Turning Right in Copenhagen

Copenhagen Review, Savio Here We Go, Rodri Interview and Summer Targets

Author

Bailey Wynne
February 14th, 2024 • Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes

That Will Do.

Top stories today:

  1. Copenhagen Away Win reviewing the game and it’s implications

  2. Savio gets the ‘Here We Go’

  3. Possible Summer Targets we highlighted in our threads

  4. Rodri Interview and the takeaways from it

0. Standings, Fixtures and Statistics

1. Copenhagen Game Review

MOTM: Kevin De Bruyne

Other standout performances include: Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva & Ruben Dias

Notable Stats

  • Manchester City are the first team in UEFA Champions League history to score 3+ goals in seven consecutive matches.

  • Man City have now won their last nine Champions League games, the longest run by any English side in the competition’s history.

  • Kevin De Bruyne is the fourth player to score at least 10 goals in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League since 2019-20, along with Karim Benzema (17), Erling Haaland (13) and Robert Lewandowski (11).

  • Phil Foden is the youngest English player ever to reach 50 appearances in the Champions League (14 goals & 13 assists).

Injuries Update

  • Bernardo Silva sustained a “big knock in his ankle” according to Pep Guardiola.

  • Jack Grealish has sustain an injury that “looks muscular” says Pep Guardiola.

  • Josko Gvardiol has sustain an “ankle ligament injury” and will be ruled out for two to three weeks says Pep Guardiola.

  • Mateo Kovacic is “ready to come back” for Manchester City says Pep Guardiola.

Main Takeaways

  • Copenhagen scored a goal without ever looking threatening, very good finish after a mistake from Ederson. Something that has been very rare to see compared to his first season at City. That was only the second error leading to a goal Ederson has made in the last three years, the other being Tottenham in the Premier League (Jan 2023).

  • The starting line up was probably as close to being our best eleven this season, perhaps Akanji for Walker as we saw in the Champions League final. Something we haven’t seen all season through injuries and other issues coming up. More of them again tonight.

  • The impact Grealish has on the team was evident from the first ten minutes. Looking much more fluid and controlled in possession. Made for the Champions League nights. Real shame for him, looking to get a consistent run in the team. Marti P explains his role quite well “Jack is the team's rest area. He is a midfielder who freezes time from the winger position.”

  • The atmosphere was fantastic at the Parken, something City handled well and kept quiet most of the game. Imposing themselves onto the opposition, only Ruben Dias had an average position outside of their half for City.

  • Ruben Dias will go under the radar this game but he was exceptional. Winning all of his ground and aerial duels. Four out of five long balls, 140 touches, completing 126 passes (96%) he kept everything controlled and tidy at the back. Cleaning up mistakes without anyone noticing. Kind of performance we expect to see more from Dias consistently in the back end of the season.

  • These Rodri performances have just become the standard with how consistent he is. Hitting cross field switches with ease, winning all his ground duels (7) and stopping Copenhagen having any real chance to break out of their half.

  • Since he is never always the guy scoring goals or providing assists, although he comes through in clutch moments, Bernardo Silva delivering a great performance can get missed. He is the glue that pulls everything together all over the pitch. Combining with Grealish on the left before he went off injured and then the same with Doku. Elegant finish for the goal, something he has made a habit of doing in the penalty box.

  • Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne the two stand out players from the match with their goal contributions. The best right hand side in world football, combining in several ways to slice through your defense. KDBs crossing ability on that side and the close control of Foden coming inside will cause any team problems in the Champions League. They must be on the pitch together for our toughest games.

  • Haaland unlucky at times to not score, having to occupy two defenders all game. Also had chances that he should have done better with and could have walked away with at least one goal.

  • Matheus Nunes looked much better in his limited minutes compared to the Everton game, making runs across the pitch with and without the ball. Unfortunate to not have an assist with the two crosses he put in for Haaland.

Let us know your thoughts on the match in the comments below.

2. Savio Get’s “Here We Go”

Fabrizio Romano provided another update on Savio, giving him the ‘Here We Go’ status. We did a thread that dived into his performances, background and skill set. With him arriving in the summer (2024) for pre-season, we wondered how exactly he could fit into this Manchester City team. 👇

Let us know in the comments below, what do you think of Savio joining City this summer.

3. Player Threads this week

This week we have put together two different threads for players Manchester City could look at in the summer. First up is Alan Verala, a defensive midfielder.

Next is a right back option, Jeremie Frimpong. Fresh off scoring against Bayern Munich in a battle between two title contenders in the Bundesliga. A Monster at ball carrying down the right side, could he be of use in the new City system?

Are there any players you think City should look at buying this summer?

4. Rodri Interview

This week saw Rodri have an interview with The Mirror, providing many insights into him as a player, the team and recent matches. Here is a thread we put together of our favorite bits.

Here is the full video interview. 👇

Let us know what your favorite part of the interview was in the comments below.

We recently did a deep dive into the Manchester City defense and here is a stat that puts everything into perspective this season. City rank 6th in Europe for the fewest shots conceded from ‘danger zone’ per match. Arsenal the only Premier League team ahead of City.

Here is the thread we put together on the City defense, how all the numbers line up this season and compared to 22/23.

Let us know what you think is the problem this season with the defense or if there even is one.

  • Manchester City performing well in the Champions League this season. Joint top scorer - Haaland, goals per 90 leader - Alvarez, accurate passes leader - Rodri and joint leader for big chances created - Phil Foden.

  • Interesting to see the distance sprinting per match by players in the top five leagues in Europe. The Premier League ranked first with 199.3m, Serie A second with 188m and Bundesliga third with 177m. More here.

  • One of the best Manchester City creators, Nobbins, out there has done another tactical video on the team this season. Video link here.

  • Daily Mail article by Jack Gaughan looking into the way Pep Guardiola is tinkering with the team this season. More here.

  • Reminder of how well Jeremy Doku did against Everton despite the team overall struggling in the first half. Comp of his performance here.

That’s all for this newsletter, let us know what you thought about the City performance against Copenhagen in the comments below.

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