Concerns over squad’s desire, mid-season pact and fewer ‘bad faces’: Inside City’s historic season

Manchester City are champions and history makers again. A year on from winning the treble, Pep Guardiola’s men have kept the fire alive to win the Premier League once more, an unprecedented fourth time in a row.

It is their sixth title in seven years. This provokes concerns about the top division’s competitiveness in some quarters and complaints about the outstanding Premier League charges against the club. But it was simply unthinkable when Guardiola took charge eight years ago. The hunger and desire shown by the manager and players cannot be bought.

If Guardiola had had his way, there would have been a short parade through the streets of Manchester within hours of the final whistle of the 3-1 victory against West Ham. The City boss is worried that a defeat in the FA Cup final next Saturday, against Manchester United, would take the shine off their historic league achievement.

That plan was scrapped just a few days ago over logistical complications and a full parade will take place next Sunday, but whatever the result at Wembley, nothing — well, almost nothing — can take away from the team’s brilliance for another season.

The Athletic spoke to several sources around City, who have been kept anonymous at their request to protect relationships, to understand just how they have captured another title.

Two of City’s last three titles have come after a dramatic mid-season turnaround: in late 2020 the City players got together to demand better after slipping to eighth in the table; last season they shipped out Joao Cancelo in January and required a Guardiola tactical tweak to chase down Arsenal.

And yet this season was far more tranquil. Despite a milder inquest in December after some poor results that meant they would have to be close to perfect to keep pace with both Arsenal and Liverpool, a harmonious dressing room and the return from injury of key players helped them to remain unbeaten in 23 weeks.

Guardiola, having trained his players in counter-pressing on the first day of pre-season training in Tokyo, Japan, so they would not slack off after winning the treble, tried to stay across every last detail, down to wearing a chunky roll-neck sweater out of sheer superstition, even in the roasting heat of the final two weekends of the campaign.

“The treble had an influence on all of us,” Guardiola admitted in October, “Me included.”

This is the story of how City became champions again.

It is striking that even those in Guardiola’s circle seem prone to the same doubts about City that you might see discussed in the media.

Around the World Cup break last season, those close to the manager worried that the squad might be lacking a bit of leadership having lost Fernandinho the previous summer, and good dressing room characters like Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus.

That is the squad that went on to win the treble. That, for much of this season, felt like an unmatchable standard.

There were concerns City’s players had lost some fire after the treble (Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images)

This time, before Christmas, the coaching staff had concerns about whether the squad’s fire had gone out following that treble victory.

Speak to anybody around the place now — there are plenty of players who have said it publicly — and there is open admission that levels did drop, to differing degrees, before the end of 2023, a year in which City lifted four trophies.

It was the kind of thing that Guardiola fully expected and tried to ward off during that counter-pressing session in Tokyo. The logic was that much of City’s success comes from suffocating teams with pressing and counter-pressing and, if that dropped off (Guardiola felt that that would be the first thing to suffer), then the whole game plan would unravel.

And while Guardiola railed against the idea that City had become complacent, suggested most publicly by Sky Sports during their run of poor results leading up to Christmas, he knew that the levels had dipped. He knew it was natural and he felt that the difference, in most cases, was subtle. But with Arsenal and Liverpool leading the way and Tottenham and Aston Villa doing well, he and his coaches were concerned about where those subtle differences might lead.

Those differences were hard to put a finger on; to a large extent it is considered natural in sport that anybody who reaches the summit will have some level of drop off, but Guardiola has let his frustration at Jack Grealish be known at times this season. Notably, he suggested that the winger’s injuries were because he was not fully focused. He has felt the same way about John Stones at certain points, too, and both players struggled for game time at the end of the season.

It is normally in the first months of a season when Guardiola is at his most concerned and, therefore, volatile. Last season, after a row with Cancelo, he told the club’s decision-makers to get rid of the Portuguese within a few days.

This was around a week after he had told the media that City as an institution had lost their hunger. As an emotional guy at the best of times, when he has doubts about the team or issues with players, his patience seems to wear thin much quicker.

Having started the season with six consecutive victories, the best run since Guardiola’s first year in charge, City suddenly struggled to get off the ground, hindered by Rodri’s red card against Nottingham Forest.

