The champions have conceded as many goals in their last three Premier League games as they had in their opening 11 matches. What's gone wrong?
Pep Guardiola may be the most admired coach in the world for the spell-binding, attacking football his sides have played down the years, from Barcelona to Bayern Munich to Manchester City. However, his thrilling brand has always been built on a platform of defensive solidity. In his 14 full seasons in elite coaching, Guardiola's side's have only not had the best defensive record in the league on three occasions.
The Catalan is a devotee of Johan Cruyff, who famously said that if you have the ball, the opposition cannot score. And despite all of the beautiful football the coach has overseen, he always been obsessed with taming the opposition. Above all, he has valued controlling the play.
But right now, Guardiola's side seem to be able to do everything but control games. His team are still playing thrilling football, but they have forgotten how to defend.
City have conceded eight goals in their last three Premier League games (drawing 4-4 at Chelsea, 1-1 with Liverpool and 3-3 with Tottenham) – as many as in their first 11 matches of the season. And if you count their 3-2 win over RB Leipzig in the Champions League, they have shipped a remarkable 10 goals in their last four matches.
So what's happened to Guardiola's ever-reliable defence? GOAL investigates…
GettyGundogan's departure & Rodri reliance
Ilkay Gundogan was pretty much the perfect midfielder. He was able to dictate the pace of a game and exert his own control on it with his subtle touches and passing, and was also more than capable of scoring crucial goals, stepping up in clutch moments like the final day of the 2021-22 season or in last season's FA Cup final.
The German's departure to Barcelona left City with an enormous hole and they could never fill it entirely, but they brought in Mateo Kovacic and Matheus Nunes to at least plug some of the gaps. Unfortunately, the new signings have had their share of injury problems, making just 12 starts in all competitions between them.
The pair's absences, coupled with John Stones' long stretches out, has put too much pressure on Rodri to anchor City. The Spaniard has done an amiable job and the team are almost lost without him, but he has naturally struggled to give the team the same control they had last season.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesStones' injury troubles
Guardiola's greatest tactical tweak of last season was to reinvent Stones as a holding midfielder, giving the defender license to move forward when City were in possession. He had originally experimented with Rico Lewis in the role, but found that Stones was better suited to it.
The result was that City enjoyed greater possession and control, as Stones was able to slow the pace down when needed or step it up, helping his side break the press with his renowned ball carrying skills.
The former Everton man has, however, been injured for the majority of the season, depriving Guardiola of his ideal link-man between defence and midfield. Stones injured a hip muscle in the Community Shield, missing the first two months of the season. He only got three-and-a-half games under his belt before picking up another injury against Young Boys and is yet to make his return.
Guardiola has mostly played Manuel Akanji in the role in Stones' absence, and he has had some success there, especially against Liverpool, when City managed to control most of the match but failed to kill off Jurgen Klopp's side, allowing Trent Alexander-Arnold to equalise with a late howitzer.
But the Swiss' limitations compared to Stones' aptitude for the role became more apparent against Tottenham, above all in the second half. The good news is that 'the Barnsley Beckenbauer' is set to return imminently and could feature on Wednesday against Aston Villa.
Getty ImagesDe Bruyne's absence looms large
City have also had to make do without Kevin De Bruyne, their captain and talisman of the last eight years, for the entirety of the season, not counting the 20 minutes he played on the opening day against Burnley before tearing his hamstring.
De Bruyne is known more for his attacking threat than his defensive contributions, but his absence means City are missing one of their main focal points on the pitch. The Belgian ranked second within the team last season for progressive ball carries and progressive passes completed, and third for progressive passes received, which shows his influence on the team's overall play beyond the more obvious metrics of goals and assists.
And if you believe in the mantra that attack is the best form of defence, then De Bruyne's lengthy absence explains City's problems at the back even more. The playmaker has scored 96 times and assisted 153 goals for the Blues, and last year was as effective as ever, with 10 goals and 31 assists.
If De Bruyne were fit and available, it's easy to imagine that City would have taken care of Liverpool and Tottenham long before their late fightbacks, as well as tamed the chaos at Stamford Bridge.
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(C)Getty ImagesDoku's electricity leads to instability
Jeremy Doku has been one of the most exciting things to happen to City this season and taken almost no time at all to impose himself on the Premier League. The winger has also quickly won over the fans at the Etihad, who rise to their feet in anticipation every time he picks up the ball.
Doku has been a revelation and City are a much more vibrant and unpredictable team with him in it. But the other side of the coin is that the 21-year-old's exhilarating dribbles make City more vulnerable to turnovers, giving the opposition the chance to counter-attack when they are out of shape.
He is also not the best player when it comes to tracking back or jockeying his marker, and Son Heung-min was able to comfortably dribble past him and score Tottenham's opening goal on Sunday. When the Belgian plays, City look less balanced and less assured than when Jack Grealish is on the left wing.But lately, Guardiola seems to have been willing to accept the defensive downside of playing Doku over Grealish for the attacking upside, starting him in the last three matches.
Grealish was one of City's best players last season largely down to his willingness to follow Guardiola's orders, frequently hugging the touchline and slowing play down so his team-mates could get forward, but he has had his own fitness struggles, missing a month with a thigh injury and falling victim to a vomiting bug before the Liverpool game.