There were several items that stood out during Manchester City’s 2-1 defeat to Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium yesterday. It is obvious that the champions are currently running on fumes. But they will have to power on given there is no break in the fixture list in the foreseeable future.
The other was that Manchester City’s midfield is beginning to look tired or slow. That has stood out across City’s recent matches. With that in mind would the champions benefit from some fresh legs in the centre of the pitch? It wouldn’t hurt based on what transpired yesterday.
Pep Guardiola went in with a midfield trio of Bernardo Silva, Mateo Kovacic and Ilkay Gundogan yesterday. Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva did swap positions on occasions over the course of the 90 minutes. In the face of Bournemouth’s press and their pace all over the pitch at times it did appear at times that the champions wilted against a fresher opponent. It did appear that the champions could have benefited from some fresh or younger legs in midfield yesterday. They may also benefit from that approach in their upcoming fixtures against Sporting and Brighton.
READ MORE: City player ratings from Manchester City’s 2-1 defeat against Bournemouth.
But how Pep Guardiola could introduce fresher legs into his midfield is the question. Mateo Kovacic, Ilkay Gundogan, Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva are all over 30 years of age. Phil Foden and Rico Lewis look to be the future of City’s midfield. It didn’t appear to be a coincidence to me that City looked at their best yesterday with the pair on the pitch during the game’s latter stages. There is Nico O’Reilly, Jacob Wright and James McAtee who could add energy and fresher legs to Manchester City’s midfield. It remains to be seen if Pep Guardiola will use those three to add some energy and youthful enthusiasm to City’s midfield.
But you do get the impression that Manchester City do need fresh legs in midfield. That would give City’s current midfielders a much-needed rest and could spark the champions into life. I’d like to see City add a midfielder in January to cover the loss of Rodri for the season but that isn’t an option for a couple of months yet. Perhaps it’s time for Nico O’Reilly, James McAtee or Jacob Wright to be given an opportunity to add a different dimension to Manchester City’s midfield.
