Even before the start of this season, we considered Manchester City as the favourites to win the Champions League. But suddenly Manchester City has faced a bad decline. Why Manchester City's performance has suddenly declined is a mystery. City's midfield is a bit weak due to Rodri's injury. However, I would say that Manchester City's match strategy is also not good enough.
Guardiola is not able to identify Manchester City's problems. We have been seeing Manchester City's irregular performance for a long time. In such a situation, it is very difficult for City to perform well against a strong team like Madrid. Even then, City's squad is also quite strong. So they will try their best to perform well.
The city's downfall is obvious. Cause and effect, simple. Rodri's injury tore the spine from the squad; he is Guardiola's brain on the field, not just a midfielder. You saw it when he played: City had nine perfect Premier League results before his injury. The moment he left? Eleven points in seven games dropped. For a team hooked on control, that is disastrous
Guardiola is not blind; he knows the problem. However, he is stubborn. He is still pushing this strange positional rotation in midfield, expecting players like Kovacic or Nunes to play like Rodri, which they clearly cannot do instead of adjusting. Bernardo Silva is hardly a defensive anchor, however he can regulate the pace
There then is pressure from the Champions League. Madrid is more than just "strong." They are designed for this competitiveness. They have killer instinct, something City still battles with under Guardiola across Europe. City only wins if Haaland wakes up from his strange ghost phase, KDB finds his magic once more, and Pep lets go with the overanalyzing once more
Madrid thrives on chaos football, and City? They fall apart in it. Madrid will take advantage of that midfield void unless Rodri manages a return