* PSG – Man City: 2:00 a.m. Thursday, April 29, Hanoi time.
Blocking Neymar and Mbappe is an important task that Guardiola set for his students when Man City faced PSG today.
When PSG appointed coach Mauricio Pochettino earlier this year, there were many questions about how Neymar and Kylian Mbappe would adapt to the Argentine coach’s physical, high-pressing style.
PSG was successful partly because Bayern was without their main striker, Robert Lewandowski, and missed many good opportunities.
Counter-attacking is a constant fear in Guardiola’s career.
Guardiola is haunted by situations where his team is counter-attacked by the opponent.
After that match, Guardiola said that Chelsea `didn’t create much in this match, other than counter-attacks`, perhaps because counter-attacks haunted the coach too much.
This season, Man City only lost one goal from situations that statistics company Opta described as `quick transitions`, in the two most important tournaments, the Champions League and the Premier League.
Guardiola has never hidden his solution to counter-attacks.
After defeating Dortmund in the quarterfinals, Pep explained how he chose the starting lineup: `My players have the ability to keep the ball well. A team like Dortmund always waits for you to make a mistake to counterattack. If you lose the ball, it’s over.
When attacking, Man City’s defense always stands in positions to trap the opponent.
A situation that illustrates Man City’s policy of holding the ball at the edge and arranging four players.
In situations where the ball is deployed from the backline, Man City adds a defender whose job is to catch the opposing striker and a midfielder who drops deep and a full-back in the middle to close the space.
Man City when deploying the ball from the backline.
This way of playing can vary depending on the opponent.
Man City used four players to lock Haaland in the quarterfinals.
The biggest question now is whether Guardiola will use the 2-3 or 3-2 formula to deal with PSG, when Man City controls the ball.
Neymar and Mbappe sit deep to get ready to counterattack in the quarter-final first leg against Bayern.
Mbappe’s second goal against Bayern in the first leg of the quarter-finals was when Neymar sat deeper than the French striker.
Standing posture before the opponent’s counterattack is also something to keep in mind.
The French defender turned around to follow the opponent’s run, then used his speed to catch up with the Leicester player before tackling the ball to stop the counterattack.
This is a small detail, but with Guardiola, he will not ignore any small thing.
In addition, Mbappe is most dangerous when playing on the left wing.
Meanwhile, Neymar is not only capable of scoring or assisting, but can also earn direct free kicks.
This issue is related to Man City’s habit of making tactical fouls, most recently in the 1-0 win over Tottenham in the Confederation Cup final.
The problem is that Neymar is not only good at catching fouls and cards, but also often complains to the referee.
Guardiola is often accused of `thinking too much` before big matches and many times his decisions complicate matters.
