Pep Guardiola Must Find Defensive Solution and It’s Not Nicolas Otamendi

It’s no secret Manchester City have had a defensive issue for some time. Ever since the partnership between Vincent Kompany and Joleon Lescott was broken up in 2012, the club hasn’t been able to get a unit that has looked consistently solid—aside from a short spell where Martin Demichelis overcame his poor form and worked well alongside the captain in 2014.

The club’s hierarchy has been aware of the issue too, with plenty of money being spent in an attempt to solve the issue. The likes of Matija Nastasic, Eliaquim Mangala and Nicolas Otamendi have all been brought in—for a combined total of nearly £85 million—and City’s defence is looking weaker than it has for a long time.

Having been regarded as one of the best centre-backs in La Liga in 2014-15—the season before he moved to the Premier League—Otamendi has shown none of the form for his new club that suggests he can be trusted to play in the position regularly. His debut year was erratic, and the signs, so far, are that nothing’s changed under Pep Guardiola.

As City spent last summer chasing John Stones, Aymeric Laporte and Leonardo Bonucci, it’s fair to say the new manager had misgivings about the defenders at the club. How much of that is down to their comfort in possession rather than their ability to defend is up for debate, though, as the Catalan was always going to be changing City’s style of play.

The club were successful in just one of those deals, with Stones making the short move from Everton for a reported £47.5 million. That takes the total outlay on defensive options past £130 million in the last four years, and yet the rearguard has been steadily getting worse—with the 3-1 defeat at home to Chelsea on Saturday highlighting yet more limitations.

Guardiola’s had his doubts about Otamendi for some time. Speaking after the Argentinian’s first match under his management, a 5-0 win at Steaua Bucharest, the Catalan wasn’t impressed with the defender’s aggressive style: “I don’t like it when central defenders go down on the pitch,” he told reporters.

“I don’t know about last season because I wasn’t here, but we are here to get him better. After the two penalties for us, a little situation is going to give away a penalty against us and we have to avoid that.”

Four months later, the Argentinian hasn’t stopped diving in and causing his team problems because of it. Some will put his performance in the loss to Chelsea down as a one-off, a poor display from a centre-back who normally puts his body on the line to try and keep the opposition from …

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