The squad led by Pep Guardiola finished the season winning the Treble – Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League winners. In terms of the squad, Man. City has a lot of players with top of the class performance in their positions. To understand the individual impact of this players to the team, we present the average ratings of the players in a Back 4 and a Back 5 since Man. City played half a season with each type of this formation. In addition, this players must meet the necessary minutes requirement to be considered (minimum 450 minutes played in the season in a type of predefined defense: Back 4 or Back 5).
Man. City’s eleven with the most minutes played this season (Premier League – Back 4).
Man. City’s eleven with the most minutes played this season (Premier League – Back 5).
Star Players:
- Rodri (M – Back 4) – 8.73
- K. de Bruyne (M – Back 5) – 8.74
In this squad, City’s Midfielders were the stars of the show. In a Back 4, Rodri was the player with the highest average rating whereas, in a Back 5, K. de Bruyne obtained the highest average rating. In Man. City’s system, the performance of the midfielders is crucial for the success of the team.
Other Key Players:
- E. Haaland (CF) – 7.93 & 7.78
- R. Dias (CB) – 7.65 & 8.43
With a lot of players having great seasons, we need emphasise the average rating obtained by Rodri and K. de Bruyne.
Additional information regarding the team (Premier League).
With more positive results at home than away (17 Home Wins & 11 Away Wins), it is possible to consider Man. City a better team when playing at home. Besides that, the incredible goal difference highlights the amazing offensive output (2,47 goal per game) with a great defensive setup (0,87 goals per game).
Champions League – Man. City’s players in a Back 4 Defense (Minimum 200 minutes played in this competition).
In the 2022-2023 Season, Man. City started using this Back 4 setup. In this type of defense, the obvious distinction goes to R. Dias, the player with the best average ratings obtained. Cancelo and E. Haaland were also incredible at this stage of the season.
Champions League – Man. City’s players in a Back 5 Defense (Minimum 200 minutes played in this competition).
Especially in the Knockout Stages, Man. City transitioned to a Back 5 defense. In this setup, Rodri was the player with the best performances. K. de Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Ederson also stood out from the rest of team.
Position most in need of strengthening:
- FB
Looking at the last formation used (Back 5), we can see that Man. City lack Full-Backs with good average ratings. Because of that, the position that needs to be reinforced is the Full-Back position but, for this tactical scheme, it is possible that City signs Centre-Backs with great physical ability to cover this positions.
Meaning of the used abbreviations:
- G – Games
- W – Wins
- D – Draws
- L – Loses
- P – Points
- GS – Goals Scored
- GA – Goals Against
- GD – Goal Diference
- HW – Home Wins
- AW – Away Wins
Data from FBref.
