Manchester City’s unbeaten home record came to an end on Saturday after Brentford beat them 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium. Props must be given to the Bees for the shock result as they played well, but Adam Monk on the Blue Moon Podcast (S14, E17) wasn’t impressed with the City players.
He pondered whether the World Cup distraction had an effect on performance and believes the entire starting eleven guilty of a below-par showing. Monk said (2:10): “People have been using the World Cup as an excuse. I think maybe it did (play a part) collectively.
“What was quite bizarre, and you don’t usually see it with City, is it seemed to be 10 or 11 players who weren’t giving 100% rather than four of five. And usually the others would bail us out.”
Vital Man City noted a few players who put in poor performances against Brentford – Joao Cancelo struggled to make an impact in the final third, Manuel Akanji lost the majority of his ground and aerial duels, Ilkay Gundogan didn’t play well in midfield and Erling Haaland wasn’t at his best either.
The result leaves City five points behind Arsenal in the Premier League table after 14 games and they won’t have a chance to play again until after the World Cup, so the timing of the defeat couldn’t be any worse.
Pep Guardiola made it clear before the Brentford clash that he expected 100% from his players despite the World Cup being just days away, so he’ll be frustrated if it had a bearing on performance.
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