#first
Kick back deep and counter attack fast
Tottenham have had many good matches against Man City in recent seasons using a counter-attacking style. Using a deep formation, giving the ball completely to the Blues and trying to prevent them from entering the danger zone by gathering people in the penalty area is a potential route to defeat this team. Of course, it’s not easy to do. Many teams have tried and failed.
However, this season, Brentford has made a surprise. Coach Thomas Frank let his team suffer most of the time and only attacked when there was a really clear opportunity. Brentford kept the squad extremely low for most of the game. They made no more than 10 passes and took advantage of Ivan Toney’s independent ability to fight at the top to beat Man City.
Letting Man City dominate the ball is indeed a very risky game, but it is a game that can pay off if you are very lucky. And remember in the Premier League 2022/23, Man United is the team that has scored more goals from the counter-attack (9 goals) than any other team.
#2
Choose when to press
Man City rarely make possession errors, but they have so much on the ball that mistakes are inevitable. And to beat them, you have to take advantage of those few mistakes. No one is crazy enough to corner City for 90 minutes, but when teams come close to them intelligently, sometimes they have a chance.
When Tottenham beat Man City at home in February 2023, they did not constantly press Man City but chose the right moments to apply pressure wisely. And from one of these pressings, they got the only goal of the match scored by Harry Kane.
#3
Man City lost tempo
There may also be some hope for Man City’s upcoming opponents as they have passed the ball sloppily in matches since officially winning the title. This is indicative of a decrease in concentration. Brighton held a 1-1 draw against Man City on May 25 thanks to the distraction of the Green Man. Brentford was then even more successful, winning 1-0.
Man City did not play at their best to beat Chelsea at home. And they almost gave their opponents goals with some unusually sloppy passes in the midfield. Man City have made more fouls leading to a foul on Chelsea (2) than they have committed in any Premier League game all season. MU will need to seize the opportunity from such meager mistakes.
In the two games since their win over Chelsea – the aforementioned Brighton and Brentford games, City have recorded the second and third lowest pass success rates of their season, frequently losing the ball when surprisingly under pressure. The only game where they had a lower pass accuracy in their half was against Arsenal in February.
#4
Take advantage of the fixed situation
Set-pieces are probably the only times when City are considered equal to their opponents, which will be part of the reason why they have to work so hard to avoid those situations. They have only received 97 corners in the Premier League all season, 39 fewer corners than any other team.
In fact, 28% of their expected goals have come from set pieces this season, the second highest in the Premier League behind Crystal Palace (31%). A third of the goals that Man City conceded in the Premier League 2022/23 came from set-pieces (11 out of 33).
In the corners, Man City tends to push up after clearing the ball to try to catch the opponent offside. But if the opponents take advantage of the loophole, they can hurt the Blue Man.
#5
Man City players lose form
One more way that Man United can hope to win against Man City is that their stars are not at their best. That could mean Erling Haaland didn’t take every opportunity that came his way, or John Stones missed practice, or Kyle Walker tripped on his shoelaces as he ran back to make a save. Or any one of the Blue Man stars made a mistake.
Of course, this is also unlikely. Man City have made mistakes in the past, but they can still beat Arsenal to win the Premier League. Whether they will suddenly fall or not is unpredictable. And of course this possibility is not high when this team is very determined to win the treble.
