Eberechi Eze’s counter-attack goal for Crystal Palace was the obvious way the underdogs were going to score in the FA Cup final.
Man City fans may argue it was obvious Dean Henderson denied Erling Haaland a clear goal-scoring opportunity, too.
But what isn’t obvious right now is how Man City get back to their dominant levels of the past.
This “horrific” campaign, as Haaland called it, suffered it’s latest blow with the FA Cup upset loss at Wembley. It could yet get worse, with City now needing to pick themselves up for Tuesday’s must-win match with Bournemouth, given how Chelsea and Aston Villa have put the pressure on in the race for a top-five finish and Champions League football.
A season which could have somewhat been salvaged by a FA Cup win and sealing a spot in Europe’s top club competition could lurch to truly disastrous in the space of four days.
Dean Henderson is mobbed by his team-mates after saving Omar Marmoush’s penalty
It is eight years since Pep Guardiola’s first and only other season without a major trophy at Man City. “I will be better, definitely. This season was a lesson for me,” he said at the end of that fruitless debut in English football.
City went on to win six of the next seven league titles. Guardiola revolutionised the game in this country in the process, ripping up records and dominating his opposition. Lesson learnt.
But are the answers so obvious this time?
City are entering a new chapter. Kevin De Bruyne, the figurehead of so much of City’s success, is on his way out, soon to follow Kyle Walker through the exit door. This final Wembley appearance in City colours was a sad way to sign off on the big stage; it could be a real low if his final home game at the Etihad goes the same way on Tuesday.
Tuesday 20th May 7:00pm
Kick off 8:00pm
The recruitment team are looking to young blood. That was certainly the tone of their big-spending winter window splurge, which brought, among others, the arrival of Omar Marmoush, who will help shape the attacking patterns now. Florian Wirtz would be an ideal addition to that forward area but it is unclear whether he will choose City over Bayern Munich.
A season in which Haaland stays fit would be handy too. With him in-and-out and up-and-down this term, City’s attack has spluttered. They scored 96 times in the Premier League last season. This year, with two games remaining, they have managed just 67. A blank at relegated Southampton and now against Palace underlines the point.
Dean Henderson handles the ball outside of his box to deny Erling Haaland
Without De Bruyne, City will need a new creator in chief to emerge. Guardiola has already experimented with different ways forward. The sight of four centre-backs strung across the pitch was reimagined with Nico O’Reilly and Matheus Nunes providing driving runs down the flanks; a box midfield was used to try to gain control of contests; a 3-3-4 in possession, with O’Reilly tucking in from left-back was the latest idea on Saturday.
Guardiola has played a never-ending game with his rivals, adapting his methods just as they figure out his gameplans. But where he goes next isn’t clear.
A season without the funds of Champions League football would make the path to that next idea more complicated. Club World Cup commitments could also, unhelpfully, delay and shorten the time to map it out before the new season comes around.
Of course, no one was predicting such a drop-off from this City side when they were at Wembley lifting the Community Shield at the start of the season. Injury to Rodri flipped everything upside down. Putting it right again will not be as simple as welcoming him back into the fold.
Ballon d’Or winner Rodri is nearing fitness after his ACL injury
The Spaniard is “much, much better” according to Guardiola, who is waiting for the nod from the club doctors to reintroduce him to first-team action. But there is no guarantee he will be as influential and impactful as before. Or not immediately, at least. The severity of his knee injury should not be underestimated.
There must be similar questions over how much more Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan have to give in that middle part of the pitch. Defending transitions has been a problem all season and Crystal Palace – among the masters of the breakaway – hit City in their weak spot again.
Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis, two more young January recruits, may refresh the backline but haven’t had an instant impact. Their integration, like City’s rebuild, looks like it will require time.
Guardiola has signed up to that rebuild, committing in November for two more seasons. Can he come up with another big idea, another series of solutions?
After one of the most difficult seasons of his career as a manager, he faces one of his biggest challenges.
But there is no time to mull it over. No time to wallow in this FA Cup defeat. The next must-win match is just days away. Guardiola said an FA Cup win and Champions League qualification wouldn’t save their season. They now need to salvage a top-five finish from it somehow…
Watch Man City vs Bournemouth live on Sky Sports Premier League on Tuesday from 6.30pm; kick-off 8pm.
This news was originally published on this post .
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