Pep Guardiola Needs to Replicate Manchester City Away Form at the Etihad Stadium

There was a time when Manchester City fans might not have relished going to watch their team play. Especially in the mid-2000s—when the club were strapped for funds and relying on cheap transfers and loan signings—supporters might have considered why they were spending their hard-earned cash on watching yet another poor performance.

The displays got so bad at the then-named City of Manchester Stadium during the 2006-07 season—the final year under Stuart Pearce's management—that some season-ticket holders stopped going before the end of the campaign.

In effect, they were paying to do something else on a Saturday afternoon other than suffer the 90 minutes of uninspiring and dull football that was on offer—and that would probably end in a defeat, too.

Back then, City didn’t see a lot of the ball. Unlike the teams that have had the likes of David Silva, Yaya Toure and Sergio Aguero controlling play, City’s 2006 setup of Joey Barton, Darius Vassell and Bernardo Corradi didn’t quite cut the mustard.

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There’s a small sense of irony, then, that City are struggling at home right now because they see so much possession. From being in a position of barely being able to get a kick of the ball a decade ago, they’re now so much in control that they have their opponents running scared and shutting the game down from the start.

What does a manager in the visitors' dugout do when his team are faced with 11 players who can ping possession around them like they’re not there? The answer is frustrating for City fans: They drop their side deeper into their own penalty area, stay tight and narrow, and make sure there are no gaps.

It’s doubly problematic at the moment because, as Everton, Southampton and Middlesbrough have shown, it’s an effective way of leaving the Etihad Stadium with something to show for an afternoon’s work. Even Sunderland, in the opening match of the season, presented City with a problem by doing something similar—and the result only became a home win thanks to a late own goal. 

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Three consecutive 1-1 draws at the Etihad against sides that a title challenger would expect to be beating at home is disappointing, but they have highlighted what could be a problem for Pep Guardiola throughout his time in the Premier League.

His tactics rely on the opposition leaving their own box from time to time. While it’s not playing on the break in the traditional sense—sitting deep, conceding possession, and waiting for an opportunity to steal a goal, much the way City’s opponents have been playing at Eastlands—it is still a counter-attack style.

Guardiola wants the other team to believe they can steal possession off his defenders and create themselves a goalscoring chance. That means they’ll come hunting for the ball higher up the pitch, leaving space for his attacking players to wreak havoc if a couple of quick passes break through the opposition lines.

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However, having seen the effect that that style of play has had in home matches against the likes of Bournemouth and West Ham United, City fans haven’t been able to really enjoy it since.

Three successive draws at the Etihad have come about because the other team’s game plan has been more effective—sit deep and let City pass the ball slowly in front of them, only pouncing to score on the break when there is a good opportunity to do so.

There is no onus on the away side to do any of the attacking, while City are expected to run riot.

It’s perhaps that weight of expectation that’s meant the club’s away form has been better than the home record so far this campaign. Normally, a title challenger will turn their home ground into a fortress—Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini both did that in their Premier League-winning campaigns—but City are finding it easier to pick up three points on the road at the moment. 

A misplaced pass or a wayward shot at the Etihad is greeted with groans from the home fans. Of course, it’s understandable—chances are at a premium because the opposition aren’t giving them up too easily and City are struggling to break them down.

A wasted opportunity might be the last time the attackers get near to goal for 15 minutes, and all that hard work to create the chance is gone.

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As games progress, supporters become more and more edgy. The tension in the stands is palpable and even when the opening goal went in from Aguero against Middlesbrough, it wasn’t lifted. Perhaps that’s because many knew City can’t be trusted to stay solid in defence at the moment either, and an equaliser was always a possibility unless the home team got a second goal.

It’s little coincidence that when Barcelona attempted to pressurise the City defence, the home side found it a lot easier to break through and score. The club’s best performance of the season came against the best team they’d faced—largely because it allowed the manager to attack as he does best.

That’s probably why Saturday's home game with Chelsea—who aren’t likely to spend the majority of the game in their own penalty area—isn't necessarily a bad fixture while City are considered to be struggling for form. It still won't be easy, however.

With the so-called "lesser" teams sitting in deep and not being drawn on to Guardiola's defenders, the Catalan's main game plan isn't working. They can't counter-attack an opponent that isn't attacking themselves. It means City's attacks are falling down with two- and three-touch football on the edge of the box, with the home side moving the ball too slowly to draw players out of position.

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For the recent run of home draws, it's felt that the manager has needed his players to take more risks and try more first-time passes. The lack of movement in and around the opposition area hasn't helped either, so perhaps Guardiola might be better served with getting Silva and De Bruyne into the No. 10 position more often—or even getting Kelechi Iheanacho to play alongside Aguero up front. The pair have proved lethal when played together in the past.

Going with the pacy options like Raheem Sterling or Jesus Navas doesn't have the same effect if they can't get into a foot race with their full-back. This is where the manager needs his own wide defenders to be pushing forward and overlapping to create space—in recent home matches, this hasn't especially been a key factor.

Facing a cauldron-like atmosphere when playing away is almost suiting City right now. Guardiola has managed to solve the problem of his side wilting when under pressure, something that had developed during Pellegrini’s reign; the team look like they enjoy being the pantomime villains winding up the crowd.

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It seems to play a part in egging on the opposition players to leave their own defensive third. Trips to Stoke City, Crystal Palace and Burnley were all similar in that regard, as Guardiola’s side looked like they relished being jeered and booed at every given opportunity.

The home fans wanted to see City fail, and, almost as if they’d been empowered by that, opponents chase the ball that little bit more and leave a few more gaps for the visitors to exploit.

So far this season, City have only failed to beat Tottenham Hotspur on the road. In their seven away matches, Guardiola’s men have won six—and the majority of them have been quite comfortable in the end.

Many suggested the 2-0 loss at White Hart Lane showed the world how to beat City, but it actually demonstrated more how Guardiola wants his opponents to play. Most teams aren’t going to be able to do to City what Tottenham did, and most will end up being punished by the likes of De Bruyne and Sterling on the break.

It’s not often that a title challenge is based on a team’s away form, but City have been doing better on the road than on their own patch so far. If they can find some better results at the Etihad, they’ll be in the mix come the end of the season.