The draw between Manchester City and Inter in the Champions League opener highlights defensive issues ahead of the clash against Arsenal
A first goalless game in 18 European matches may be the immediate highlight for Manchester City, who were held goalless by Inter at the Etihad Stadium, but Pep Guardiola will know his bigger worry is less what happened in the final third than what could have happened at the other end.
There were flashes of control and threat from City, even if they were a little off their best. Jack Grealish looked unusually lively, at times even reminiscent of the days he stole the hearts of the football world in an Aston Villa shirt. Erling Haaland sniffed, Phil Foden made the best start of the night and, by the end, a defence as impressive as Inter’s appeared on the verge of breaking down. City’s impressive start to the season could have continued had Ilkay Gunodogan put his last header somewhere.
That would have felt like fake gold, though. Certainly the team that started at the Etihad will have to regroup when Arsenal visit City on Sunday, and not just because Kevin De Bruyne was injured late in the first half. The balance has been completely thrown off. With the ball, City were having to send so many players so high up the pitch that at times it seemed like there was a line of six right in front of Haaland. Inevitably, this created chances for Inter without the ball, so much so that Guardiola’s men were genuinely lucky to finish the evening with a clean sheet.
It wouldn’t have mattered if the same weaknesses that Inter exploited so effectively had not been identified earlier by West Ham, Brentford and even Ipswich Town. Even in a fairly favourable schedule for the start of the league season, the weaknesses on the counter were obvious to those who watched City closely. Simone Inzaghi was certainly one of them. His strange decision to go without Lautaro Martinez proved correct, in both Mehdi Taremi and Marcus Thuram he had strikers who could operate as outside ball and then play the passes to keep the counter going.
For Inter, the City right was an area where there was early joy. Rico Lewis is learning what can be one of the most complex roles in modern football; players like Oleksandr Zinchenko and Trent Alexander-Arnold rarely go a week without being culpable when the area they are on the opposite side is punctured by an opponent. Inter were intent on doing the same.
How Taremi didn’t register at least one assist is something only Matteo Darmian knows, the former Manchester United player opting not to backheel someone special for Ederson’s goal. Add in Thuram’s tribute to his boss’s older brother Pippo – who is said to have been offside since birth – and you’ve got a wasteful performance from the Italian champions. The late introductions of Henrikh Mkhitaryan and especially Martinez added more spice to Inter’s attack, the latter who would have tested Ederson in the 84th minute had the ball gone to him correctly. The only difference was better execution, with at least one goal at the Etihad.
Of course, for now, there are fairly simple improvements. Gundogan coming on for De Bruyne at the interval brought a bit more balance to this team, not only for good shots but to ensure a bit more strength in front of the back four when Inter dominate possession in the final third.
The second solution is more straightforward. Add Kyle Walker to this backline, get Rodri to act as a midfield support from one of the central defenders, and that works well. Walker, 34, has been as effective at closing down opposition breaks as any player in the world over the past half decade. Where Manuel Akanji was often second in command to lay the ball to the right back, Walker would surely swallow him up. In the long term, City will have to figure out which afterburner defender they need. Before then, adding Walker to stop Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka seems a clever patch job.
