Man City cannot defend itself on transition, Forest is still the best front runners and wolves Emmanuel Agbadou’s football news
⬇️ Man City has been awful defended in transition
🔴 Nuno Forest are the masters of front runners
🔶 How did Agbadou improve wolf defense
Carlos Baleba had a late opportunity to win the Brighton Away game in Manchester City, but the ball was hit, the balloon shot over the bar and finished 2-2. But that interruption still emphasized something that has been persecuted this season by Pepa Guardiola.
This home game against Brighton was the 19th game in the Premier League this season, in which the City of Guardiola took the opportunity from a counter-attack against them. This failure in the control of the transition was fatally undermined their defense of the title.
For the context, this means that the city has enabled the shot of a transition to multiple games than any other side in the competition – one more than Ipswich and Leicester. And while this has been the topic of the city’s conversation for some time, the scale of the problem is new.
Even the Nine games of the Premier League season, City has already allowed a hit in more games than ever before. It’s a growing question. But why? Rodri is the absence from the middle of the terrain, of course, an obvious explanation.
However, there is more than that. Although this issue is structurally, as evidenced by Space Baleba managed to use, and perhaps the problem of mentality, since he could escape from several city players, it is also a mesmerizing defense one -on -one.
Three seasons ago, City won the ball back from a higher percentage situation one of any of the Premier League team. Now they win the ball from the lower percentage of those situations one of any other Premier League team.
It is a seismic shift, a weakness that used to be the strength and the one that Guardiola sees fined again and again. The city was fortunate to escape from that penalty against Brighton, but Balebina illustrated some worries in that regard.
Danny Welbeck managed to overthrow Omar Marmoush. Abdukodir Khusanov found himself completely bypassed. Rico Lewis was not tight enough to affect the chamber of mythomas. Nico Gonzalez couldn’t catch Joao Pedro. Ruben Dias failed to engage.
This is a city team that is in the process of renovation and big changes. But if Guardiola cannot find a way to improve the team defense, individually and collectively, then their failure in the management of crossings will still be a problem.
The forest is the main front runners
Nottingham Forest is approaching the Champions League qualifier next season with a convincing victory over Ipswich. Considering that, their 4-2 victory was very different from a 1-0 defeat in Manchester City last weekend, but in fact there were notable similarities.
Nuno Espirito Santo named the same initial band for both games, and while Forest’s three-Gol in the first half in Ipswich could suggest otherwise, both appearances were built to hold it early, which became the trademark of Nuno.
Anthony Elanga’s hero with two goals summarized the plan: “We knew in the first 15 minutes here in Ipswich, they are really strong, so we wanted to see it and when we got the opportunity, to spoil them and hurt them – and I think we did it fantastic today.”
This was a clean sheet of the first half no. Nuno never wants to be the one who will open the game, rather waiting for the opposition to offer emptiness.
It is a popular strategy away from home, but Forest does so in front of his own fans. They only applied one goal at home in the introductory 45 minutes all season and are the only team that never laged on the break. Manchester City released 12.
Even the selected Liverpool has received more goals than they scored in the opening 10 minutes of the games this season. The forest is different. No team scored more goals in the first 30 minutes of games – or the last 30 minutes.
In fact, 22 times this season, Forest scored the starting goal of the game, which is more than any other team. It does not always bring victory – they did so in both games against Newcastle and lost each time – but that is the basis of their success.
Agbadou’s aggression saved wolves
Wolves moved nine points away from Donje three on Saturday, winning Southampton to mitigate the fear of relegation. Given that they had five points from security when Vitor Pereira was named in December, it was a pretty turnaround.
It cannot be denying that Matheus Cunha was a star, but the victory in St. Mary was achieved without him and it was Wolves’ defense, not their attack, had to improve under Pereir. And the signing of Emmanuel Agbadou was key to it.
This was visible against Saints when Agbadou won what could be considered a routine head halfway through the second goal of Jorgen Strand Larsen, who turned out to be the winner. Directly? Perhaps. But an example of change.
Without signing in January in the heart of defense, such seemingly simple moments played very differently. When Agbadou was injured and missed a recent defeat against Fulham, Rodrigo Muniz terrorized his replacement Santa Bueno.
Perreira wanted to see a more aggressive approach. The Portuguese could often see them gesture that his defenders would be closer to their opponent and engaged, not to withdraw to cover due to lack of pace. The popular Craig Dawson quickly fell out of affection.
Agbadou brought speed and strength to the back line, but the most thoughtful desire to conquer the ball. In fact, the 27-year-old International Ivory Coast International wins in a defensive third regularly from any other Premier League player.
Together with Fit, Toti Gomes, the defense looks thunderous. Only Liverpool beat the wolves when the couple started. They left the door for three promoted teams with their awful early season. But it seems that Agbadou’s arrival closed him.
