Manchester City notched another defeat like it was clockwork on Sunday, losing 2-0 at Liverpool and extending the worst winless streak in Pep Guardiola’s managerial career to seven games.
The match itself was ultimately one of contrasts, both in how it played out and the implications for both sides. Like several teams that came before them, Liverpool happily ceded possession to City but the Reds’ particular strength was in their offensive output. While teams like Tottenham Hotspur and Feyenoord were efficient but limited in their attacking capabilities in their recent games against City, Liverpool were by far the better offensive team. They outshot City 18 to eight and generated 3.57 expected goals to the opposition’s 0.84, limiting City to just two shots on target as the Reds continued their impressive defensive form under new manager Arne Slot. His tactical clarity was the opposite of Guardiola’s, who seemed out of ideas from the start as James Benge writes.
- Benge: “Guardiola’s tactics were a muddle and his players either have too many of this Anfield defeats in their legs or too few. More even than their physical and tactical deficiencies, City came to the home of their greatest recent rivals utterly cowed by the prospect of what might have been. From the outset, they approached this contest hoping only to avoid a beating. The scoreline might suggest mission accomplished. It would be wrong to think so. The problems, then, began before Guardiola picked his XI. Still … if Matheus Nunes and Rico Lewis wide in a 4-4-2 is the answer, is the question how can I exacerbate my team’s creative deficiencies while not mitigating any of the defensive issues? Guardiola himself would acknowledge he has earned a mountain of credit from the past eight years at City. That doesn’t change the fact his team selection is increasing the jeopardy he is in.”
Even as City sit 11 points behind first place, likely signaling the death knell on their title hopes, the lasting image from the game will be Guardiola’s interaction with the Anfield faithful. He held six fingers up at the crowd as a reminder of his six Premier League titles while they jokingly sang that he would be sacked in the morning. His explanation for the gesture was equally memorable.
- Guardiola: “All the stadiums want to sack me. It started at Brighton. Maybe they are right with the results we’ve been having. I didn’t expect that at Anfield. They didn’t do it at 1-0, but at 2-0. Maybe they should have sung it in the past. I didn’t expect it from the people from Liverpool but it’s fine, it’s part of the game, and I understand completely. We’ve had incredible battles together. I have a respect for them.”
The U.S. women’s national team are in The Hague for their year-end friendly against the Netherlands on Tuesday, which marks another high-profile opportunity for head coach Emma Hayes to tinker with the player pool.
Hayes kicked off a period of experimentation since winning the Olympic gold medal over the summer, both in terms of roster expansion and introducing new tactical ideas. The latter was especially the case in their 0-0 draw at England on Saturday, when Hayes started nine members of the gold medal-winning team. The room for experimentation came in the front line, where the head coach started a new-look front line as Trinity Rodman, Sophia Smith and Mallory Swanson were left at home for this international break after a long year for club and country. Hayes was optimistic about the performance of the attack, even as she admitted there was room for improvement.
- Hayes: “”I felt we were in control of the game. I thought we showed some really good passages, thought our counterpress was really good. At the end of the day, we didn’t score and for that, I felt we should have done more for the volume of entries that we had so the decision-making, execution, that comes with connections. Trin [Rodman] playing or Soph [Smith] or Mal [Swanson], they’re used to them. there’s a lot of new players — Emma Sears, Alyssa Thompson, Lynn Williams. It’s a trio that’s never played together before so I think we did well for that, and then the finishers coming in, I thought Yazmeen Ryan did a good job [in the] second half, Korbin [Albert] came in and allowed us to put Rose [Lavelle] in a position to come off the touchline. I actually really enjoyed our performance but we were missing that last part.”
Hayes has the chance to experiment further against the Netherlands, where opportunities for less experienced players. Two players started the international break with zero caps, with NWSL Rookie of the Year nominee Ally Sentnor making her debut in the last minutes of the USWNT’s game at England. One player who’s in focus is Lily Yohannes, who is in her first camp since choosing the U.S. rather than waiting for her Dutch passport and opting to play for the Netherlands.
The 17-year-old midfield already has her first cap and first international goal under her belt, but is worth keeping an eye on for several reasons. Not only will Tuesday’s game in the Netherlands be a symbolic moment for Yohannes and the USWNT after winning her over, it also offers Hayes an opportunity to experiment with the midfield. The head coach has stuck to her options at the Olympics since returning from Paris, rotating through Sam Coffey, Korbin Albert, Lindsey Horan and Rose Lavelle. Expanding her options in the center of the park is a must, though, and with plenty of time to build towards the 2027 Women’s World Cup, Yohannes will have time to prove her worth to the national team.
