The evolution of Guardiola’s Man City reveals a key Champions League change | OneFootball

Manchester City were an indictment of the old Champions League group stage. Now they are an advertisement for the new league phase. They were the team who might have killed off the four-team group: City invariably seemed to have qualified before the penultimate game, let alone the last. Now they are stalked by jeopardy.

A year ago, with 45 minutes remaining, City were losing to Club Brugge, 25th in a 36-team table, facing the earliest of exits. They scrambled up to 22nd, drew Real Madrid and went out before the last 16 even began. Now they are 11th, trapped in congestion, part of a complicated equation. The side that made the Champions League predictable now make it unpredictable. Their last three matches have been a win over Real Madrid in Spain, sandwiched by a home defeat to Bayer Leverkusen and a historic loss to Bodo/Glimt.

Once again, City have 90 minutes to shape their destiny; it is likely to alter multiple times over a meeting with Galatasaray. “It is very important to be in the top eight,” said Jeremy Doku. Part of City’s motivation is simply to reduce their workload. “We don’t play two games and with the amount we have now, two games less is good for us,” added Doku. The knockout play-off round occurs either side of a Premier League meeting with Newcastle. Either, both, or neither could be in European action the previous and subsequent midweek, which could determine who wins it.

“It is really important with the game weight to be able to finish in the first eight,” said Pep Guardiola. Getting there, however, is not as simple as just winning on Wednesday. City need to leapfrog at least three rivals in the standings. It helps that two – Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle – face each other and thus cannot both triumph. “We need to focus on trying to win our game,” said Guardiola. But City could be forgiven for having an eye on Chelsea’s trip to Napoli, Tottenham’s visit to Eintracht Frankfurt and Sporting CP’s away game in Bilbao; each might offer the potential of a rival dropping points.

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Man City players applaud the fans after defeat to Bodo Glimt (AP)

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Pep Guardiola passes on a message to Erling Haaland (REUTERS)

And even a victory over the Turkish champions could come with risks. Directly below City are Atletico Madrid, at home to their tormentors Bodo/Glimt, with a scenario whereby Guardiola’s team could be overtaken on goal difference. The closing stages could be a shootout as teams seek extra goals. “In the last 10-15 minutes we will see,” said Guardiola.

Perhaps, in the broader picture, the competition changed as City did. For seven consecutive seasons, Guardiola’s side won their group and reached a minimum of the quarter-finals. There were two finals, three semi-finals. Once, they only went out on away goals, once on penalties.

In a revamp, they have been reduced to the rank of the stragglers. In their last 17 matches, spread over two seasons, they have as many defeats as victories; seven. They had not lost a single match in the previous two years of Champions League football; only a shootout.

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Manchester City's Erling Haaland and Omar Marmoush take part in a training session (AFP via Getty Images)

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Manchester City's Spanish manager Pep Guardiola watches on during a training session (AFP via Getty Images)

Now the side that seemed immune to shocks have suffered a few. The team that looked the best now find themselves evenly matched with seven others, all on the same points total. “I would prefer to have more, but it is what we deserve, 13 points,” said Guardiola. He was self-flagellating about City’s failures last season. The danger is he will have to be again. He erred in picking a second-string side against Leverkusen. A team weakened by injuries then produced a performance that Erling Haaland called “embarrassing” in the Arctic Circle.

There are invariably reminders of a more glorious past. There will be more at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday. Ilkay Gundogan, now of Galatasaray, returns for the first time since his second departure. “Gundo was the captain for the treble season,” said Guardiola. “A massive character, a top player in the top games.”

Gundogan was one of the players whose frailties were exposed last season. Yet, if only for a night, City may wish they had kept him. Rodri is suspended after his red card in Norway, Nico Gonzalez is a doubt. City may be reliant on Bernardo Silva, Gundogan’s old teammate, at the base of midfield. “He’s a street player,” said Guardiola.

Gundogan was Guardiola’s neighbour and confidant. He is equipped to tell Galatasaray about his mentor’s methods. “Gundo, we have been in a thousand million meetings together,” said Guardiola. But the personnel have changed since the German’s departure. “We don't know exactly which players are going to play tomorrow and the way they are going to attack or defend, unless they have a spy in the locker room.”

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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola faces a tricky test to avoid the play-off round in the Champions League (PA Wire)

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Ilkay Gundogan returns to Manchester City on Wednesday (PA Wire)

Galatasaray intrigue Guardiola. A managerial career with Barcelona, Bayern Munich and City has taken him to the business end of the Champions League many times. He has been to many places. But not one. “I would love to go to Istanbul away,” he said. If City end up in the knockout play-off round, he may get his wish. In one respect, anyway, because they would rather avoid a February double-header altogether.