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- Pep Guardiola must bring the wingers back to his side in this essential match
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Manchester City’s training field would have been a deep place of reflection in a week of quarter -final in the Champions League which, for the first time in seven years, did not present the Pep Guardiola team.
They would have watched with envy, but it was a chance for Guardiola to put his team back to a boiling point because, if they do not bring together their act, they will not dine at the best table in European football next season.
Guardiola said after the united match that he was the happiest of how City worked on the ball. Her mantra for success is: hard work goes first. This week will have been devoted to discovering who are the transplants in the group. Who wants to be part of the future of my club?
City spent 180 million pounds sterling in January on the players that Guardiola Hopes will form the base of his next big side, but it is far from clear if these heads are good enough to wear the crown.
Only one started against United: Omar Marmoush, who is clearly talented but must work on his movement. He did not offer many opportunities to Kevin de Bruyne to find him.
Guardiola won titles in different ways, but mainly stuck to a system with wingers to pin the opposition defenses and create a large canvas for artists like Bruyne to paint their beautiful images.
Pep Guardiola Manchester City faces Crystal Palace this weekend in the race for the top five
Guardiola must restore the old canvas from Man City to Kevin de Bruyne against the Eagles
The reigning champions need the wingers to pinpoint the opposition after having fought in Man United
Against United, Guardiola has moved away from this and packed his midfielder with precision passers -by Ilkay Gundogan, Mateo Kovacic and Bernardo Silva. But without this structure of confidence, by Bruyne was ineffective and the team looked shy.
For the second consecutive week, City will face a 3-4-2-1 but, in Crystal Palace, they meet an opponent who uses it much more effectively than United.
Oliver Glasner has been in Palace for a year and now his players understand the system. He improved the creativity brought by Ismaila Sarr and Ebelechi Eze, who are free to express himself.
It is not only a potential dress rehearsal for the FA Cup final, but also a must for the city if they should make the Champions League. I am sure that Guardiola will return to use wingers to pin the palace wings and allow De Bruyne to be decisive again.
He can leave this summer, but Bruyne can be the Savior of City in their quest for the FA Cup and a place in the Champions League – he just needs to give him his old canvas to work on magic again.
