False nine? A defence for the defence?

Manuel Pellegrini changed things up following Saturday’s defeat to Stoke, and went with a system that deployed no recognised striker. Sterling was listed as the ‘striker’ on the team sheet, but in reality City lined up in a 4-3-3 formation in which the front three all interchanged. It was a bold move, and one that had its benefits as Sterling and Silva combined wonderfully for City’s first. However, there were some evident deficiencies too, in both an attacking and defensive sense.

One thing that was pleasing to see was how quickly City identified means of pressurising the Gladbach Goalkeeper and defence. Silva orchestrated the squeeze, right up to Yann Sommer’s 18-yard box, forcing the Swiss Keeper to play it long instead of a short pass out to his centre backs or Granit Xhaka in central midfield. This paid dividends, as City won the ball high up the pitch on a number of occasions, but the lack of a full-time striker was evident, as all too often the subsequent cross found nothing but empty space.

This was also a feature in the second half, as an increasing number of excellent opportunities were there for the taking, but there wasn’t anyone willing or able to take them. If anything, City slightly overplayed it in certain situations.

The negative side of the high-pressure squeeze put on by the Blues was that when Sommer successfully found a short outlet, it was all too easy for the German side to turn defence into attack in the blink of an eye.

The second goal is a perfect example of this. Within four passes, Stindl was in sight of goal. His shot deflected out to Wendt who found Johnson, and his effort was redirected home by Raffael. City sliced through like a hot knife through butter. It is not just the back four, but the whole team who need to up their collective defensive game. It shouldn’t just be down to Kompany organise it.