Pep Guardiola has named the five Premier League teams who don't just 'sit back' and defend against Manchester City, and there's a couple of more surprising named.
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City can be a pretty relentless attacking side under Guardiola, whilst they might not flood forward in the way Liverpool do, they don't usually let the ball remain in their half for very long.
With so much attacking talent in Guardiola's side, it's almost impossible for teams to shut down all of their goal scoring avenues, which is why opposition don't usually manage it.
Teams will often try to defend for their lives against City, it's not always something the former Barcelona boss likes, and now he's named the only Premier League sides who don't do that.
Asked by City's official website after the 1-0 win over Everton if teams generally pack their defence, Pep said, "I know we provoke them, but yeah, except Liverpool, Brighton, Arsenal, Villa and Leeds United, the rest, yeah.
"The rest sit back, but I’m not saying there is anything wrong with that.
"Every manager can do what they want."
The fact those five teams have conceded 22 goals in six games so far this season against City might suggest why other teams decide to defend.
Frank Lampard's Everton were mainly on the back foot on Saturday evening but the Premier League champions were still extremely lucky to come away with all three points.
Firstly, despite their dominance, it took until the 82nd minute for Phil Foden to score what would turn out to be the only goal of the game, his seventh in the league this season.
Then the hosts, and pretty much everyone else, felt they should have had a penalty, when Rodri miss controlled the ball and it hit him flush in the arm in the penalty area, and VAR failed to overturn the referee's decision.
Yes, that should have been a penalty for Everton after the most obvious handball from Rodri pic.twitter.com/yO4RYtUau2
— Has the Referee or VAR made a poor decision? (@PoorEPLreferees) February 26, 2022
Guardiola usually has it pretty spot on when it comes to even his opponents tactics, once brilliantly explaining how Thomas Tuchel organises his Chelsea side, but one manager might have major complains about Pep's analysis.
Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte recently hit back at the idea his side 'defended deep' and just hit City on the 'counter' during their 3-2 win over the team from the north west.
Spurs were brilliant on the day, with Harry Kane scoring deep in injury time to grab all three points, and Conte wasn't having any of the idea his team just sat back.
Featured Image Credit: PA
Topics: Premier League, Manchester City, Pep Guardiola
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