There was a time when the receipt of a Manchester City team-sheet on matchday led to gasps and then a head scratch. Not anymore. As Pep Guardiola leads his side into Saturday’s Champions League final against Inter Milan, the team almost picks itself.
Guardiola is a known tinkerer but the City manager has found comfort in stability as the team aim to complete the third part of a feted Treble. There has been no need for gameplan gambits or tactical twists of late.
City’s squad this season is not overly large for a club that has gone all the way in league, cup and Europe. Barring No 2 goalkeeper Stefan Ortega, 21 members of Guardiola’s squad have made more than 20 appearances during this 60-game campaign.
After spending time searching for his best team, during the run-in Guardiola has favoured more or less the same XI. Since February, and the excellent deployment of John Stones as a hybrid defender-midfielder, City have stuck with a winning formula.
The 3-2-4-1 dovetails nicely, as seen by the team’s 24-game unbeaten sequence which included them reeling in Arsenal in the Premier League and advancing past Bayern Munich and Real Madrid in the Champions League.
These players are simply undroppable. Jack Grealish has came alive down the left, Bernardo Silva’s brace in the semi final was pivotal, Erling Haaland has remarkably scored 52 goals this term, Kevin De Bruyne can conjure a moment of brilliance. Ilkay Gündogan is decisive, Ruben Dias dogged, Rodri irrepressible and Ederson dependable.
It is a team for all reasons, and as back-up, there is: Phil Foden, one of the best young technicians in Europe; Aymeric Laporte, a strong talented left-footed centre back; Julian Alvarez, a World Champion, Riyad Mahrez, a wing wizard; Kalvin Phillips, England men’s players of the year in 2020-21.
Guardiola did rotate his line-up for the final three league matches of the season but that was after they had claimed their third consecutive league title. City dropped points in two of those games but the Gala XI were back at it last weekend, winning the FA Cup at Wembley.
No need to overthink this time around
There is no need for Guardiola to overthink his team selection for the club’s biggest ever game this weekend. Overcomplicating matters has been a perceived shortcoming of the Spaniard at times and a reason provided for some of City’s chaotic exits from Europe in recent seasons.
None more so than in the 2021 final. Against Chelsea in Porto two years ago, Guardiola’s decision to drop Joao Cancelo and Rodri, his usual left-back and central midfielder, and choose Raheem Sterling, who had lost his regular berth, caused surprise.
City lost 1-0 to a Kai Havertz strike and the manager received criticism for his selection. “It was a gameplan like it will be next Saturday,” Guardiola said.
“If I tell you privately the reason why I took the decision in that moment you could say it was right but it is simple: ‘If I lose, I am wrong, if I win I am right.’ You have to accept that in this business.
“It was a tight game and in many things we were better than them but we lost. Would I do something different now? Maybe but that doesn’t count.”
Arguably, Guardiola’s only decision to make ahead of this final in Istanbul is whether Nathan Ake or Manuel Akanji starts in the back three. All the other positions are set, with most of the players in the form of their lives.
Kyle Walker did not train with the team on Tuesday after being afforded an extra day recovery after reporting a “disturbance in his back” but the defender admitted that it was just a sign of him “getting old” and confirmed that he should be available.
This is City’s second appearance in a Champions League showpiece and Guardiola’s men can call upon past experiences. Getting over the line this time would be seen as an era-defining moment.
“We must accept that if we want to make a definitive step as a big club, we must win in Europe,” Guardiola said. “We have to win the Champions [League] — that’s something you can’t avoid.
“But the most important thing is to be there again and again and again. That’s what defines a big club, when year after year you make it to the Champions League, fighting in the latest stages and winning the title.”