In recent years, Manchester City has been the ultimate powerhouse in English football; dominating the Premier League, winning trophies at will, and establishing a monopoly of success. However, their last three matches paint a different picture. A 2-1 loss to Manchester United, a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Juventus, and a 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace has left fans and analysts scratching their heads. What’s happening to this seemingly invincible and inevitable team?
One theory is that it’s a tactical misstep. City’s system, which has often relied on possession and intricate passing, was picked apart by teams with different styles. Manchester United exposed gaps on the counter attack, Juventus suffocated City’s build up play with a defensive masterclass, and Crystal Palace, a side not typically in the same league as City, exploited the champions’ inability to close out games. However, these tactical errors may point to a deeper issue; one rooted in the very DNA of this Manchester City squad.
Embed from Getty ImagesThis is a team that knows winning, but it doesn’t know how to lose. The current crop of players was bought with one goal in mind; victory. They were assembled from all corners of Europe, often from clubs that, while talented, were considered “less successful” than City. Take Erling Haaland (Dortmund), Ruben Dias (Benfica), and Bernardo Silva (Monaco). All came from teams that have had previous success in football history but never to the “super team” level City has achieved in recent years. These players came to Manchester as stars in their own right but with the expectation that the success would continue seamlessly. This squad has been part of a machine where success was assumed, but now, facing adversity, they’re being tested in ways they’ve never experienced before.
Unlike the Manchester City of twenty years ago, which was defined by resilience, grit, and often a scrappy fight for survival, this current iteration has rarely had to graft. Nearly twenty years ago, City lost 8-1 to Middlesborough, a side that was managed by Gareth Southgate the former England manager. If you asked this generation whether that was true or false, you would be shocked at the results. City’s team of the past knew struggle all too well, but it gave them a unique sense of identity and fight. The City of today, however, is built on winning; but without the experience of facing true hardship, the resilience needed to weather bad form is missing.
Embed from Getty ImagesThere is no locker room leader in this team, no figurehead to rally the troops when things aren’t going to plan. A Vincent Kompany type is missing. Someone who can remind the team that sometimes you have to pull your socks up and roll your sleeves and grind out these results when the beautiful football isn’t working. City’s squad is composed of individuals who have been integrated into a winning system, but none of them have truly experienced the lows that forge a team’s character. They’ve been drilled in the pursuit of victory but not in overcoming adversity. The current form slump, then, exposes a deeper structural flaw: City is a team made for winning, but not for rebuilding. Jeremy Doku and Savinho are fantastic upcoming wingers but are no Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sané of City’s Centurion league winning team. Ruben Dias is a fantastic defender but isn’t quite the leader and captain Vincent Kompany was. This period of turbulence shows a side unaccustomed to finding solutions when the tactics falter, and the opposition adjusts. Without a history of struggle together, they lack the ability to recalibrate and fight back. The players, however talented, have never had to problem-solve in this way.
Embed from Getty ImagesIn this sense, City’s troubles run deeper than tactical errors. It’s about their identity as a team that has only known success but never the fight it takes away. Their dominance in recent seasons masked the reality that they’ve never had to grow through loss together. Manchester City now faces a critical juncture. They can no longer rely on the smooth machine of success to keep running on autopilot. They need to develop a resilience that they haven’t had to ever tap into before and without a clear leader in the dressing room, the challenge becomes even more pressing; can this City squad, for the first time learn to lose? More importantly, learn how to fight their way back?
