Erling Haaland missed Manchester City’s 1-0 win over Leeds United on Saturday evening.
Ultimately, they didn’t need their Norwegian hitman to deliver the three points. While a striker of his calibre would have helped Man City maximise their dominance – the Citizens managed 67% possession at Elland Road at the weekend – Antoine Semenyo’s strike on the stroke of half time proved the difference in Yorkshire.
In this article, we’ll cover:
4-1-3-2
The victory itself marked the fifth successive league game that Pep Guardiola utilised a 4-1-3-2 setup. The system allows Guardiola to field as many of his attacking players as possible with Rodri acting as the safety net. Crucially, it’s a setup that has really benefitted Nico O’Reilly.
O’Reilly has started five league matches in midfield this season. All five have come in the five games Guardiola has used a 4-1-3-2 formation. A midfielder-by-trade, the 20-year-old was initially used at left-back. The defensive deployment made sense. Standing at 6’4″, O’Reilly is an imposing figure.
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Guardiola’s decision to use O’Reilly at the back has allowed the youngster to hone his defensive qualities. Indeed, only Rayan Ait-Nouri (3.3) is making more tackles per 90 minutes than O’Reilly (2.7) of all Man City players in the Premier League this season. What’s stood out is how Guardiola has tinkered with his lineup to add physicality to the midfield.
O’Reilly’s physicality key
There’s a growing importance on winning physical battles and duels in the middle of the park. That’s hardly a shock. Central midfield remains the most important part of the pitch. Yet, Guardiola has started O’Reilly with Rodri and Bernardo Silva in midfield, two workhorses rather than the technicians at his disposal.
Phil Foden, Jeremy Doku and Tijjani Reijnders have been overlooked of late as Guardiola favours dominance. Rayan Cherki only started at Leeds because Haaland missed out, meaning Semenyo was pushed forward to partner Omar Marmoush. O’Reilly himself has admitted that a key reason he enjoys playing in midfield is because he enjoys breaking up play.
“I’m adding a bit more physicality in [midfield] and I’m winning duels – I think it helps these players out so much who are so good on the ball and dictate the game,” he recently told the official Man City website.
“It’s just about breaking up the play in the middle and get those players on the ball… any of these players – I think it helps out and that’s what I’m there to do. I’m enjoying it!”
“Nico gives us that physicality that we need in the middle,” Guardiola recently enthused.
It speaks volumes that O’Reilly has now locked down a spot in a position that comes with a huge responsibility under the Spaniard. O’Reilly, though, isn’t there to merely make up the numbers. Rather, he warrants his spot in the side.
Man City’s versatile enforcer
O’Reilly isn’t one to pry apart defences. He’s averaging just 0.8 completed take ons and creating just 0.7 chances per 90 in the Premier League this season. Conversely, his ability to win the ball back is vital to Man City’s overall dominance. Only Ruben Dias (3) made more tackles than O’Reilly (2) for Guardiola’s side at Leeds on Saturday. No Man City player won more aerial duels (3) than the academy product.
At Elland Road, O’Reilly and Silva’s average position map showed them forming a midfield three with Rodri while Cherki operated as an auxiliary No.9. This in turn allowed Matheus Nunes and Ait-Nouri to provide the width from right and left-back, respectively. It was a 4-1-3-2 on paper only. Marmoush and Semenyo split to pull wide for Cherki to push through the middle.
With the onus on getting the ball wide to the full-backs to peg the Leeds wingers back, just 24% of Man City’s attacks came through the middle of the pitch. Silva, Rodri and O’Reilly weren’t there to punch holes in the Leeds defence. They were there to mop up and allow Nunes and Ait-Nouri to flourish.
Full-backs flourished with Man City safety net
The former created more chances (4) than any other Man City player at Elland Road. The latter provided the assist for Semenyo’s winner. With O’Reilly acting as an additional midfield enforcer, the full-backs can overlap safe in the knowledge the midfielders can plug the gaps. O’Reilly’s experience at left-back means he boasts the knowhow to provide the relevant cover for the attack-minded Ait-Nouri when the Algerian pushes on.
“He is becoming undroppable,” former Man City centre-back Joleon Lescott said of O’Reilly.
And the ex-defender certainly has a point. The Citizens are unbeaten in the eight games O’Reilly has started in midfield this season. They’ve won seven. He’s providing the requisite steel in the middle of the park to shore up Man City’s title pursuit. If they do pip Arsenal to top spot, the versatile operator will have played a key role.
Pep will be hoping now he can recover from an ankle knock to face relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest in midweek. Even without him, Man City should have enough to chop down the Tricky Trees. Keeping O’Reilly fit for the run-in, after all, could be the difference between success and relative failure. Few could have foreseen that being the case at the turn of the year.
