Manchester City will take an aggregate lead into the second leg of a Champions League quarter-final for the first time when they travel to Borussia Dortmund, but there was another break with tradition in Manchester this week.
An hour and 15 minutes before events got underway at the Etihad Stadium, Pep Guardiola picked a starting XI that did not lead to raised eyebrows and mass consternation.
No midfield diamond, like the one that quickly lost its shine in a 3-0 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield in 2018; no overt caution as in the 1-0 loss at Tottenham that preceded a crazy second leg and an exit on away goals; no unwieldy 5-3-2 within which City froze so badly against Lyon last year.
Much of the runaway Premier League leaders' success this season has been based upon Guardiola harnessing the full depths of a talent-rich squad, mastering the art of pandemic football through shrewd rotation. So, given his line-ups have become increasingly tricky to predict, the prospects of a pre-match bolt from the blue were reduced.
However, if he has a best XI, the side that eventually prevailed 2-1 against Dortmund were something close to it. A midfield trio anchored by Rodri, ablaze with Kevin De Bruyne's creativity and gilded by Ilkay Gundogan's supreme movement and timely goals. Up front there was, well… no one in particular as Riyad Mahrez and Phil Foden hovered around false nine Bernardo Silva.
And at the back, in front of an unusually erratic Ederson, were City's four best defenders this season. There was Joao Cancelo, the wildcard full-back/midfield hybrid who has given Guardiola's side a new dimension and added control. On the other flank, Kyle Walker – a right-back in the most conventional sense and one of Guardiola's most reliable performers of the past four campaigns.
At centre-back, the reborn John Stones was alongside Ruben Dias. An error on his England return last month stood out so much because Stones has been immense in sky blue this term. City have only conceded seven times with him on the field this season.
Then there is Dias, who joined as a club-record signing from Benfica in the aftermath of a 5-2 defeat to Leicester City. Such humiliation has never looked like being repeated with the Portugal international in harness.
"He’s been so important so far but still we have two months before the end of the season," Guardiola said ahead of Saturday's match with Leeds United, against whom Dias made his debut six months ago.
"He has been so important in the leadership and quality he has."
Despite their impressive individual performances, the Dortmund game was only the fifth time the Walker-Stones-Dias-Cancelo quartet has lined up together.
Given City have two Wembley dates this month and possibly more showpiece encounters to come as they pursue honours on four fronts, their potential status as a go-to defensive line is interesting, mainly because it is a setup in which the influential Dias seems a little uncomfortable.
The reason for this is rooted in the fact that, since City embarked upon their remarkable ongoing run of 27 wins in 28 matches, Guardiola's back four has not really been a back four.
In possession, which is most of the time when you're Manchester City, Cancelo's role is generally to bolster the midfield numbers. When Guardiola highlighted some of City's struggles in central areas against Dortmund, it was Rodri and Cancelo – tellingly not one of the Spain international's teamsheet midfield colleagues – who he namechecked.
That leaves three strung across the backline to start the build-up, a fundamental basis for any strong Guardiola performance. When Cancelo has started nominally from right-back, that three is usually Stones-Dias-Oleksandr Zinchenko. Walker's starts at right-back have often come with the left-footed central defender Aymeric Laporte in the line-up, meaning the back three in possession is Walker-Dias-Laporte.
Dias thrives in this position at the heart of things, with ball players on their natural sides flanking him. The problem when Walker and Cancelo start is Dias ends up on the left of the three, with Stones central.
"You are completely right, good point," Guardiola conceded when it was raised Dias was put slightly out of his comfort zone in midweek.
"We don't have left footer to pass the ball to the wider winger quicker with a natural left foot. That's true.
"But in that game we needed specifically Ruben in that position, with John, and that's why you use it. We won for other aspects in other positions and other situations."
So, Guardiola felt the trade-off was worth it due to benefits elsewhere. Considering how City came on strong down the stretch before Foden's dramatic winner, it is hard to argue too much.
