Early missteps show Guardiola?s rebuild of City remains a work in progress

Questions around goalkeeping and style of play raise questions about whether Man City can regain the aura of invincibility that once surrounded them
The truly great sides always come with an aura. One of the elements that makes them so hard to beat is that beating them seems so inconceivable. Even when they hit a bad run, the expectation is always that at some point they will rediscover their form. To some extent, Manchester City did that last season. As miserable as much of the campaign was, after losing to Nottingham Forest at the beginning of March, they put together a run of 10 games unbeaten and ended up third ? even if defeat to Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final demonstrated the shortcomings that remain.
That game showcased City?s flatness at times going forward but also a strange openness at the back that was apparent again in the 4-3 defeat to Al-Hilal in the Club World Cup. Pep Guardiola sides, given how high their line is, will always be susceptible to direct balls played in behind them if something goes awry with the press; it?s an inevitable part of the risk-reward of that style of play.
This is an extract from Soccer with Jonathan Wilson, a weekly look from the Guardian US at the game in Europe and beyond. Subscribe for free here. Have a question for Jonathan? Email [email protected], and he?ll answer the best in a future edition.
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