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Manchester City

Pep Guardiola philosophy holds key to Man City’s advantage in Premier League title race


Now into his sixth full season as Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola’s greatest asset is no longer big-money transfers, but having a squad fine-tuned to his expectations

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Pep Guardiola press conference pre Leicester

Pep Guardiola has stumped up almost £1billion on players since taking over as Manchester City boss in 2016.

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The Spaniard has a reputation for spending big and he has the trophies to back it up, with three Premier League titles, an FA Cup and four consecutive Carabao Cups to his name.

Jack Grealish became the latest big-money arrival of the Guardiola era in August when he completed a £100million move from Aston Villa – a top-flight record sum.

But aside from a free transfer for veteran goalkeeper Scott Carson, Grealish was the only player to bolster Guardiola’s first-team squad in the summer window.

Fernandinho provided a glimpse of Pep Guardiola’s philosophy
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AFP via Getty Images)

Now into his sixth full season as City manager, Guardiola does not rely on multiple flashy arrivals each window.

Instead, his greatest asset is having a squad of players fine-tuned to what he demands of them with the positional sense and technical ability to carry out his instructions.

Veteran midfielder Fernandinho has witnessed all of Guardiola’s reign at the Etihad and provided a glimpse of his revered methods earlier this week.

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The 36-year-old is convinced the continuity, unity and development of the City squad means they still have the edge over Manchester United in the Premier League title race, despite their local rivals’ summer spending.

The Red Devils bought Jadon Sancho for £73million, Raphael Varane for £40million and Cristiano Ronaldo for £20million during a busy summer of business.

But Fernandinho insists there can be no substitute for having a near-telepathic connection with one’s manager and teammates which takes many seasons to forge.

Will Manchester City defend their Premier League crown this season? Comment below.

“I think that due to the standard of play, the way we have played for five or six years with Pep, we have a defined standard of play, we know exactly how each player behaves or should behave on the field, we know about quality of each player and how he can play the best role in the matches,” Fernandinho told ESPN Brasil .

“Without a doubt, in this matter, we have a little more advantage. Having practically the same players since 2017, it’s no wonder the club managed to win three titles in the last five.”

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In many aspects, Guardiola has set the tactical benchmark for Premier League clubs since he arrived over five years ago.

His pioneering use of inverted full-backs is growing more common, but few teams can match the brilliant build-up play which becomes second nature to his players, often incorporating a diagonal ball to the byline, a vicious pull-back and – very regularly – a darting run and finish.

While it is impossible to condense the genius manager’s methods, they still hold the key to City’s hopes of more silverware.

The opening-game defeat by Tottenham Hotspur is a distant memory, City are poised in fourth place having scored 11 goals without conceding in their last three matches, and Guardiola’s philosophy remains as potent as ever.

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