Pep Guardiola had made the decision. The Manchester City manager had known for five or 10 minutes and so when the half-time whistle sounded in Wednesday night's Champions League tie against Inter at the Etihad Stadium, he sprinted off to the dressing room, eager to put the plan in place.
It is a major part of Guardiola's greatness. The ability to see when and where things are going awry; to make the needed changes. Here, there was not much going right.
City were blocked up, unable to find fluency or incisiveness. There was an unusual kind of vulnerability about them.
Inter oozed assurance - apart from in front of goal. They built calmly from the back. They got through City in the transitions.
Guardiola worried in particular when one of his players lost possession without support.
Inter's low 5-3-2 block was stifling and strangely captivating at the same time, players rushing en masse from side to side, forcing City to recycle quickly, which they could not do.
The Inter strikers, Marcus Thuram and Mehdi Taremi, pressured Rodri. City's midfield tempo-setter could not join things up.
This story is from the September 20, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the September 20, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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