A closer inspection of the games Walker, Stones, Dias and Cancelo have started shows Marco Reus' equaliser for Dortmund was the first goal City have conceded in this configuration. Previously, they drew 0-0 at Manchester United, beat Southampton 1-0 and Aston Villa and Borussia Monchengladbach 2-0, although Walker went off injured before half-time versus Villa and was replaced by Zinchenko.
But what of Dias? When starting with Stones, Walker and Cancelo, he averages 12 fewer passes per 90 minutes (78 down from 90) at a lower accuracy (91.1 from 93.8) than his overall season statistics, suggesting he is not so sure in possession on his unfavoured side of the field.
His duel success rate drops from 62.7 per cent to 50, with aerials falling from 66.1 to 54.5 per cent. His tackles per 90 minutes track upwards slightly from 0.9 to 1.3, although this could indicate the build-up flaws of this back three/four means more last-ditch defensive work.
Another game where Dias was on the left of the three in possession came in February against West Ham, where Walker started and Zinchenko performed the Cancelo role from the left.
Although Dias and Stones were the goalscoring heroes in a 2-1 win, City were ragged and Opta's expected goals (xG) figures for the game saw David Moyes' men 1.9-0.5 to the good at full-time, indicating Guardiola's normally smooth outfit rode their luck.
These are minor drop-offs and it is not as if City have looked useless in the games mentioned above. However, as Guardiola often likes to say, the biggest games can come down to the "small details".
Having the man who turned his defence around performing an uncomfortable task on one of those occasions is a risk he should perhaps avoid.
Eddie Howe salutes performance as Newcastle end gruelling week with Man Utd win
Eddie Howe saluted one of Newcastle’s best performances of the season after watching them beat Manchester United to end a gruelling week on a high.
Four days after suffering late heartache in a 1-1 Champions League draw with Paris St Germain, having dispatched Premier League rivals Chelsea 4-1 before heading for France, the Magpies secured a 1-0 league victory over the men from Old Trafford at St James’ Park.
Asked if that represented the perfect ending to a testing week, head coach Howe said: “Yes it is. I think that’s one of our best performances of the season, for me.
“I thought we were very, very good on and off the ball and when you consider the week we’ve had and the difficult games we’ve had, the end of the game in Paris, what a response from the group of players.”
Anthony Gordon’s 55th-minute strike from Kieran Trippier’s cross ultimately secured the points on a night when Newcastle largely dominated without reward until his intervention.
Having been robbed of victory by a contentious stoppage-time penalty in Paris, they were spared further pain when Harry Maguire inadvertently turned Antony’s shot past substitute goalkeeper Martin Dubravka, but from an offside position.
Gordon has now scored in each of his last four league games on Tyneside and taken his tally for the season to six goals to reap the rewards of his hard work on the training pitch.
Howe said: “He himself has really worked on that.
“I’m really pleased because I thought he played really well at the start of the season, but every attacker needs to score, needs to have that feeling and that confidence that that brings.
“It elevates your game, not just the goals, but he’s getting assists as well. He’s involved in match-winning moments.
“I thought he played really well again today. It was a really good cross from Kieran, a good team move and a good finish.”
The only disappointment for Howe was that goalkeeper Nick Pope, who has played such a key role in the club’s recent success, suffered a dislocated shoulder late in the game and may now need surgery.
Asked how long he might be sidelined, the 46-year-old said: “It’s too early to say. He was in pain when the shoulder was out of its joint. It’s been put back in now and he feels much more comfortable.
“We’ll seek specialist opinion, but it doesn’t look good.”
It proved a difficult night for the visitors, who have now lost to the Magpies in their last three encounters and rarely looked like avoiding that fate until a late flurry.
Manager Erik ten Hag said: “Today we have to say ‘credit to Newcastle’. After the start, where we could have scored with (Alejandro) Garnacho, they were better than us, they were more proactive.
“We had to go back, we had to defend and we did that. We allowed them one goal, but at the end, we fought back, we had two good opportunities, but unluckily we could not take a point from here.”
