Manchester City drew 3-3 with Feyenoord in a UEFA Champions League group match last Tuesday, November 26, at the Etihad Stadium. The Cityzens led 3-0 by the 53rd minute, but then let in three goals to allow the Dutch side escape with a draw.
It was yet another setback for Pep Guardiola’s side after they had endured five successive defeats. The inability to beat Feyenoord from a comfortable position must have hurt the 53-year-old Spanish manager.
Joško Gvardiol Should Perform Better Defensively
The 22-year-old Croatian defender was signed by the Cityzens after his impressive display as a centre-back in the 2022 World Cup. However, Guardiola has primarily used him as a left-back since then.
Gvardiol has been pretty good offensively, going into overlaps frequently and sending in crosses into the opposition penalty box, something Kyle Walker has not been quite able to do on the opposite flank. In fact, the Croat is among the highest Man City goal-scorers this season with three goals to his credit.
However, his defensive performance leaves a lot to be desired. Against Feyenoord, Gvardiol was directly responsible for the first two goals conceded by his team. His ill-directed backpass led to Feyenoord’s opening goal and then he failed to intercept a cross that paved the way for the Dutch team’s second goal.
Then, he was left stranded in an advanced position as Feyenoord equalized through a counter-attack. Even during Manchester City’s 0-4 defeat at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur last weekend, Gvardiol struggled to deal with Dejan Kulusevski’s runs through the flanks, especially from counter-attacks.
Helping the attack and scoring goals occasionally is all fine for a defender, but it has to be remembered that he is primarily there in the team to defend. Hence, any shortcomings in that aspect cannot be tolerated and he thus risks getting dropped from the starting XI.
Guardiola’s decision not to replace Oleksandr Zinchenko with a proper left-back seems to be backfiring at the moment. The Cityzens are relying a lot on Gvardiol to provide a creative outlet through the left flank, which he has been doing, too.
However, that seems to have affected his defensive performance a lot. With Rúben Dias and Ballon D’or winner Rodri injured, the English champions are quite fragile defensively anyway and Gvardiol’s shortcomings are aggravating things for them.
The only way out for Guardiola is to replace him with Nathan Aké in the starting XI for the upcoming matches, which include a high-voltage clash with Liverpool on December 1. The Cityzens cannot afford to allow any further slip-ups if they are to seriously aim for their fifth Premier League title in a row this season.
It remains to be seen whether Gvardiol starts for the Cityzens against the Reds next Sunday. Guardiola will have to take a call in this regard before it is too late for his team to revive the season. Against Liverpool, Manchester City’s left-back will have to deal with the potent threat of Mohamed Salah, which is going to be a very difficult task given the Egyptian winger’s superb form. Hopefully, Guardiola will keep that in mind.