The Story of the Season So Far

The last three seasons have been swashbuckling under the steady guide of Josep Guardiola but this season we find ourselves in unfamiliar territory presently. Admittedly the early season positive coronavirus tests coupled with the injuries suffered by key members of the playing staff have not aided the course either. Pep Guardiola also recently signed a new two year deal to continue his work at the club, this deal divided opinions amongst city's fan base where many feel he has not earned his new deal and they are not wrong to have this opinion based on the performance of the team currently.  

Manchester City currently sit 10th on the premier league table with a 15 point haul and have a goal difference of +4  having only scored 15 goals and conceded 11. Manchester City have only created 14 big chances in the league this season and have missed 11 of this big chances created as things currently stand. Riyad Mahrez currently has the most goals for a city player in the league with a measly tally of 4 goals with the next best player (Raheem Sterling) having only two goals. This is a complete drop-off from the usual standards and heights set by the Manchester city team.

 

    

      

     This table above tells the very disappointing story of City’s season. It shows that when compared to the two previous seasons there is massive drop in numbers and this is why city find themselves where they currently are. Manchester city are creating way less chances than their normal average and many spectators are linking this challenge with the departure and failure to replace the genius, that's David Silva who had the left side of their attack under his control. They are also finding it difficult to score and convert the few chances they are able to create which could have been avoidable had they reinforced in the attacking department considering the advancing age of their record goal scorer Sergio Aguero and his well detailed troubles with his knee that has restricted him to just 190 minutes this season in all competitions. This is a far cry from the numbers of the previous years.

In the Uefa Champions League, it is a completely different story as Manchester City are on a roll having won all 4 of their matches and sit top of their group with 12 points and have scored 10 goals while only conceding once in this current campaign. This is a total contrast to their league form but the fans are not convinced by this good form in Europe because Manchester city have always found it easy to navigate the group stages of the UCL. They will only be judged by their performances in the knockout stages of the competition which has proved to be a hurdle they are yet to overcome in the past seasons.

The expectations from the supporters of this great club are in complete contrast with the current performance of the team. Just like the current slogan from the club’s campaign to combat the absence of fans due to the covid-19 outbreak this team; the one that has brought the fans unrivaled joy “IS NOT REALLY HERE”. This is a shadow of the team of the past and they need to arrest this drop in form and start picking up wins to have any semblance of a title challenge in the domestic league. The manager seems to have fixed the problems in defense that derailed their title defense last season, the problems now in this new campaign look to be in both midfield and attack. He needs to devise a new system to deal with the departure of David 'El-Mago' Silva and ease the creative burden on Kevin De Bryune who has looked exhausted after the exploits of last season while Manchester city also desperately need Raheem Sterling to make that jump from good goal-scorer to elite goal-scorer in other to replace the goals Aguero brings to the team.

 

Manchester City’s prospects are not looking good come March when the season draws to an end. On current the course on which they are headed they will not be making the exclusive top 4 positions in the domestic campaign which will enable them to qualify for the UCL for 2021/2022 unless of course they manage to win the current UCL campaign. Their prospect based on the exploits of past performances in Europe have them heading out in their usual fashion at the quarter-finals stage of the competition.

 

Pep Guardiola and his Blue army have their work cut out for them if they are to reclaim past glory and show that their early season form is a one-off occurrence. If anybody can do it though I strongly believe that this team can and I wish them the best of luck in the adventure ahead. COME ON CITY!!!

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