There aren’t many questions held against Pep Guardiola. The Catalan arrived at Manchester City last summer as the most accomplished coach in the European game. Having achieved great success at Barcelona and Bayern Munich, setting the tone of a zeitgeist at the former, Guardiola had proven himself in all but one way - as a defensive mastermind.
At Barcelona, he didn’t have to worry much about the defence. The Catalans’ entire style of play, their identity as a team, was based on the retention of possession. As Guardiola saw it, holding on to the ball was the most effective way of, not just overwhelming the opposition in an attacking sense, but keeping them out at the back too. It was a philosophy that saw Barca become European champions twice under his charge.
But there were always suspicions over the true strength of Barcelona as a defensive unit. Those suspicions followed Guardiola to Bavaria, where Bayern Munich were found out in the latter stages of the Champions League for three successive seasons. Each time the same accusation was made - Guardiola, for all his brilliance as a philosopher and a tactician, doesn’t know how to organise a defence.
His maiden season at Manchester City didn’t do much to dispel such allegations, with Guardiola’s side badly exposed defensively on a number of occasions - look at the 4-2 defeat at Leicester City or the 4-0 thumping at Goodison Park. It wasn’t just at the elite level that Manchester City were bettered. They were fair game for the majority of the Premier League.
This season, though, has been drastically different. Guardiola’s side sit atop the table with 12 wins from their opening 13 games. They have conceded just eight goals, giving them the second best defensive record in the Premier League. Only Manchester United have conceded fewer over the early part of the season.
This is all the more remarkable when you consider how Manchester City have played so far this season. This is a very different type of Guardiola team. While they possess the typical hallmarks - good on the ball, comfortable in possession, technically adept - this City side are by their very definition dynamic and open. They play a fast and furious style of football not professed by Guardiola at either Barcelona or Bayern Munich. Yet despite this open approach, they are keeping things tight at the back. That’s a significant mark of success for the Catalan coach.
This was demonstrated in the weekend win over Huddersfield Town, when Manchester City faced one of their toughest tests of the season so far. It was their defence just as much as their attack that saw them through with three points. “We spoke about needing this kind of situation to happen,” Guardiola said afterwards. “We have to be in trouble because when you are 1-0 down you have to know how to live with that situation. To win the Premier League, you have to live through these kind of games. It’s a big positive because we showed a lot of focus. That is why I am so happy. It was a real Premier League game - we played against a tough team and winter has come, but we did it and now we can continue.”
While there are success stories right the way through Manchester City’s team, from Raheem Sterling to Kevin de Bruyne to even Fabian Delph, not are as marked as those found in the defence. John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi are players transformed, with the former in particular finally fulfilling his potential. Stones finally looks like the truly world class centre back he was billed as for so many years and Guardiola must take a great deal of credit in that improvement.
This season could mark a real coming of age, not just for Manchester City as a club, but for Guardiola as a coach too. Should the Etihad Stadium side go on to win the Premier League title, perhaps even making an impression in the latter stages of the Champions League, this could go down as Guardiola’s greatest ever achievement. It would be a sign of how he has become the complete coach. Of how he can organise and drill an effective defensive unit.
