Andoni Illaura’s style is in many ways the opposite of Guardiola’s, which is one of the main reasons we want to see him at Manchester City.
Illaura was listening to Jamie Carragher introduce him to the bigger teams on Monday Night Football before the game, but the Spaniard must be aware of the reality that his current club may soon face: Bournemouth It’s a stepping stone. Maybe to Manchester City. If they don’t watch it, they should.
Guardiola said before the game against Manchester United that the only way for him to leave the club before the end of his contract is for Manchester City to sack him. Although this seems unlikely Amad Diallo’s 90th-minute winner handed them their eighth defeat in 11 gamesmore games than they had lost in their previous 106 games, was both a clear sign of their demise and a reminder of why sacking him would be one of the boldest decisions a Premier League club has ever made.
This doesn’t necessarily mean it will be a bad decision. “I have no energy” Guardiola says Since he rejected the idea of ​​managing another club, the next question should be: does this also mean you don’t have the energy to manage Manchester City?
Because the head-splitting, mumbo-jumbo head coach we’ve seen over the past few months barely looks energetic enough to get to the training ground, let alone lead a rebuild in what looks like a much more important game.
Only Liverpool (+15.6) have a better expected goals than Bournemouth (+12.6) this season, and while this game wasn’t the best example of the Cherries’ typical dominance over their opponents, West Ham United Penalties beat the expected goals figure – it does speak very clearly to the Illaura philosophy that led to such figures.
In stark contrast to what Guardiola has recently demanded of his Manchester City players “One hundred million more transmissions” turned out to be a failed attempt to regain confidence.When asked about the team’s direct style of football before the game, Illaura insisted that “possession has to make sense”.
One of the moves saw Bournemouth touch the ball four times from back to front before Antoine Semenho hit the post, and the other saw Semenho shoot after three quick passes from the edge of his own area blocked. Bournemouth’s attack was as if it had a basketball clock, with most of their shots arriving long before the 24-second mark.
They do everything with purpose, rarely (if ever) adopting the easy options currently available to Manchester City players as their default options, trusting their team-mates to take the ball under pressure and failing bids only reinforcing their continued Determination to do so.
It’s a style that makes any game involving them interesting, and it’s worth noting that rival teams like West Ham are well worth watching when they haven’t played much of the season. Lucas Paqueta gave Julen Lopetegui’s side the lead from the penalty spot in the 87th minute after Tyler Adams was brutally penalized for handball, but two minutes later Ilaura managed the Burn Two great statistical feats from Mouth’s side combined to deny the Hammers victory.
No team has scored more goals than the Cherries after 80 minutes (8), and no team has scored more goals than substitutes (7) forward Enes Unal came on as a substitute in the 90th minute to curl a brilliant free-kick into the top corner, statistics that speak to the fitness levels of his team, his desire for variety, and the progress that has been made under his watch. recruitment and how to join the team. He inspired everyone to make a change when given the chance.
Elora will be frustrated. Bournemouth are not at their best. But they still managed an incredible 29 shots as a dip in performance failed to prevent the usual barrage of shots at the opposition goal.
If they win, they will be level with Manchester City on points, which speaks to both Illaura’s excellence and Guardiola’s troubles. While the City hierarchy may view Bournemouth’s style as incompatible, as his philosophy is in many ways the opposite of the one that Guardiola has used to win everything and more at the club over the past eight years, he has watched City play endlessly and without success. Meaning beyond the team. With the wingers turning down opportunities against the full-backs and the midfielders unable to run in behind over the past few weeks, we’ll be interested to see what Illaura can do with them.
