Man City players' evolution under Guardiola makes them Champions League favourites

Quarter-final triumph against Bayern Munich shows how Catalan manager has redefined his side

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola talks to John Stones during the 3-0 Champions League quarter-final first-leg win against Bayern Munich on April 11, 2023. Reuters

Few of Manchester City’s rivals in Europe were in much doubt that they came into this season’s Champions League with the most "complete" squad to win it.

The questions surrounded shortcomings of the recent past, the list of surprise failings in knockout phases, the hindsight judgements on manager Pep Guardiola’s team selections, especially in the losing final against Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea in 2021.

So perhaps the most pleasing aspect of Tuesday’s 3-0 triumph in the home leg of the quarter-final against Tuchel’s Bayern Munich was how far beyond completeness City travelled. This was a victory, by more goals in 76 minutes than Bayern had conceded in 12 hours of previous action in Europe this season, in which Guardiola channelled something extra from almost every individual.

Tuchel identified that when he challenged the idea that his Bayern had slipped up when they conceded the first goal of an electric night at the Etihad Stadium. The scorer was Rodri, the effort bold and magnificently curled past Yann Sommer’s stretch.

Should somebody in a Bayern jersey have better closed Rodri down?

“When you look at video analysis, you can say anything is defendable,” said Tuchel of Rodri’s stunning left-foot strike. “But this is City’s holding midfielder, from 20 metres out, shooting with his weaker foot. It can happen sometimes.”

So can a Bernardo Silva bullet header, for the second goal, although that hardly rates as typical Bernardo, the shortest man in the City line-up.

Nor would forecasters have imagined that three of the several good saves made by Sommer would be from shots by defenders Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake, who like Rodri, like Bernardo, showed off aspects of their games well outside their core skill-sets.

John Stones collected a man-of-the-match for the contribution he made in the hybrid role that maximises his defensive vigilance, positional instincts, secure passing and physical assets.

Ratings

MANCHESTER CITY RATINGS: Ederson - 8. Called into action just after the restart by a Leroy Sane shot. Made three other saves against Sane to help protect the Citizens' lead. Getty

Manuel Akanji - 8. Blocked a ferocious shot from Kimmich in the 36th minute. Dealt well with the threat of Coman in the first half but struggled to track the runs of Sane in the second. Reuters

Nathan Ake - 8. Had a pop at goal in the 56th minute but was denied by a good save from Sommer. Kept Sane quiet in the first half and Coman in the second. PA

Ruben Dias - 8. Made a goal-saving block against Musiala in the 25th minute. Almost doubled the home side's lead when he controlled the ball with his chest and took aim at goal deep into the second half. PA

John Stones - 8. Hardly put a foot wrong all game, and it was his header across the face of goal that found Haaland put City three up in the 77th minute. PA

Rodri - 9. Opened the scoring with a spectacular curler from more than 25 yards in the 28th minute. Only a mouthwatering save from Sommer denied him a second goal from a header late on. Getty

Bernardo Silva - 9. Assisted Rodri's goal with a simple pass infield. On another occasion, he showed his skill by slipping the ball through the legs of Davies and Pavard with just two touches on the hour. Doubled City's lead with a beautiful header back across goal with 20 minutes remaining. AFP

Kevin De Bruyne - 7. A quick one-two with Gundogan almost led to a chance to double City's lead on the stroke of half-time. Wasn’t at his mercurial best. EPA

Ilkay Gundogan - 7. Denied a shot at goal by a last-ditch Kimmich block in the 20th minute. He then saw a close-range shot surprisingly saved by Sommer soon after. Performed well as the team’s chief creator after De Bruyne was substituted. AFP

Jack Grealish - 8. Displayed great vision to play Haaland in with a back-heeled pass in the 22nd minute. Played Ake in with another back-heeled layoff just shy of the hour mark. Began the move that led to the second goal by stealing the ball from Upamecano and backheeling the ball into the path of Haaland. AP

Erling Haaland - 9. Assisted the second goal with a cross to Bernardo Silva before netting himself, reacting quickest to Stones's header across the face of goal to put his side three up in the 70th minute. AFP

SUBS: Julian Alvarez (De Bruyne, 68') - 7. Should have made it three when he was found in the box by a Gundogan cutback 15 minutes from time. Saw another shot of his flash just wide in the closing stages. Reuters

BAYERN MUNICH RATINGS: Yann Sommer - 8. Had a heart-in-mouth moment in the 14th minute as Haaland almost deflected his clearance into the net. Made a great double save to deny Grealish and Gundogan in the 34th minute. Ended the game with ten saves. PA

Benjamin Pavard - 6. Did well to stop a quick one-two between De Bruyne and Gundogan that could have led to a huge chance on the stroke of half-time. His deflected cross had Ederson worried after the break. AP

