders as well.