EPL Analysis

Man City Transition

We're So Good, Say Mancini's Men, We Don't Need The Ball
(But We'll Keep It Anyway)

A quick look at one instance of how a top team with an all-universe roster of players is set up to, and executes, counter-attacking football.  The notion of teams dominating possession in order to win is faulty; many great teams are happy ignoring possession stats in favor of creating counters from extraordinarily strong defensive efforts.  The midfield group of Milner, Toure Yaya, Rodwell and Sinclair are not a tricky, 90-plus passes per game sort of bunch.  They form a pretty hard block in front of the center backs (be they two or three...City are messing around with 3 in the back, to the befuddlement of Jonathon Wilson, one of my favorite football analysts) who are, in their own right, a very, very solid group of defenders.  Never mind that Joe Hart is wearing the gloves behind all this armament.

At any rate, while City might not be bowing to conventional wisdom as Wilson points out, there is an odd logic; their forwards and wingers are lethal with little support, and the defense can hold out against virtually any onslaught.  So possession is not necessarily a determining factor in their success (this will get tested in some Champion's League ties, for sure...but even Swansea will offer an intriguing contrast in the EPL- if the new boss of the Swans, Michael Ladrup, doesn't excite you, check your pulse).

Here are three screen grabs from the 3-1 win over QPR (who have an awfully talented group themselves) showing a failed instance (but clearly menacing) of a counter attack by City:

In this photo, we see Toure Yaya covering for another midfielder who has gone to ground to tackle.  The ball is played out of the sliding tackle (intentionally) to Toure, who turns, jukes, and initiates an attack:

As Toure turns, Tevez holds his spot near midfield, and simply offers a fast outlet pass.  By moving the ball a short distance on the tackle, then ten or so yards forward on the very next pass, the entire QPR midfield is beaten, and must now turn and chase facing their own goal.  Nasri, Dzeko and Silva show the spatial discipline of top pros, with the wide men attacking specific defenders without losing width, and Dzeko making a serpentine run to twist and turn the lone center back without crowding the wide players or running into their spaces:

As Tevez turns and attacks forward with great speed, Nasri, Dzeko and Silva all make runs forward and toward spaces that compromise the QPR back line (yellow boxes).  Each space they threaten forces a tough choice from the outnumbered backs, and simultaneously offers Tevez a useful option- and all this without redundancy, no player is running into a space his teammate is already heading for.

The play broke down when the man running with Tevez bravely put in a sliding tackle that punched the ball to the left back, and temporarily halted the City offense.  However, when watching City this year, keen observers will see this sort of attack often as the team presses and breaks for fast chances using the wealth of attacking weapons at their disposal.

Of course, City will dominate possession against many opponents, and have the tools to do this as well.  However, it is doubtful they will try to do what Swansea, Barca and even Arsenal typically do; if there is any way to goal, the quality of the attacking players will give City the confidence to take it.  They can afford to be less circumspect about their offense, more aggressive and effective from more situations than many, simply because of their wealth of attacking options.  

No better chance to see how they can counter than September 18 when City do battle with none other than the reigning La Liga Champions, Real Madrid!