Emirates Stadium, Manchester City once led 1-0 with Haaland s goal, but was eventually tied by Martinelli and took only one point away

Guardiola has also "changed"? The former master of art actually used Mourinho's "ugly" tactics at the Emirates Stadium. Manchester City once led 1-0 with Haaland's goal, but was eventually tied by Martinelli and took only one point away. However, the most eye-catching thing about this game was not the score, but Guardiola's tactical choice - this famous coach, who is famous for his pass-through aesthetics, rarely used Mourinho's "utilitarian football".

From "Tiki-Taka" to "Deep Strike": A quiet change in style

Once upon a time, Guardiola was the leader in football innovation: the pseudo-Nine, full-back recruitment, extreme ball control... He defined the aesthetic standards of modern football. Now, his keyword has become "deep" - to put it bluntly, it means sending the ball forward faster, reducing cross-passes and downs, and pursuing direct and fast attacks.

This style of play is fully reflected in this game. Manchester City's first goal was a typical "defense to offense": after intercepting the ball in the backcourt, it quickly advanced, and Haaland finished within a few seconds. Arsenal's equalization goal was the same: Azero's long pass from the backcourt found Martinelli, who skillfully scored.

Although Martinelli's goal was amazing, what is more interesting is Guardiola's on-the-spot strategy. In order to maintain the slight advantage of 1-0, he adopted a series of pragmatic and even slightly "crawling" methods, which are completely different from the familiar Guardiola who pursues ball control and advocates offense.

The ball possession rate fell to a career low, and Guardiola's "admitted" for the first time

The most intuitive data is the ball possession rate. Throughout the game, Manchester City's possession rate was only 32.8%, which is the lowest record in any domestic top league in Guardiola's coaching career. In contrast, Ipswich, who had the lowest ball possession rate in the Premier League last season, still averaged 40.3% per game.

In the second half, Manchester City's passes seemed messy, and even aimless big feet were frequently released. This seems to be out of control, but it is more like Guardiola's intentional "strategic abandonment". But it is worth noting that Manchester City lost all three other games with the lowest ball possession rate in his coaching career. After the game, Guardiola admitted: "We don't want this, but sometimes it's the case. Once in ten years, it's not too bad, right? This shows that I have the ability to win in different ways. Now you see, I can also build a team that is good at counterattacking." He added with a wry smile: "I feel very uncomfortable, I really don't like it. I hope the ball is far away from my goal, and it's better to get close to the opponent's goalkeeper, not my door. But when the opponent performs better, you can only accept reality and find a way to live. Save. We just finished the game of the hugely consumed against Napoli, and after a day off, we had to travel to London again. There were too many people in the team exhausted and had many injuries. Faced with Arsenal, who had been competing for the championship for two consecutive years and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League, this was a difficult test. "

delayed time and replaced center: Mourinho's "small moves"

In order to ensure the victory, Manchester City goalkeeper Donaluma deliberately delayed the kickoff time after saving many times, and finally received a yellow card. In the 68th minute, Guardiola made the first defensive substitution: central defender Ak replaced the offensive core Fordon.

What is more controversial is that in the 77th minute, he replaced the center Haaland, who was in good shape, and let Nick Gonzalez appear. This move is shocking - Haaland not only has the ability to score, but also the key to resisting Arsenal's high-altitude balls in air defense. Since then, there is no traditional center in Manchester City, and Jeremy Doku has become the only fulcrum in the frontcourt.

The final stage, Stones and Savignho's appearance made Manchester City almost 5-5-0. They gave up all offensive organizations just to hold on to the score. Unfortunately, Martinelli's final victory made all this effort go away.

Guardiola's "spiritual victory method"

Although he failed to score all three points, Guardiola seemed quite satisfied after the game. He said: "I repeatedly emphasize the players' body language, celebration, communication and willingness to give to each other. We lost that last season. This season, I don't care about the results. I just want to see the team regain their mental outlook, enjoy the game, and then the tactics. We lost our soul last season, but this week we got it back and we have to keep it. With this foundation, we can learn tactics, find our style, and make ourselves and our fans proud."