Pep Guardiola is now in his ninth season at the helm of Manchester City, but his team is currently navigating their most challenging period yet under his leadership.
Heading into the final international break of 2024, City is experiencing an unprecedented slump, having lost their last four matches across all competitions—a first for Guardiola’s squads. Following a recent 2-1 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion, Guardiola acknowledged that his squad, hampered by fitness concerns, needed the international break.
As the break unfolds, Gary Neville, former Premier League champion and current pundit, has voiced his surprise at Guardiola’s approach to managing the absence of Rodri. In a Stick to Football segment, Neville shared his thoughts, saying, “I can’t believe he has just gone [Mateo] Kovacic in. I said this when he got injured Rodri, I was expecting him to come up with something like a three at the back or something different.”
Since Rodri suffered a season-ending knee injury against Arsenal in September, Kovacic has stepped into the role, starting all six subsequent Premier League matches and completing five of them. However, Neville isn’t alone in questioning this strategy. Graeme Souness recently highlighted Kovacic’s limitations in a column, explaining, “The major issue is that Mateo Kovacic, though a very good footballer, does not have a defensive thought in his head.”
Reflecting on Kovacic’s role, Souness elaborated, “On the eve of the season, knowing that Rodri was going to miss a few games, Kovacic talked about how he was going to have to take on more responsibility, adjust his game, and how Pep had been showing him DVDs of the positions Rodri takes up. I’d suggest he does a lot more homework. Kovacic is drawn to getting on the ball, but that’s not his priority now. My thought was always to protect my two centre-halves.”
Souness concluded, “What he should be doing is: support the play but seldom be in front of the ball, and sense where that vulnerability is.”
City’s defensive struggles are apparent, with only two clean sheets and 13 goals conceded across 11 league matches. However, while Neville questions Guardiola’s decision-making in coping without Rodri, it may be oversimplifying Guardiola’s approach to suggest he merely placed Kovacic in Rodri’s role and expected identical results.
