Manchester City have a clear issue in the final third that must be addressed | OneFootball

As Manchester City went down to a disappointing 2-nil defeat to Bayer Leverkusen in their matchday five Champions League league phase fixture last night, there were a host of areas of City’s play that were below par. One major area of concern that stood out was that when Erling Haaland, Phil Foden, Jeremy Doku and Rayan Cherki weren’t on the pitch, the lack of any cutting edge and goal threat to City’s attacking play stood out like a sore thumb. It is an ongoing issue that City is heavily reliant on too few to create chances and to put them away.

Omar Marmoush, Oscar Bobb, Savinho and Tijjani Reijnders failed to make any significant impact on last night’s match.

There was an opportunity for Oscar Bobb, Savinho, Tijjani Reijnders and Omar Marmoush to make an impact in an important match for Manchester City last night. Each player hasn’t made the impact they would have liked this season. A knee injury has hindered Omar Marmoush’s start to this season. Oscar Bobb and Savinho have had their opportunities but haven’t seized them this season. Tijjani Reijnders is adjusting to life at the Etihad. He has had opportunities to score a lot more goals this season. But the Dutch international has spurned too many of them this season.

So the scene was set for those four players to make an impact last night for Manchester City. Each player and Manchester City’s attacking play, especially in the first half, failed to truly trouble a resolute Bayer Leverkusen defence. Oscar Bobb lacked any decisiveness in his play. Too often he passed the ball backwards or misplaced a pass from a dangerous position. He was taken off at halftime. Savinho had his moments but his end product was lacking. That is the story of Savinho’s time at City so far. He simply must improve and add goals and assists to his game. That is the issue for City when Jeremy Doku doesn’t start. There is no other winger in the City squad who can provide a consistent attacking threat and it is a major concern for Pep Guardiola’s side.

Omar Marmoush toiled away but had no service to feed off of before he was replaced by Erling Haaland. Tijjani Reijnders had Manchester City’s best chance of the first half, which he wasted, but he did battle away in midfield. All told, Reijnders didn’t have the impact he’d have liked last night. Between them, Reijnders and Marmoush should have done more but they failed to create the moments they needed to break open the game for Manchester City.

The attacking play for Manchester City improved in the second half but it only highlighted the creativity issue in Pep Guardiola’s squad.

Pep Guardiola made three changes at halftime of last night’s match. Phil Foden, Jeremy Doku and Nico O’Reilly came on. Oscar Bobb, Rico Lewis and Rayan Ait-Nouri were replaced. There was more of a threat to City’s attacking play when Foden, Doku and O’Reilly came on. The introduction of Rayan Cherki and Erling Haaland added exactly what City needed when they came on. Unfortunately, and inspired Mark Flekken and a resolute and desperate Bayer Leverkusen defence denied City and especially Erling Haaland. But the fact that City improved going forward with Haaland, Doku, Foden and Cherki on the pitch showed the issue that Pep Guardiola is facing with his squad.

Manchester City are too reliant on too few in the final third. It is as simple as that. Oscar Bobb and Savinho are young players who are yet to fulfil their potential. They struggled to make an impact last night. Last night’s match against a well-managed Bayer Leverkusen side was too much for them. With those two having poor games, especially in the first half, Omar Marmoush couldn’t do anything of note at the Etihad. City were impotent in the final third until Foden, Doku, Haaland, Nico O’Reilly and Cherki came on. That’s the issue. Bobb and Savinho are too inconsistent, Reijnders is wasting too many good chances and Omar Marmoush looks to be behind the eight-ball with his fitness and touch. All of that combined is an issue, especially when those four are on the pitch together. That is what we saw last night.

Summary.

If Phil Foden, Rayan Cherki, Jeremy Doku and Erling Haaland aren’t in the Manchester City starting lineup, whether that’s with the quartet together, or a variant of it based around Erling Haaland, Pep Guardiola’s side isn’t as dangerous up front. It is an issue that stood out last night. City are heavily reliant on Erling Haaland for goals, but they are also heavily reliant on Foden, Cherki and especially Jeremy Doku to create chances.

The situation in the final third for City isn’t sustainable and it’s an issue that must be addressed and rectified. How it is rectified remains to be seen. But all of a sudden the chances of City moving for another goal threat in January seem a lot higher than previously thought.