The UEFA Champions League, the event that retains on giving, has conjured up yet one more fixture for the ages as English champions Manchester City have been pitted to play towards German Giants Bayern Munich.
As the Abu Dhabi-owner English outfit goes in quest of the prized possession that but stays elusive to them, beneath the tutelage of tactician extraordinaire Pep Guardiola, in all probability the best footballing mind of the trendy period, former England goalkeeper David James feels this facet from the blue half of Manchester might doubtlessly go on to win the grandest title in continental soccer.
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Especially amid the whirlwind of adjustments which have transpired in Bavaria after the premature sacking of former Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann due to a plethora of causes cited by the Bayern board starting from an obvious lack of participant growth to a leak of confidential crew data to the media.
The alternative introduced in by the Stern des Sudens to fill within the vacuum, Thomas Tuchel, a Champions League winner with Chelsea, will search to please the Munich higher-ups with a press release victory over Guardiola’s well-drilled unit.
But, regardless of Tuchel’s accolades and popularity, the 52-year-old former Portsmouth custodian, James, feels that getting previous City could possibly be a step too far for the German mastermind.
“It is a surprise appointment obviously with the sacking in the first place,” James began.
“Especially at this stage of the Champions League and this point in the Bundesliga, when the title hasn’t been decided yet.”
“When you look at Bayern and their success in the UCL a few years ago, with the COVID restrictions in place, it was a different format of single knock-out games which suited them. In one game they are more than capable of beating any team in world football,” the 52-year-old opined.
“In recent times, in the double-legged knock-out games in the tournament, one game has effectively cost Bayern dearly.”
“So, coming up against a tough Manchester City side in a doubleheader, who might not necessarily be in their best touch in one game, you can almost assure that they’d be in fine fettle in the other game,” mentioned the FA Cup winner.
“Especially with Erling Haaland in the kind of goalscoring form that he is in, and City as a whole unit, I think over two legs, Thomas Tuchel’s appointment will not be enough to see Bayern Munich go through,” James asserted.
Pep Guardiola, a two-time Champions League winner, each on the helm of his beloved FC Barcelona, has discovered continental glory arduous to come by since his departure from Catalunya. He has tried and failed on a number of events throughout his earlier stint at Bayern and is but to lead City to the elite trophy.
And the previous Liverpool and Manchester City participant, James, feels that this could possibly be the yr that Guardiola breaks the hoodoo and lifts essentially the most coveted title in the entire European lands.
The immense depth of the facet bankrolled by the oil-rich Sheikhs from the Middle Eastern nation of UAE could possibly be one of many the explanation why the English crew might go on to obtain their crowning second within the UEFA competitors, as well as to difficult Premier League champions-elect Arsenal for the home title.
But James is of the opinion that the important thing think about City’s declare to the trophy within the ongoing version of the event is the mixture of Guardiola meticulously conjuring of a Plan B in case his normal gameplay doesn’t present dividends on any given day and the truth that the 52-year-old supervisor isn’t possibly as overtly dependant on his beginning eleven to ship on each sport day as a lot as within the earlier seasons.
“We know how the Champions League works, you can play loads and loads of players, especially in the group stages, which would give you an impression of depth. But, the necessity to win the last couple of group games isn’t all that important, once they have qualified for the knockouts,” James defined.
“Therefore, you can bring more players in just to fulfil a fixture. And if you have done well in the group stages, then the last couple of fixtures aren’t that important.”
“Conversely, if you look at the Premier League, Guardiola has used just 18 different starters this season in 30 PL games. The fewest among the teams, even fewer than Arsenal.”
“When you look at it, Pep has got a nucleus of players that he uses, and he isn’t going through massive depth in squad numbers” he added.
James did contact up on how properly the Santpedor-born genius has rotated his squad and has handed the star names that grace his roster to his will.
“But, one thing he has done exceptionally well this season is his rotation. He has used more subs this year than he has done in the previous seasons, which could mean his reliance on the starting eleven hasn’t been as complete as it has perhaps been in the past,” the previous Kerala Blasters player-coach asserted.
“But he knows who his favourite players are and he’s been using them more often than he has in the past.”
“And despite Haaland’s impact this year, City have managed to win games even in his absence. But when he’s playing, he is part of the goalscoring in those games.”
“He has taken like 6,7 months to get a point where he is confident that his side knows how to get the answers to score goals to win the games.”
James took the instance of City’s 3-1 win towards the Gunners on the Emirates to elucidate how the Manchester-based facet have discovered the knack of digging out the end result regardless of nonetheless unfavourable the circumstances of a selected fixture could also be by way of their customary strategy to soccer.
“Looking back at City’s visit to the Emirates a couple of months back, which they ended up winning 3-1 against table toppers Arsenal, it was the long ball tactic that worked out for them. It is not something that I’ve seen Manchester City do under Pep,” James mirrored.
“It wasn’t the prettiest game of football, but they found an answer to end up getting the result against the league leaders away from home. They found a solution.
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“In the past, City have received criticism for not having a ‘Plan B’ and how predictable they might seem. But this year it is evident that they have got a functional Plan B and I’ve also seen some other instances that suggest that they might even have a Plan C as well,” he elaborated.
“And this is an opportunity for Manchester City to put themselves in the best possible position to lift the Champions League trophy this year.”
“Of course, Real Madrid will have an argument somewhere down the line but I’m enjoying what I’m seeing with City and what Pep’s got to offer” the English shot-stopper concluded.
Watch the LIVE protection of UEFA Champions League 2022/23: Quarter Final (Leg 1) – Man. City vs Bayern on Sony Sports Ten 2 (English), Sony Sports Ten 3 (Hindi) & Sony Sports Ten 4 (Tamil & Telugu) channels at 12:30 am IST on twelfth April 2023
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