Darren Bent has claimed Manchester City’s left side is ‘lacking’, after the Treble winners dropped points again at the weekend.
City drew 3-3 with Tottenham Hotspur at the Etihad Stadium, and it is now just three points taken in the last three games in the Premier League.
City squandered a number of good chances against Spurs, who admittedly played well on the counter.
There was frustration at the end when referee Simon Hooper did not play an advantage when Jack Grealish was through on goal, but ultimately City need to look internally.
Pep Guardiola will find a solution, as he is too good a manager not to.
In the eyes of Bent, the Spaniard may need to address the left side of his team going forward…
Darren Bent feels Manchester City’s left side is ‘lacking’
Manchester City were a topic of conversation yesterday evening on talkSPORT.
Andy Goldstein and Darren Bent were delving into why City are currently dropping points in the Premier League.
At one point, Bent identified the City left side as a possible weakness right now. He said: “I do think there’s a bit of an issue with that left-hand side. You’ve got Doku (21), who’s a good player but… and Gvardiol plays on that side as well. There’s something maybe lacking there, in terms of teams attacking down that side of the pitch.
“I think it’s just teething problems. Obviously, Doku is a good player but at times he’s a bit frustrating. He’s got the full-back where he wants him and rather than go and beat him he then goes and passes the ball back. Gvardiol is trying to find his feet.”
Left side isn’t the only issue
City’s left side could improve, but it is certainly not the only issue right now.
City have dropped points in recent weeks having been wasteful in front of goal. Erling Haaland has squandered a number of chances and will know he needs to improve.
There are also some players who are usually very consistent, such as Ruben Dias and Manuel Akanji, who are struggling a little at this moment in time.
City’s left side has two new players and it is going to take time for them to get fully up to speed.
Doku has actually been brilliant so far from an offensive standpoint, but does need to improve defensively.
Gvardiol had a fairly solid start but, like Dias and Akanji, has just experienced a dip of late – but many will back the Croatian to turn things around given his quality and potential.