Alphonso Davies - 6. Snatched at a shot when he was given space at the edge of Manchester City's penalty area in the early exchanges. Played a superb pass to put Sane through on goal just after the break. Getty

Dayot Upamecano - 4. At fault for City’s second goal, as his indecisiveness gave Grealish the chance to steal the ball and play Haaland in on goal. Made another mistake in defence that wasn’t punished just a minute later. AP

Matthijs de Ligt - 6. Was the more assured of the Bavarian's centre-backs but he got caught out a number of times by City's crisp passing. Was caught ball-watching as the home side grabbed a third. EPA

Leon Goretzka - 5. Stationed just in front of the Bayern Munich backline, Goretzka was overrun by City’s midfielders. He seemed to have too much to do on his own when the home side hit the visitors on the counter. AP

Joshua Kimmich - 7. Showed great awareness of his surroundings by racing to the far post to deny Gundogan a shot a goal in the 20th minute. Made a last-ditch block to deny Haaland a shot at an open goal after the break. AP

Jamal Musiala - 6. Denied by a Dias block when he was presented with Bayern's first real chance in the 25th minute. Skipped past Pep Guardiola’s defensive line in the 41st minute but there was no red shirt in the box to apply the finish to his cutback. Getty

Kingsley Coman - 5. Found very little joy against Akanji at right-back in the first half. Faired a little better after switching wings with Sane in the second half but still didn't trouble Ederson’s goal. PA

Leroy Sane - 7. Tested Ederson with a well-hit shot from the edge of the box just after the restart. Denied by Ederson again four minutes later when he was played through on goal by Davies. Getty

Serge Gnabry - 5. Played up front as the team's most advanced player, and struggled in his unfamiliar role. The duo of Stones and Dias kept him very quiet. PA

SUBS: Sadio Mane (Musiala, 68) - 6. Worked hard after coming on and held the ball up well against City’s defence. He clearly looked more suited to the false nine role in his short time on the pitch than Gnabry. AFP

Thomas Muller (Gnabry, 80) - N/A. A willing runner but had very little impact after coming on. AP

Joao Cancelo (Davies, 80) - N/A. Put in a number of dangerous crosses but none of his teammates were on hand to turn them into the net. Reuters

The redefining of Stones, a central defender by upbringing, into an all-rounder who eases quickly from stopper to full-back to auxiliary midfielder has been a project signposted by Guardiola for some weeks.

In the evolving City game plan, it has many beneficiaries. Rodri’s responsibilities in central midfield are shared, allowing the sort of surge that gave the Spaniard, on his 44th match in the Champions League, his first goal in the competition. “I should shoot more,” Rodri smiled as he enjoyed the milestone.

If Tuchel admitted his team were confounded by City forever finding the extra element in individuals, spare a thought for Joao Cancelo.

Barely three months ago, he was a City star, celebrated as the epitome of versatility in a squad that so values the quality, under a manager who has made coaxing hidden assets out of footballers a trademark element of his success.

Some of Cancelo’s finest demonstrations of his ability to play in either full-back position, left or right, and seamlessly strengthen midfield have been in a City jersey in the Champions League.

But he was abruptly invited to leave the club in January, at odds with Guardiola about how many opportunities he was being given in the starting XI. He joined Bayern. His role on Tuesday was as an 81st-minute substitute, at 3-0 down, to relieve left-back Alphonso Davies, who had been worn out by the inspired Bernardo.

Kyle Walker has more recently been told by Guardiola that his admired mastery of the right-back’s role, classy enough to have earned 75 caps for England, lacks aspects of what Stones can bring to the evolving City machine. Evolution can seem ruthless for those who do not keep up.

It can look unstoppable to opponents, too, especially now that a phenomenal centre-forward is providing compelling arguments why this, City’s 12th successive campaign in the Champions League, really should outlast all the others and end with the club lifting a first European Cup.

Manchester City's Rodri celebrates after scoring the first goal in the Champions League quarter-final first leg against Bayern Munich at the Etihad Stadium on April 11, 2023. Getty

Rather more predictable than a Rodri super-strike, or a Bernardo header was that Erling Haaland should appear on the scoresheet against Bayern, and with his goal, shatter another record.

Haaland’s positional instincts are no less sophisticated that those being mastered by Stones, but he uses them best in the tight spaces of the opposition penalty area. Haaland was, once again, in the right place at the right time to volley City’s third goal of the night past Sommer, from Stones’s headed pass.

It was the Norwegian’s 45th goal in his 39th game since joining Guardiola’s troupe of self-improvers.

No footballer employed in the English Premier League has ever scored so many in a season.

And he still has a possible 13 matches across competitions to add many more – and very possibly to spearhead City to a Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup Treble.