Manchester City have taken their football to a whole new level this season.
The Blues have been scoring for fun while setting a club record of sixteen straight victories in all competitions.
City’s squad has been rejuvenated by the perfect mix of young stars and experienced leaders as they continue to conquer everything in front of them.
At the other end the Blues also look a different beast. Ederson has proved to be one of the signings of the season, with his impact on the defensive line already helping to provide ten clean sheets this campaign.
However only two summer signings started the 2-0 victory over Leicester on Saturday, so what has been the real reason behind the Blues change in fortunes compared with last season?
The answer is literally ‘simple’ according to Pep Guardiola.
City’s manager believes that not over complicating things has resulted in a clear change to their style of play.
Guardiola has been impressed by the difficult away tests the Blues have overcome this season, and feels he is learning from the experience of his first-season in charge at the Etihad.
“You concede counter attack when you lose easy passes, simple passes, when the players want to do more creative things that are not necessary, and you are not organised when you lose the ball,” Guardiola said.
“We have been playing more simple, our game is quicker because we play simple, not because of course we are fast in front, but especially when we are simple, we play one or two touches, one or two touches, no more than that. We are organised through the ball.
“We travel, we play with the ball together and when this happen, all the tradition is there. When you play long balls and you don’t win the balls, that is a counter attack. “
City have already overcome a series of difficult tests this season, and Guardiola believes that his side have naturally become a more ‘solid team’ as they continue to gel.
He added: “Last season, I give a lot of credit to what Leicester did, not because we was robbed. After three minutes, we were 2-0 down and after that it’s complicated.
“But I’ve said many times, now we know each other better, we have a lot of time together and we play with the belief in what we can do.
“That is why we are a more solid team in terms of clean sheets, in terms of goals we concede, in terms of how many chances we create, we are a more solid team.”
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