Well, this is asinine!
We were outdone by a counterattack because we didn't control the middle with one forward ball playing midfielder. Outdone by a counterattack with Bernardo in the centre as you input.
Your point is NULLIFIED if we can't gain control of the middle to feed the wings, which is most effective when Gundogan plays with Rodrigo, but for some dumb arse reason, you can't see it. Gundogan offers ball retention and vision through the middle even if his pace is moderate and that's why you have Rodrigo and Laporté, for example, to cover and read the play if it breaks down.
Conveniently, you gloss over Bernardo being ineffectual in the centre in this game because the oppo had a mobile middle. This is where Gundogan excels as he drives through and knows when to release a ball. I love Bernardo, but I don't recall him attempting that at all, so the ball went back to defence and recycled to the wings where they controlled the positions.
This is why you break the lines via midfield with the right personnel!
Grealish proved you wrong and we haven't tried Alvárez on the wings in this league, but he's played there in Argentina according to himself as well as River Plate. The point was to drive the defence back with press which never happened yesterday and they always had room to play out. Notice they forced us wide by pressing us as we should have done them? We're much better at it with the right players!
For some reason you keep claiming we'd "probably" have been 'down by xx' amount when we've played similar mids and that's, in no way, happened. Especially as you, laughably, claim the players would have been in "unfamiliar roles" with my team pick!! Have you seen the formation we've been playing with, recently??!! LOL!
The set up was right, yesterday, but the personnel wrong and those are the cards you play with when players are out of form, make poor decisions as a result, but you try and make them play through it.
I'm ending this discussion as you don't see what I see, but I saw what you saw, play out on the pitch.