It was a largely serene summer for Manchester City, coming off the back of a dominant Premier League title win. Though they’ve missed some of their biggest stars during pre-season because of the World Cup, the expectation remains this side is set to reign supreme in England again.
City were content to have a quiet transfer window, though they would have liked to bring in one or two more players, and a tough pre-season schedule which saw the champions take on Liverpool, Borussia Dortmund, and Bayern Munich before beating Chelsea in the Community Shield has the club ready for the season.
Here’s a look at how City fared in the summer.
RESULTS
W 2-0 Chelsea
W 3-2 Bayern Munich
L 2-1 Liverpool
L 1-0 Borussia Dortmund
City’s preseason didn’t get off to the best start, with consecutive losses to Dortmund and Liverpool – although they fielded comparatively weaker teams in relation to their opponents. The kids came good in the win over Bayern Munich, achieved after falling 2-0 behind.
Phil Foden was among the outstanding performers of the summer, and he continued his form with a fine showing against Chelsea, while Bernardo Silva also caught the eye. The performances of those two, and the rest of the squad, should give City the confidence that they can be the best side in England again.
A thriller in the ICC as Manchester City came from 2-0 down to beat Bayern Munich 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/nG3NBlAsp9
— Goal (@goal) July 29, 2018
TRANSFER BUSINESS
Key Ins: Riyad Mahrez (£60million)
Key Outs: Yaya Toure (free)
It was a strange transfer window for City, as they saw their midfield targets snub them and bought a player in a position where they were already well-stocked.
Moves for other midfielders, such as Juventus‘ Miralem Pjanic, were ruled out, with City content to stand pat in that department. Not adding a defender may be a concern, however. Even though they spent close to £150 million on full-backs, they were light in the position last season thanks to injuries to Benjamin Mendy and Danilo. Meanwhile, Vincent Kompany’s own injury issues mean City have only three first-team centre-backs to rely on, which may come back to bite them.
Guardiola is convinced his side doesn’t need upgrading. But while he can expect his team to be as good as they were last year, others have improved. Not refreshing the squad may prove to be his undoing.
What a start @ManCity pic.twitter.com/Y4PiaftgH8
— Riyad Mahrez (@Mahrez22) August 5, 2018
TWO GOOD
Academy products look strong
Phil Foden, Eric Garcia, Lukas Nmecha, and Brahim Diaz all had their moments on tour, with Foden doing enough to suggest he’ll be a first-team regular this season. It was City’s young players who led the comeback against Bayern Munich, with Nmecha getting a second-half equaliser.
Diaz is entering a pivotal season for his career, with one year left on his contract, and though his pre-season was up and down he showed flashes of immense talent. He, and Garcia, should be pushing for first-team minutes this season.
Momentum carried from last season
Although some of the stars were missing, the ones who played in the summer showed they haven’t missed a beat since last season. Bernardo Silva shook off a poor World Cup and was City’s best player of the summer, while Leroy Sane put his own World Cup snub behind him and looks ready to prove a point.
Sergio Aguero was sharp in his first game, grabbing a double against Chelsea which showed he’s as good as ever, while players like Fernandinho, Kyle Walker, Aymeric Laporte, and John Stones all had solid outings in that fixture. The squad looks like it’s raring to go.
Phil Foden's Community Shield by numbers vs. Chelsea:
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) August 5, 2018
54 touches
3 chances created
2 tackles won
2 take-ons
1 through ball
1 shot
1 assist
A standing ovation for the teenager. 👶 pic.twitter.com/iDglHgmaSX
TWO BAD
Missing out on midfielders
Losing out on two midfield targets, Fred and Jorginho, may end up hurting City. At 33, expecting Fernandinho to play at his customary level week in, week out is an unreasonable ask, and the club knew they needed to find a successor.
Instead, Fred and Jorginho picked Manchester United and Chelsea, respectively, over City, leaving the club thin on holding midfielders. Guardiola suggests Foden can step into midfield, but thrusting that responsibility on an 18-year-old is a plan fraught with risk, and in any case he’s best used further forward. The club have been reduced to trying to fast-track a work permit for Douglas Luiz, the young Brazilian who was signed last summer.
Flawed transfer strategy
City have only signed one first-team player this season, breaking their club record to bring in Mahrez from Leicester City. While there’s no doubting the Algerian’s talent, how he addresses a need for the club remains to be seen.
The champions were already blessed with a host of attacking talent, and Mahrez’s arrival may end up pushing someone like Raheem Sterling down the pecking order – not ideal when he’s coming off his best season and is engaged in a contract standoff with the club.
Meanwhile, City could also have done with finding some cover in defence. Fabian Delph deputised admirably at left-back when Benjamin Mendy had long-term injury, but they’d want to avoid a situation like that repeating itself. Danilo has yet to convince as a regular option. And if Kompany’s injury issues arise again, the club will have only John Stones, Nicolas Otamendi, and Aymeric Laporte as established centre-backs.
VERDICT: A-
The lack of a midfield signing will rankle, but in general, City will be happy with their summer. Most of their key players had successful World Cup campaigns, which should be a boost of confidence for them, and everyone else hit the ground running when the summer began.
Repeating as Premier League champions is never easy – it hasn’t been done this decade – but City will like their chances. The squad is settled and content, and they know how good they’re capable of playing. The rest of England will be on guard.
