The Gap Between Guardiola and De Zerbi's Extreme Ideas

City's 4-0 win over Brighton shows how different the execution of ideas from Guardiola and De Zerbi is.

AP/KIN CHEUNG

The reaction of Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden when he suffered an injury during the English League match between Brighton and Hove Albion and Manchester City at the Amex Stadium, Brighton, England, on Friday (26/4/2024) early morning WIB.

BRIGHTON AND HOVE, FRIDAY — Ideas of Manager Brighton and Hove Albion Roberto De Zerbi and Manager Manchester City's Josep Guardiola is equally interesting. However, the execution of the two teams was as separate as the earth and the sky. With world-class players at their disposal, City outperforms the home team in all aspects on the pitch.

The difference in execution was seen from the scoreboard at Amex Stadium early on Friday (26/4/2024) morning Indonesian time. Guardiola's team won convincingly with four goals without reply against Brighton. Even at halftime, the away team was already leading by three goals thanks to their high-intensity performance since the first minute.

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"It's always very difficult to play against Brighton. They always play with courage and never give up. Despite facing difficulties due to many players being absent, they still show it. However, we were able to find the right rhythm and moments to punish them. Huge credit to the players," said Guardiola.

The hero of City's victory was attacking midfielder Phil Foden. The England national team mainstay inspired three goals in the first half. He broke through Brighton's low block in Kevin De Bruyne's opening goal. Then, Foden contributed two consecutive goals in just eight minutes.

AP/KIN CHEUNG

Brighton and Hove manager Roberto De Zerbi gave instructions to his players during the English Premier League match between Brighton and Hove Albion and Manchester City at Amex Stadium early in the morning of Friday, April 26th, 2024.

Guardiola recognized Foden's great influence directly. The manager said that his team deserved to win the title of best player Premier League this season. He has improved a lot and is calmer in his decision-making in the final third. Meanwhile, Foden has contributed 16 goals and 7 assists in the league.

A distinguishing figure like Foden is not possessed by Brighton. De Zerbi had to select a squad without nine injured players, including the wing-back Pervis Estupinan, who was replaced by 19-year-old Valentin Barco. Meanwhile, Barco made a mistake in his own defense that resulted in City's third goal.

City are one of the best teams in the world and they played very well today.

Guardiola came with a very bold idea. He played with a super high block from the start. Several times, five City players intensively pressed the opponent's penalty box area. Guardiola took advantage of De Zerbi's "naivety" as he always tried to build attacks from the back, even with a limited squad condition.

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De Zerbi succeeded with a similar idea about a year ago when City visited the Amex Stadium. At that time, they were able to hold the defending champions to a 1-1 draw and were more dangerous in front of the goal. Brighton only controlled 39.6 percent of the ball, but were superior in attempted shots with 20-13.

AFP/BEN STANSALL

Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne ran while dribbling the ball in a English Premier League match between Brighton and Hove Albion and Manchester City at Amex Stadium in Brighton on Friday (4/26/2024) early morning WIB.

The Italian manager hopes to repeat something similar to what happened earlier this morning. However, De Zerbi might have forgotten that there are no star players who can make a difference like last season. For example, winger Kaoru Mitoma has been absent since February. As for Brighton, they were only able to make seven attempts at goal.

"City is one of the best teams in the world and they played very well today. Playing from the back is indeed risky, but sometimes we can take advantage of it that way. Today, we were unlucky, especially when we conceded two early goals," said De Zerbi, who has not won in five consecutive matches.

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City's high line of defense also had an influence in limiting the threat of Pascal Gross and his colleagues. Brighton was caught offside five times in transition situations. When they were free from the offside trap, the players in the attacking line always failed to find the right finishing touch. Their momentum always disappears.

Brighton is also trying to press high. However, City goalkeeper Ederson always manages to become an extra player to break the pressure. Ederson's pass even led to a transition for the fourth goal scored by Julian Alvarez. "That's why City is very difficult to press," said former English national team midfielder Jamie Redknapp to Sky Sports.

AP/KIN CHEUNG

Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden (left), Manager Pep Guardiola, and midfielder Mateo Kovacic leave the field after the English Premier League match between Brighton and Hove Albion and Manchester City at Amex Stadium, Brighton, early Friday morning (26/4/2024) WIB.

Final five for City

City once again showed the luxury of their squad at the Amex Stadium. They achieved that landslide victory without the team's top scorer, Erling Haaland. Alvarez led the attack from the start, but there was no noticeable difference from the visitors. Their defense was also without the main defensive duo, John Stones and Ruben Dias.

It is understandable that City is favored to defend their league championship title. Currently, they are back in second place with 76 points from 33 matches. They are only one point behind the top of the standings, Arsenal (77 points), who have already played 34 matches. If they are able to sweep the remaining five matches, City is guaranteed to be the champion.

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After the match, according to Opta's supercomputer prediction, City's chances of becoming champions have reached 71.1 percent. Liverpool's chances of winning dropped to 1.6 percent after their defeat by Everton. Arsenal (27.3 percent) is still trailing City. Despite being favored, Guardiola said that the battle for the championship title is still long.

"The key right now is simply to win the match. We still have five remaining matches and some of them are difficult. Our focus is always on the next match. Many things can still happen. What happened to Liverpool could also happen to us or Arsenal. No one is safe. We need to recover as best as possible," concluded Guardiola. (AP/REUTERS)