APRIL, even more so than May, could be the month that defines Manchester City’s season. It’s the month in which Pep Guardiola’s side could all but secure their third Premier League title in four years. April will also see City face Tottenham Hotspur in the Carabao Cup final and Chelsea in the semi finals of the FA Cup.
Most notably, it will also be decided this month whether or not City will progress to the Champions League’s final four for the first time under Guardiola. Europe is where the Catalan’s impact will on the Etihad Stadium club will be measured and so the Champions League carries even greater significance for City, and Guardiola, than most.
April so far, however, has seen some doubt creep into Manchester City’s play and mindset. The Premier League pace-setters were at their controlled best in the 2-0 away win over Leicester City at the start of the month, but they have been somewhat below par in the two matches they have played since then.
City managed to claim a 2-1 victory in the first leg of their Champions League quarter final tie against Borussia Dortmund last week thanks to a 90th minute winner from Phil Foden, but the Bundesliga outfit gave Guardiola and his players enough of a test to suggest this week’s reverse fixture could go either way. The tie is finely balanced due to Dortmund’s away goal.
Then came Saturday’s home defeat to Leeds United. Guardiola rotated his squad with the second leg against Dortmund clearly at the forefront of his mind, dropping Kevin de Bruyne, Ruben Dias, Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez to the bench, but City still should have had enough to see off Marcelo Bielsa’s side.
"Defeat sometimes is necessary to understand how difficult it is what we have done."
Pep Guardiola took the positives from Manchester City's 1-2 loss to Leeds United pic.twitter.com/8m4GY7yrLH
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) April 10, 2021
“Listen, I made changes but maybe I will play the same team in Dortmund,” Guardiola attempted to reason afterwards. “I’ve said many times they play because I want to let them play, not because I reserve these players. “I demand [of] every team I send out that they win. I don’t select competitions.”
It’s difficult to believe Guardiola might select the same side for Wednesday’s match away to Dortmund, especially after the wasteful performance they produced against Leeds, or that he doesn’t prioritise competitions. By allowing City’s momentum to be disrupted, the 50-year-old took a risk that didn’t pay off.
Guardiola didn’t seem too concerned with the home defeat to Leeds as it unfolded, leaving de Bruyne and Mahrez for the full 90 minutes as his team chased a late goal. This is the sense of security a 14-point lead at the top of the Premier League table, as City had before kick off on Saturday, gives you.
Nonetheless, Guardiola’s team demonstrated a hesitancy, particularly in the final third, that they haven’t shown since the early stages of the season. Another performances like this in Dortmund on Wednesday night and there’s a good chance Manchester City will be left to reflect on yet another failure to progress past the quarter final stage of the Champions League.
So much of Guardiola’s philosophy is fuelled by the power of belief. It’s easy to view the Catalan as a coach through the prism of his tactics, but without the faith of their manager, City’s players wouldn’t be able to do what they do. Shake that belief, though, and Guardiola’s whole ideology starts to crumble.
Manchester City are a long way from crumbling. They are still Premier League champions-elect despite the loss to Leeds and are still well-placed to make it past Borussia Dortmund, but Guardiola mustn’t allow the tremors of doubt to grow into something more serious at the most critical point of the whole season.
