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After a convincing win against Wolves, Manchester City were high on confidence and were hoping to close the gap between league leaders Liverpool to four points. The next few months will be crucial for Manchester City and keeping that in mind Pep Guardiola decided to include Kevin De Bruyne in the starting lineup.
Bernardo Silva was rested and Gundogan filled his spot while Aguero got some game time after being rested against Wolves. At the back, Otamendi got a rare chance as Stones was benched considering his work rate this season. City looked a bit uncharacteristic in the beginning as they missed the energetic Bernardo Silva and Huddersfield defended well.
Against the run of play, Danilo’s optimistic shot crashed into the net after a poor header clearance. This brought up Manchester City’s 100th goal of the season and City looked ruthless in the second half to register a 3-0 victory. Here are a few talking points from the game,
#1 City’s defensive discipline
City’s string of poor performances in December 2018 was majorly due to their frail defence in the absence of the veteran Fernandinho. But since the Liverpool game, City have displayed strong defensive prowess and against Huddersfield too, they put up a strong performance especially when Fernandinho lost possession at crucial stages.
Otamendi was unshakable in the backline and looked comfortable while moving forward searching for passing lanes to Sterling and Sane. The Frenchman Laporte did not look at his usual best and lost the ball in dangerous areas outside the penalty box but his teammates stepped up and pressed hard to regain possession.
Kyle Walker put up an inconsistent performance and his unnecessary tackle on Chris Lowe could have been more costly on another day. But overall, the understanding between the defenders were top notch and almost everyone in the team worked in a selfless manner to help the team win the ball back and maintain possession.
#2 Danilo’s performance
The injury to Benjamin Mendy caused a lot of headache to Guardiola and he was unable to find a proper replacement initially. The left flank has been the centre of City’s attacking runs for a long time and Mendy’s absence resulted in a lack of firepower. But in the past few games, Danilo has displayed a good amount of composure on the ball and has done his defensive duties to good effect.
In this game, he opened the scoring for his team as a powerful shot from 25 yards deflected off a defender’s head and found the back of the net. He likes to cut in from the left wing and has the ability to hit curlers from the left foot.
He combined well with Kevin De Bruyne and Leroy Sane to trouble the opposition defenders. He still has a lot to learn as far as defensive marking is concerned but he has stepped up his game in the absence of Benjamin Mendy.
#3 De Bruyne’s role in the team
In the absence of De Bruyne in the 1st half of the season, Bernardo Silva and Sterling took their game to the next level. This has resulted in a selection conundrum for Guardiola as he can’t leave out Sterling to accommodate De Bruyne in the right wing.
In this game, he played behind Leroy Sane and looked out of place in the first half as the majority of City’s play were concentrated on the right wing. De Bruyne tried shifting flanks but had little impact. In the second half, he was offered more freedom and took a more central role in the midfield.
His vision and intelligence on the ball while moving towards the opposition defence was on display in the second half. He looked at ease while playing a box to box role and his contribution while pressing to win back the ball was impressive. But Guardiola needs to finalize a single position for De Bruyne for the upcoming games.
But Guardiola needs to finalize on a single position for De Bruyne for the upcoming games.
#4 City’s tactical experimentation
Guardiola is famous for his tactical shrewdness and he has never shied away from trying creative things on the field. In the first half, he slightly tinkered with his team’s plans and in order to counter the defensive tactics of Huddersfield, he asked his defenders to stay back and wanted Huddersfield defence to come to move up the field in an effort to win the ball.
The tactics did not work out initially as City struggled to execute it properly and resorted to sideways passing. But once the midfield started drifting up City’s defenders released Sterling and Sane with brilliant long balls and this caused a lot of problems for the Huddersfield fullbacks.
Surprisingly, Kyle Walker was given a more disciplined role and his runs on the right flank were calculated. Aguero did not benefit much from this experimentation as he rarely got the ball and was marked well by Huddersfield defenders. Pep switched to his usual style of play in the second half and the team looked very comfortable as they scored two goals to finish the game.
#5 Huddersfield’s relegation troubles
This has been a forgettable season for Huddersfield and the sacking of David Wagner has not helped their cause and they are in dire need of a fresh playing style. After this disappointing defeat at home, Huddersfield are at the bottom of the table and unless things improve dramatically they are well on their way to the second division.
At this point, they have to rely on the results of the games involving Fulham and Cardiff City. A more positive approach from his team from the next game will the fans and players happy. The interim coach will probably look to revamp their attack with a few bargain buys in this January window.
In this game, their 5 man midfield looked out of sorts against a composed and experienced City midfield as their ultra-defensive mindset hampered the confidence of players. Huddersfield must construct a team that can play around the dynamic Diakhaby in order to escape from relegation.
