The biggest tactical battle of the last decade or so, has been the fight to find space in the middle of the pitch.
Teams that hold more possession have found it harder to find space in the centre as opponents mark off their midfield pivot. These teams who defend deeper in a mid/low-block can nullify opponents by blocking off the middle of the pitch.
While it’s good to have space out wide, opposition defences would much rather have to deal with a cross than through the middle.
Overloading the centre
Pep Guardiola, one of football’s best innovators, is seeling another inventive solution for this conundrum. He appears to be placing wingers, or several players, in midfield to form a box. This overloads the middle to counteract opponents trying to push play out wide.
In Guardiola’s new system, Jeremy Doku, Antoine Semenyo and Omar Marmoush can be seen in midfield to form a box. With four players in close proximity, they can make quick, short passes to each other.
The formation in buildup goes from 4-1-3-2 to a 3-2-2-3, giving Man City overloods in the centre. It makes the best use of the players they’ve signed. The old half-space players like Bernardo Silva combine with Semenyo and Doku.
This is problematic for opposing teams. It places players just behind their midfield, so they have to go back with them instead of pushing forward and pressing the on-ball player.
They then cannot press the defenders — or Rodri — as the deepest Man City players close to their own goalkeeper. So, there are two midfielders and two attacking players in awkward spots who alal have to be watched.
Man City boast players like Rayan Cherki, Doku and Semenyo, who all have the ability to take the ball, turn and face their man. Put all of them in the same zone and you have a dangerous, dynamic, attack
Issues
Man City’s full-backs have more responsibility in this formation. They have to stay wide otherwise the team will have no width.
This season, Man City players are clustered closer to each other when compared to 2024-25.
Man City’s new way of attacking is interesting, and clearly works with the amount of goals scored. But beacuse of the amount of new arrivals, it doesn’t come without its teething issues.
It’s tough to give new instructions to players when they are already lacking in confidence and dealing with constant injuries. Due to their Club World Cup participation, Man City have basically had no break since last season.
There is also the issue of Man City looking vulnerable. They don’t control games like they used to. In recent games against Bodo/Glimt or Tottenham Hotspur, they were hanging on for large periods.
It may be beneficial to have so many players centrally as you can attack the box when you break the lines. But having so many players in one zone also makes Man City more susceptible to transitions.
Man City are collapsing in the second halves of matches because it’s tough for them to keep up the same intensity, while adapting to a new tactic for 90 minutes.
Guardiola has lamented Man City’s lack of consistency in their title challenge. The Citizens have dropped 11 points since January, compared to Arsenal’s seven.
This is a new plan and direction from Guardiola. While he’s famous for his innovative, constantly changing methods, the league has never been tougher.
Right now, Man City feel like a team being primed for a title challenge next season as opposed to this.
The tactic of overloading the centre with wingers is a refreshing tweak. But because it’s still in the early stages, it doesn’t work for 90 minutes.
If someone else was to come in next season and replace Guardiola, they have a good blueprint to work from but also, crucially, problems that the World Cup may exacerbate.