England international Marcus Rashford in particular cut a frustrated figure and was replaced by Rasmus Hojlund with 29 minutes remaining.
Asked about Rashford’s form, Ten Hag said: “He works hard and he is investing a lot. He will get back, he will recover and he’s got all our support.”
De la Fuente says Spain received toughest draw for Euro 2024
Spain boss Luis de la Fuente believes La Roja have received the toughest draw for the group stage of Euro 2024, having been handed games against Italy, Croatia and Albania.
As one of five teams with the best records across the qualification groups, Spain joined hosts Germany, as well as England, France, Portugal and Belgium in pot one for Saturday's draw in Hamburg.
That did not stop them being handed a tough set of opponents, however, with reigning champions Italy and 2022 World Cup bronze medallists Croatia joining La Roja and Albania in Group B.
Spain are the only team to win back-to-back editions of the Euros, triumphing in 2008 and 2012, and excluding penalty shoot-outs, they have only lost two of their last 22 matches at the Euros, winning 13 and drawing seven.
The only two teams to beat La Roja at the tournament during that time are Croatia and Italy, both of whom did so in 2016.
While De la Fuente says there is no such thing as a straightforward group, he believes Spain will face a particularly difficult challenge in Germany.
"The level is very high. All the groups are tough, complex, but ours may be the highest level," the Spain boss told reporters at Saturday's draw ceremony.
"There are other complicated ones, like France and the Netherlands [in Group D], but I think ours is the most complex.
"We are playing in a European Championship, and we all know that the difficulty is at the maximum, including for teams playing against Spain.
"But that will make us concentrate from the first moment. We know perfectly how to play Italy and Croatia, and Albania are a very dangerous team.
"Italy was not in the favourites' pot, but it was guaranteed that no one wanted them. Their potential is better than the moment they are going through."
Pep Guardiola knows Man City fans will be behind team if ‘bad moments’ arrive
Pep Guardiola has no doubt Manchester City’s fans will be there to lift the team if they ever hit a poor run.
City supporters have seen little but success during Guardiola’s reign as manager, winning five Premier League titles and a glorious treble last season.
Yet Guardiola recognises that run may one day come to an end and it is then the City manager hopes the fans, so used to being entertained, will be able to inspire them.
The Spaniard said: “We want the fans to enjoy and have fun, have one hour and 30 minutes in good moments. That depends on us. When we play good, always they are there.
“It’s just sometimes the situation is not going well. In that moment it’s not because the players don’t want it – because they’ve proved over how many years their consistency – but it is in that moment we need them.
“Of course we won a lot and, in the future, maybe you have to understand in the mind that this is an exception. It’s not normal to win the treble, it’s not normal to win five Premier Leagues in six years.
“You have to understand that – OK, continue to enjoy – but if the bad moments are coming this season and the next one and the next one, you have to be there.
“And I’m pretty sure they’ll be there because it’s a club that has come from Maine Road and from being in mid-table, not fighting for the titles. They were there all the time.
“I was not here but the people talk to me. So if it’s coming back down a little, ‘Come on, let’s go.’ Do what you have to do to come back there on top of the league and don’t be down for a long time.”
Guardiola, however, is confident the current crop of players would not allow a slump to occur.
He said: “The players are the most important thing, and I know they know it, otherwise what we have done cannot be possible.
“The players always are there, even losing 0-2, still we run, still we fight.”
Guardiola’s own powers of motivation are well known, although he has downplayed the significance of his sharp comments after last season’s home clash against Tottenham as he prepares to host the same opponents on Sunday.
City suffered a dip in form in the early part of 2023 and needed to come from 2-0 down against Spurs to avoid a third successive loss.
Afterwards, Guardiola labelled his side the “Happy Flowers” team, essentially accusing them of lacking concentration.
Observers later cited it as a turning point in their treble-winning campaign.
But Guardiola said: “That was my feeling in that moment. I had to say something. Because we won we can believe it (worked) but it is not the truth. Because we won (people say), ‘How brilliant was Pep?’ but we could do it again and it might not work.”
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