In our view, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola should have started Phil Foden instead of Julian Alvarez in midfield against Chelsea.
Instead, the Catalan boss played Foden on the right flank against the Blues, off the back of his brilliant display from out wide against Copenhagen.
However, the set-up in the first leg of the Champions League clash, with Rodri playing on the right-hand side of midfield meant the £225,000-a-week (Sport Rac) man was made far more involved in the contest than on Saturday.
Why Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola should have started Phil Foden in midfield against Chelsea
With Bernardo Silva starting on the left-hand side, there was a balance to City’s cohort in the middle of the park.
However, Pep Guardiola decided to bench the Portuguese maestro and bring in Manchester City goalscorer Julian Alvarez into the side against Chelsea, despite Phil Foden being a midfielder by trade.
The decision was a surprising one, to say the least, especially considering the Argentine international was tasked with the responsibility of defending as part of a double pivot alongside Rodri.
While attacking midfielders like Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden may not be particularly capable of doing so as well, they have more experience of defending in deeper areas than the World Cup winner, who is a natural number nine.
Considering Foden had bagged a hat-trick while playing in midfield against Brentford recently, even on an attacking front, one cannot fathom why Guardiola felt Alvarez would be more suited to the role against Chelsea.
Even aside from his goals, the Stockport-born attacker was a nuisance for the Bees, picking up a variety of pockets across the pitch and unlike the former River Plate forward, he showcased his ability to provide control in the first phase of play.
While Alvarez was trying to do the same by dropping in deeper areas, barring simply passing the ball back to Rodri or Akanji, he struggled to have an impact on enhancing the Sky Blues’ build-up.
Phil Foden is simply far more technically adept than Julian Alvarez, which would have allowed him to manipulate the ball much better than he did against Chelsea and help bypass their high press.
However, City continued to be far too lethargic while building out of the back, which added to their struggles.
Notably, Pep Guardiola decided to substitute Julian Alvarez in the 64th minute and later into the contest against Chelsea, it seemed like he had instructed Phil Foden to play centrally as his team were in desperate need of a boost in terms of creating clear-cut goalscoring opportunities.
However, there was not enough time on the clock for Foden to change the game.
One can understand if Phil Foden was tasked to stay out wide for Bernardo Silva, who is an expert at playing in a double pivot and remains one of the best midfielders in the world.
But considering how terrific Foden has been in midfield for City this season, Guardiola’s insistence on Alvarez being one of his creators is puzzling, particularly against a side of Chelsea’s calibre.
