Manchester City’s late collapse against Real Madrid was nothing new. But it was yet another sign that this once-great team can no longer maintain their dominance.
After seeing his Manchester City side once again surrender a late lead, Pep Guardiola was blunt in his post-match press conference:
“Bad decisions, that’s all… we are just not stable enough. Today is not an exception, it happened many times. Feyenoord, Sporting Lisbon, Brentford, Man Utd – many games at the end we give away.”
His comments came after City conceded twice in the closing stages against Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday, turning what looked like a hard-fought 2-1 victory into a damaging 3-2 defeat. The result leaves them facing an uphill battle in the second leg of their knockout phase play-off tie at the Santiago Bernabéu.
That game followed an all-too-familiar pattern: flashes of quality from an undeniably talented team, undermined by lapses in concentration and individual errors that became more frequent as the game wore on. The simple truth is that this City side, laden with experience but lacking the physical sharpness of previous years, can no longer sustain their intensity over 90 minutes.
Is it any surprise that Real Madrid, fielding their youngest starting XI for a Champions League knockout match in over a decade – with an average age three years younger than City’s – were able to rally late and outlast their opponents?
City’s squad profile shows that Guardiola is relying on players well past their prime to play significant minutes.
Pep was right when he said after the Madrid defeat: “I’ve been here for many years and we’ve been an extraordinary team, a machine every three days.” But when they operate at such a high level for such a long period of time, sometimes even machines wear down and need to be replaced. That’s where we are at now. City themselves are aware of this, and splurged £180 million in January on four young, talented future first-team players to address the issue.
But that does not help them in the here and now. Fatigue leads to mistakes, and City have been making plenty. Ederson’s miscued clearance gifted Madrid an equaliser, while Mateo Kovacic’s errant back-pass to Rico Lewis invited the pressure that led to Jude Bellingham’s winner. City have now made 14 errors leading to goals this season in all competitions – of all teams in Europe’s top five leagues, only Southampton (18) have made more.
Their defensive frailties are especially glaring in the latter stages of matches. City have now conceded seven goals in the final 15 minutes of Champions League games this season, the most of any team in the competition.
The trend is not confined to Europe, either. In the Premier League, 31% of the goals they’ve conceded have come in the final 15 minutes (11 in total), a higher proportion than all but Everton (36%) and Aston Villa (32%).
This inability to finish games strongly has cost them big time in Europe. Guardiola’s side have failed to win any of their last four Champions League matches in which they scored first (4-1 vs Sporting CP, 3-3 vs Feyenoord, 4-2 vs PSG, 3-2 vs Real Madrid), while Tuesday night marked the first time since April 2018 (2-1 vs Liverpool) that City lost a Champions League match when leading at half-time, ending a 32-game unbeaten run (W29 D3). And in this game, they led as late as the 86th minute.
Injuries have played a role, particularly in central defence and midfield. Rúben Dias has barely been back in the starting XI and now Manuel Akanji has picked up an injury. John Stones – who added assuredness to City’s midfield before having to move back to central defence – has managed just five league starts this season. Rodri remains an irreplaceable presence, but the legs of Ilkay Gündogan, Kovacic, and Kevin De Bruyne can no longer cover the gaps he leaves.
City may yet defy the odds in Madrid – anything can happen in football – but even if they do, there is no doubt that we’re seeing a great team reaching the end of the road.
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