Pre-season targets
Manchester City started this term as Premier League champions and Capital One Cup holders. On top of defending those titles, City needed to show progress in the Champions League by reaching the quarter-finals.
Tactics overview
At the start of the season, Manuel Pellegrini retained a 4-4-2 formation that produced a free-scoring side in the 2013/14 season.
It was a continuation of the Pellegrini philosophy of keeping the ball in the offensive half with full-backs supplying width down the flanks, attacking midfielders linking up play through the middle while the two strikers subject the opposition centre-backs to pressure with their movement.
That system was successful last season because Yaya Toure and Fernandinho had enough energy, power and quality to compete with most Premier League sides who employ three midfielders.
This season Toure has not been the domineering force of old so City were frequently overrun in the engine room, particularly in the Champions League where they faced technically superior sides like Bayern Munich, AS Roma and Barcelona.
That tactical problem, plus a lack of consistency in City’s strikers, forced Pellegrini to ditch his favoured system for a more pragmatic 4-2-3-1 formation towards the end of the season. The new system has contributed to City’s improved form because it added an extra central midfielder which allowed City to dominate midfield battles again.
The challenges
Chelsea’s consistency clearly presented City with a serious challenge in their title defence because Pellegrini’s men could not afford too many slip ups. They kept up with Jose Mourinho’s side until Toure left for the Africa Cup of Nations after New Year.
City went for five weeks without a league win as Fernandinho lacked the incisive passing of Toure. Toure had a successful AFCON campaign but he experienced a dip in form on his return. As a unit, City suffered a loss of form as well.
Pellegrini’s men went through another rough patch from the end of February to the start of April when they lost six of their eight games in all competitions. That was a defining period as they bowed out of the Champions League while Chelsea opened up an insurmountable lead in the Premier League.
Star men
Joe Hart has arguably been City’s best player this term. He clearly developed from last season, which saw the England international surrender his place to Costel Pantilimon.
This term Hart has been consistent throughout. His performance at Barcelona, when City lost 1-0, was probably the best performance from a goalkeeper this season as Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez kept breaching City’s defence only to be stopped by Hart.
Aguero is one of the best strikers in the world when fit and has also enjoyed his best season since joining City. He has scored 26 goals in 30 league starts while also succumbing to fewer muscle injuries compared to recent seasons. The Argentine attributes his improved fitness to a change in diet.
David Silva has also had his best goal-scoring season for Manchester City with 12 goals from midfield, plus his assists record has been decent as well. He has been consistent throughout the season along with Martin Demichelis, Hart and Aguero.
Most disappointing players
This has probably been Vincent Kompany’s worst season for City. The Belgian captain is a true leader, he is also quick, brilliant in the air and a very good reader of the game.
But he has however been prone to mistakes this campaign. His errors were responsible for a couple of goals in big games both in the league and the Champions League, which is surprising for a player of such quality.
Toure has also been disappointing this term. Last season he dominated midfield battles with quality ball distribution, powerful runs in possession plus he scored important goals from set-pieces.
He still averages more touches than any City player when he starts but we rarely saw the powerful, driving runs in possession, his accuracy with long passes has dropped while he hardly scored from set-pieces during this campaign.
Edin Dzeko is another big player who can do better. The Bosnian striker only managed half the game-time he had in Pellegrini’s first season and for a good reason.
Dzeko scored only four league goals – a quarter of the goals he scored last season. For a target man whose main job is to score, the former Wolfsburg striker needs to regain his goal-scoring form to remain useful to City.
Assessment of the manager
There is no doubt Pellegrini’s second season in England has been blighted by too many problems. He had to find ways to compete while a raft of his players were way below their usual standards.
To his credit, Pellegrini found a way to win without a striker from mid-December when Aguero picked up a knee injury. Dzeko and Stevan Jovetic were also out, but the City boss used James Milner as a mobile centre forward, dragging defenders out of position with his movement.
That movement freed up space for attacking midfielders to chip in with goals. City won six of the seven matches that followed.
It would be unfair to blame the Chilean manager for the disappointing transfer window given that chief executive, Ferran Soriano and director of football Txiki Begiristain are responsible for player recruitment.
Pellegrini should however take part of the responsibility for City’s poor season. He continued employing a 4-4-2 formation in the Champions League against top European sides like Barcelona and Bayern Munich. For a manager who failed with a similar approach the previous season, he should have been wiser to that situation.
Season grade
B-
