Treble Winners Manchester City Must Strengthen Gameplay

(Photo : Emilio Garcia on Unsplash)

The latest season of the English Premier League EPL is already underway and we have witnessed some pretty amazing matches so far. As of now, the Treble winners Manchester City leads the table with 5 wins from their matches.

Following City are Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool and Arsenal. Unfortunately for Manchester United fans, the team's struggling at 13th position with 3 losses recorded for their first 5 matches; a poor start to the season.

The Treble Winners Look for another League Cup

Manchester City has been amazing in the previous years and has also dominated the league from the beginning, winning all of its matches. The Treble winners have created a sense of fear amongst the other teams because of the team's impeccable attacking and gameplay.

The playmakers including Bernardo Silva and Kevin de Bruyne, Jack Grealish, and Phil Foden alongside phenomenal attackers Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez make the team simply spectacular.

Not only this but thanks to Guardiola's amazing management and tactics, the team has been performing quite well in the EPL matches as well as Champions League fixtures. Though it's quite some pressure for the team since they're the defending champions and Treble winners.

Hence, a lot is expected from the team and the players, which is why the management is meant to be vigilant against all kinds of teams.

A Troubling Match with Red Star Belgrade

City went face to face with Red Star Belgrade commonly referred to as Zvezda in UCL starting fixtures. Although Pep Guardiola stated that City will be able to defend its UCL title easily. However, defending a title against EPL teams is one thing but doing it with those competing in the UCL is another.

Facing off Zvezda, the team was one goal down after Osman Bukhari scored in the 45th minute. Surprisingly, City had the most possession as well as shots on the goal. However, Osman and Zvezda were able to score the opening goal with just one shot.

City was unable to score before the half time, even after having dominance in terms of the stats; possession, shots on the goal, and passing. It showed that even with a dominating effect, the team lacked the strategy and the enthusiasm to actually use their dominance.

Although City went on to win their opening match against Zvezda by 3-1, still, the goal against City was indeed a 'jolt' for the team as per Guardiola. However, Guardiola termed this as necessary for the team since after winning the league, the team needed to show and prove itself as worthy of the title, which the team did.

The match got great stream count over the internet especially when Zvezda took the lead from the defending champions. However, the anticipated outcome was soon revealed.

The Incredible Depth of City's Game

There's no doubt that City's gameplay holds amazing depth and gives opponents a tough cookie to chew. However, despite that, the Red Star showed a fearless spirit against the Treble giants, giving the same amount of pressure in return.

The Red Star has only lifted the league cup in 1991 and has won European cups close to City. However, the team's current status isn't fortified enough to reach and beat the level of a giant like.

As per the team's coach Barak Bachar, it was completely amazing to see how City's players controlled the ball and how they coordinated the gameplay without having to go over strategy again and again.

Bachar was quite proud of his team, having suffered a defeat, he was proud because the team faced such an amazing foe. However, it's not the first time that City has had such surprising attacks at the back of their net and it'll not be the last.

What the future holds for City?

It's evident that the UCL is completely different from EPL and holds a great challenge for the team. City has already defended its EPL title; however, doing the same for the UCL title won't be that easy.

The opponents in the UCL play with great ambition, and knowing that they're facing a ruthless foe as City, the teams will be giving their best to outdo them. In addition, Guardiola admitted to having missed various chances that could've been converted to goals.

The team is also adjusting due to key players leaving such as Ilkay Gundogan while playmakers go to the sidelines. However, City's been winning all of its matches so far and sees a promising future as well.