City are learning to master football's DARK ARTS

Pep's conjuring up a new street-smart side - and Haaland will only make them tougher

- ALEX BROTHERTON

ASK any football fan to describe Pep Guardiola's City and the same words and phrases will likely come up: possession, intricate passing, positional play, attractive, goals, and maybe even the dreaded 'tikitaka' The current incarnation of Pep's Blue, which just won a fourth Premier League title in five years, is arguably the one closest aligned to Guardiola's footballing principles.

City are dominating possession more than ever before, pinning opponents in their own half by employing an extremely high defensive line.

This season City played with a fluid front-three, with the two number eights joining them to form a front five whenever they attacked.

There was less speed and fewer counter-attacks than in 2017/18 and 2018/19, but more patience and domination.

Guardiola often deployed a false nine instead of a striker and had his full-backs tuck in to create a 2-3-5 formation when in possession.

These are not new ploys for Guardiola, but his City team had never before done them all at once.

However, there was a trait that the Blues developed over the course of the season seldom associated with Guardiola teams.