Manchester City Show Same Worrying Weaknesses in Celtic Draw

It was more of the same old story for Manchester City in their 1-1 draw with Celtic in the Champions League. Problems that have persisted over the last month or so of Pep Guardiola’s reign were on display once more, as his side were again too easy to beat defensively and struggled to put the ball in the net when they had the opportunity.

Of course, there has to be some mitigation for this one, as the manager shuffled his pack.

The Catalan made nine changes for the final Group C tie, having already qualified for the next phase, and he knew they were unable to catch Barcelona at the top of the table. Youngsters such as Tosin Adarabioyo and Pablo Maffeo were given the opportunity to impress from the start.

Man City 1-1 Celtic FT:Shots: 10-16Pass accuracy: 88%-86%Chances created: 9-14Possession: 56%-44%Honours even. pic.twitter.com/jPNZORQnzK

— Squawka Football (@Squawka) December 6, 2016

There were also several members of the squad playing in new and unfamiliar roles. There were four full-backs on the pitch to begin with—three of them right-sided—as Bacary Sagna, Pablo Zabaleta and Gael Clichy joined Maffeo in the starting lineup.

The two Frenchmen were moved inside to form a back three with Adarabioyo, while Zabaleta was left rolling back the years in a box-to-box midfield role—something nobody saw coming, but something he excelled at in spite of his recent leggy displays.

But still, with all that defensive experience on the pitch, it was a shaky start that led to the opening goal for the visitors. It began in the third minute, as City’s back line was all over the place and stand-in goalkeeper Willy Caballero had to be alert to sprint off his line for a short back pass from Fernando. He hurt himself in the challenge that got the ball half away and stood up well to save from the second chance after the rebound.

Dead rubber finishes against Celtic 1-1. Best news of the night was Arsenal finishing top of Group A so City avoid PSG.

— Jonathan Smith (@jonnysmiffy) December 6, 2016

City’s defensive frailties were exposed a minute later, as the Scottish champions took advantage of their bright opening. This time it was an error from the goalkeeper, whose dinked pass out towards Leroy Sane on the flank was overhit, leaving the winger unable to get it under control and allowed Celtic to pick up the ball in a dangerous area.

The home fans were given a taste of what is to come in future, as Patrick Roberts—on loan with the away side from City—led Clichy a merry dance on the right side of the box. The defender allowed the winger into the area far too easily, and the forward gave Caballero no chance with his finish.

If Guardiola wanted some signs that his team were learning the lessons of their past performances, then he was going to have to wait a little longer. Once more, a nervy opening was capitalised upon and City had conceded—it’s now just five clean sheets in 22 matches under the new manager.

19 – Tosin Adarabioyo …

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