Sunday, 30 August 2015

City v Watford - a game that would have been a struggle last year

Last season there was a template to have success against us. Sit deep, pack the central area's and hit us on the counter-attack. A number of teams had success with this tactic against us (e.g. Stoke and Hull at home). A key to this season will be if we have found a way to play against this. Yesterdays game was a promising sign that we may have.

Yesterday, Watford attempted to use the first part of the template. They sat deep and packed the midfield. The difference was there was no attempt by them to hit us on the counter-attack. The same weekend last year we lost to Stoke who sat deep and scored the only goal of the game from a counter attack when we had a corner. So, while it remains to be seen if we can defend better in these games, the fact that we eventually broke through is a good sign.

Key to the breakthrough was a tactical shift at half time. In the first half it was a 4-2-3-1 formation with Sterling and Navas wide. Navas had a poor half and was at his most frustrating. In the second half, Nasri replaced Navas and we switched to closer to a 4-4-2, with Sterling joining Aguero in the middle. Perhaps Watford were still trying to adjust to this change and this was why Sterling was allowed to drift into the penalty area unmarked for his goal. Whatever the reason, this is the first time we have needed a plan B this season. Last year in similar games we seemed to lack one. The fact we needed it, used it and it worked bodes well for the rest of the season.

That's now 10 consecutive wins, a club record. It feels a little false in that the record is spread over 2 seasons, but even if we consider just the first 4 games of the season, this is the best start to a season anyone has had in English football. A long way to go, but so far, so good.


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