The sight of Gundogan scampering desperately towards his own goal as Chelsea’s quicksilver band of attackers streamed menacingly towards Ederson’s goal was a feature of the opening 45 minutes. The space between Ilkay Gundogan and Kai Havertz (both circled) for an early Chelsea chance would have concerned Pep Guardiola (Photo: BT Sport) Gundogan’s inability to read the potential danger was exposed by the yawning chasm between him and his centre backs when Havertz received possession. An errant John Stones header dropped at the feet of Kai Havertz 25 yards out and the German fashioned Chelsea’s first chance, sliding the ball across to Timo Werner who miscued his finish. Guardiola may have been ruing his gamble as early as the opening 10 minutes. But it left City’s back four exposed and vulnerable to Chelsea’s counter-attacks. It was a bold move from Guardiola that highlighted his desire to attack Chelsea and dominate possession. Playing as a holding midfielder isn’t an entirely alien concept to Gundogan, but when he has been deployed deeper it has generally been alongside a defensive-minded player, not instead of one. Instead, the task of protecting the back four was entrusted to Gundogan after a campaign in which he scored 17 times – 11 more goals than he had ever managed across an entire season. But when City’s teamsheet was released 76 minutes before kick-off on Sunday, there was no Rodri in the starting XI or perhaps more surprising given the occasion, Fernandinho.įor the first time in six months and only the second time all season in City’s 61st game, Guardiola opted against starting one of Rodri or Fernandinho at the base of his midfield. Such changes have had an unsettling effect: the problem for Guardiola is that often it has been for his own team, rather than the opposition.ĭespite his propensity for making unexpected decisions in big games, City’s team was so settled that it seemed unlikely Guardiola would use his first Champions League final in a decade as an opportunity to experiment. City’s line-up against Lyon in last season’s quarter-final is a case in point, when Guardiola named a conservative line-up in an unfamiliar 3-5-2 system. Guardiola has a habit of throwing a curveball or three in big matches in an attempt to catch his opponents off-guard. Raheem Sterling, meanwhile, was named on the bench in all four, restricted to just eight minutes of action, in total. The rest stayed the same: Ederson, Kyle Walker, John Stones, Ruben Dias, Ilkay Gundogan, Kevin De Bruyne, Riyad Mahrez, Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden, started every match. Man City vs Chelsea player ratings: 5 performances that defined the Champions League final
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