Raheem Sterling, David Silva and Man City's promising new shape
Wednesday 19 August 2015 16:25, UK
Speed on the left, combinations with Aleksandar Kolarov and freedom for David Silva. Raheem Sterling's presence is already having an impact on Man City's tactics...
Manchester City finished second in the Premier League last season. It was far from disastrous. But tweaks were needed in the summer if they were to reclaim the title and much of the focus was on the importance of injecting pace into the team.
"Sometimes when we watch City we think it's too pedestrian, too slow, too lethargic," said Jamie Carragher on Monday Night Football. Even some of the players recognised the problem last season, with James Milner identifying a lack of "tempo" in their home draw against Roma.
"In these last two seasons, we have all accused them of lacking pace on the counter-attack with Silva and Nasri in the wide areas," added fellow Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville. "Now we are starting to look at a slightly different team."
So while the size of the fee to bring Raheem Sterling to the Etihad Stadium might have been questionable, the benefits of introducing a player of his speed were never in doubt. Indeed, they have already been apparent in City's opening two victories of the season...
Twin threat with Navas
Pellegrini's commitment to playing Jesus Navas confused some last season, with the little Spanish winger featuring in more Premier League games than any other City outfield player. But it was surely a reflection of the fact that nobody else in the squad offered his attributes.
In fact, Navas put in more than twice as many crosses as any other City midfielder, with only David Silva creating more chances. Now Sterling is also posing questions with his pace out wide and it's giving Pellegrini's men a penetrative threat down both flanks.
In Neville's words, Branislav Ivanovic had "an uncomfortable afternoon" as City chose to focus their threat down the left with Bacary Sagna, preferred to the more attacking Pablo Zabaleta, acting as more of a covering defender on the right.
With Sterling on the field, over 40 per cent of City's attacks came down their left as they looked to exploit Chelsea's right side rather than look to the more evenly-matched Navas versus Cesar Azpilicueta duel. City now have the option of switching the avenue of attack.
Partnership with Kolarov
That brought Aleksandar Kolarov into play. Gael Clichy has actually started more games in three of their four seasons together at City but an injury to the Frenchman put Kolarov in the ascendancy in pre-season and he has already shown why he could now be a real asset.
Kolarov is familiar with having a left-sided midfielder cutting inside ahead of him and on Sunday that allowed the space for him to advance, whipping in a cross that Sergio Aguero should have converted from point-blank range in the first half against Chelsea.
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But what's new is Sterling's pace, buying Kolarov time. Jose Mourinho was frustrated at the sight of John Terry and the rest defending deep early on and this backing off gave the Serbian with the sweet left foot the time to pick out his passes.
"I think Sterling has developed, in the two games I've seen, a very good relationship with Kolarov," said Neville. The stats suggest his team-mate is enjoying it as much as the new man. According to Opta, Kolarov created more chances than anyone on the pitch on Sunday.
Centre-stage role for Silva
Another man who has made a fine start to the season is Silva, and Sterling's presence has played its part in facilitating this form too. He's now City's man in the middle. "Silva playing centrally is a benefit of having Sterling there as a genuine, good wide player," said Neville.
Last season, Silva had 46 per cent of his touches on the left flank compared to just 23 per cent on the right. So far this season he has been less restricted with 39 per cent of his touches coming on the left, 33 per cent on the right and 28 per cent in central zones.
It just works all round for me having Sterling at City. The relationship with Kolarov and Silva is promising.
City's playmaker can now seek out the space to cause problems for opponents wherever he sees it. And it's working. Silva has been involved in all six of their goals so far this season. It just goes to show that the benefits of Sterling's arrival are greater than his individual talents.
"It just works all round for me having Sterling at City," added Neville. "I think he'll get better service. The relationship with Kolarov and Silva is promising for City and teams watching them now are going to have to deal with what is a massive threat down that left-hand side."
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