As trite as it sounds, at the Etihad it's all about getting that first goal by hook or by crook. Because once you have it the opposition have to come out of their shell, and like Pellegrini said we are a dangerous team when we have even a little bit of space.
Bang on there. We've got the players to do it.The thing is, that on this occasion, it was his 4-2-2-2 system &, ok, Palace aren't great & there were various faults, but he dropped Yaya, two more athletic players in centre mid & it worked, & we scored 4 goals. In Seville, he played a totally different system, with different players, Yaya backed up by two more athletic centre mids & no Silva or DeBruyne & it worked & we scored 3 away from home.
Why don't we look at having two more athletic players in centre mid, as a general rule, whatever the formation ?
Yesterday saw us finish the game with 53% possession which for a home game is virtually unheard of.
Them having the ball created space and be it by accident or planning i care not, it worked a treat.
4 chances on target and 4 taken is also a sure fire way to win football games and would stop any managers hair form turning grey ;-)
Part of the issue with 442 is that you accept at times you will relinquish the ball more than you would if you play with a more packed midfield formation. However the flipside of that is that when you do get the ball it's easier to find attackers in space. Honestly what made it work yesterday was Kelechi's movement and work rate. Thought it was noticeable that his dropping into midfield seemed to encourage Kun to do the same. You need that kind of work from the attackers playing that system. Otherwise they can become cut adrift from the rest of the team.
All of those thoughts were my overriding impressions of yesterday too. Was so impressed with Delph. Baffles me when he is overlooked because he has overall been nothing but impressive whenever he's played. Zab looks fitter than he's looked for ages and it was just so good to see him back out on the pitch and flying into tackles. The kid is going to be some footballer in the years to come. Thought he was handled right yesterday - given a deserved start - given an hour - then brought off with applause ringing in his ears. Gutted he didn't score/connect with the ball he chested down for himself in the box, had he connected it would've been a goal.
Happier than I have been in ages at a performance.
Especially if you have no one in midfield who is able to join the forwards. Yesterday Delph did it. Fernandinho can as well.Part of the issue with 442 is that you accept at times you will relinquish the ball more than you would if you play with a more packed midfield formation. However the flipside of that is that when you do get the ball it's easier to find attackers in space. Honestly what made it work yesterday was Kelechi's movement and work rate. Thought it was noticeable that his dropping into midfield seemed to encourage Kun to do the same. You need that kind of work from the attackers playing that system. Otherwise they can become cut adrift from the rest of the team.