Analysing the Surprise Selections Pep Guardiola Has Made so Far at Man City

Pep Guardiola is a manager who showed during his time at Barcelona and Bayern Munich that he works in mysterious ways. He takes conventional wisdom and often discards it, crafting systems that flummox opposition managers and finding roles for players most never thought possible.

Javier Mascherano, David Alaba, Javi Martinez and Philipp Lahm were all superb players before working with Guardiola, but they are now more rounded and knowledgeable about the game thanks to his contribution to their careers.

Guardiola altered their position, challenged them and tested their ability in a different area of the pitch. All of them prospered and had success under the Catalan’s guidance.

So far, it’s been a similar story at Manchester City. Five games into his tenure, his methods are clearly having an impact. City look far slicker than they did last season, and he has improved the performance of a number of players who were struggling before his arrival.

Here, we take a look at some of his surprising tactical and positional innovations that have surprised the majority of observers.

Kolarov moved inside

There can’t be many who felt Aleksandar Kolarov would be welcomed into the Guardiola era, let alone be switched to centre-half.

The Serbian left-back struggled for form last season and saw Gael Clichy surpass him and reaffirm his status as City’s first-choice left-back option.

Kolarov’s days at the club looked numbered, particularly after his horror show away at Southampton—a game that saw him aimlessly jogging back towards his own goal while Sadio Mane sprinted past him and scored the Saints’ second in a 4-2 win. It was a moment that infuriated the fans and looked to signal his departure.

But Kolarov has managed to impress Guardiola. He was pressed into emergency action during pre-season, paired alongside Tosin Adarabioyo at centre-back against Bayern Munich and Fernando against Arsenal.

His passing between the lines impressed, as did his reading of the game. He’s since played there in City’s Premier League opener against Sunderland, leading to huge praise from his manager.

“I think Kolarov had one of the best performances I have seen in a central defender,” Guardiola said afterwards. “He won all the long balls, he was quality with passes and he was strong. Kolarov not just today but in the last few games played really well.”

It’s unlikely he’ll play regularly at centre-back. John Stones has established himself as Guardiola’s No. 1 defender, and Nicolas Otamendi has been picked alongside him wherever possible.

With Vincent Kompany possibly returning to the fold in the next few weeks, the need for Kolarov at the heart of the defence …

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