City lost three of the next four matches, steadied themselves with five straight victories but then won just one of their next five, losing at Aston Villa having been thoroughly outplayed. Around this time, Guardiola had a loud, angry phone conversation in full view of training ground staff, who were left with a familiar question, ‘What’s up with him?’.

That in itself is nothing new, though, because those within the inner sanctum of the club — the first-team building, shielded away from the club’s offices — have become used to his highs and lows over the years.

“They know when I am tired or not in a good mood,” Guardiola said in March, and in truth, it would be impossible to be any other way. “They realise it, it’s not a problem.

Guardiola showing frustration on the touchline (Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images)

“I am the same as all of you, good moments and bad moments.”

Bernardo Silva gave as good an assessment of the season as anybody in April.

“From a team that won the treble, to come back with a little bit of a hangover, and to have that hunger to go again every three days, it’s not easy,” he said, once the team could look back on those days as a thing of the past.”

There were some far more obvious factors to blame for City’s relatively slow start.

“The basis of what we did last season was John Stones, Rodri, Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, (Ilkay) Gundogan, Jack Grealish — and they weren’t there,” Guardiola said after City lost for the first time in the league this season at Wolves in September.

Bernardo continued the theme as he summed up his thoughts on City’s season: “It was a mix of having a lot of players injured at that time, of having new players arriving into the team and big players that left. So our captain from last year, Gundogan, or Riyad Mahrez, people left and new players had to adapt, and it’s not easy to adapt to a new club.”

Summer signings Josko Gvardiol and Mateo Kovacic have shown their best form in the final two months of the season. Matheus Nunes is still waiting for his breakthrough. Fortunately for City, Jeremy Doku outstripped early expectations and carried City’s attack in some early games, providing a threat they might not have had otherwise.

“I remember it was a time when we had a lot of defenders injured,” Bernardo continues. “Also, we had Rodri suspended and no one can deny he is a very important player for us. Kevin De Bruyne had a long injury. So everything put together means that sometimes the team is not perfect.”

De Bruyne’s injury at Burnley on the opening night forced a tactical reshuffle from Guardiola, who quickly decided that City would proceed with three attacking players in support of Erling Haaland, as opposed to the planned set-up, which was also used the season before, of two attacking midfielders supporting the front three.

Stones, the tactical cornerstone of last season’s treble, has barely had a run in the team all season, which caused more problems early on as Guardiola was forced to come up with a new plan. Grealish was in and out and Bernardo himself had some problems, too.

Those injuries had a particular impact on City, obliging them to play a quicker and more direct style than Guardiola likes. In place of those players, the ones who regulate the tempo of matches, City’s attack featured Phil Foden, Julian Alvarez, Doku and Haaland, ones who were a large part of why they won the title, of course, but ones whose first instinct is to go forwards, obliging City to play a more direct style. As a result, there was less of the control that Guardiola craves.

“There was a time in the season when the team was not playing well, we were not controlling the games, games were very transitional, which is not the way we like to play, we like to control the tempo, “ Bernardo says.

De Bruyne’s hamstring injury was a blow (Michael Regan/Getty Images)

“We were conceding a lot of chances, conceding a lot of late goals which is not normal for our team. But with a little bit extra, we managed to get better, to be more solid.”

That idea of the players giving a bit extra was essentially a mid-season pact by the players. They knew their results in the latter part of the year obliged them to go on the type of run that, well, they did indeed go on, not losing a game in the league since December 6.

But there was a draw, one week before Christmas, which prompted an intervention. City had been strolling towards a comfortable victory over Crystal Palace when they gave away two late goals including a last-minute equaliser. Foden lost possession cheaply in midfield and then, in his haste to make amends, conceded a rash penalty.

Rodri had left the stadium on the verge of tears, on his way to a meal for the squad and their families before they flew out to Saudi Arabia for the Club World Cup that night. The atmosphere was completely flat, with the players’ loved ones not daring to lighten the mood.

That trip to Jeddah, where City were crowned world champions after beating Urawa Red Diamonds of Japan and Brazilian side Fluminense, provided a spark, particularly for Foden.

“I’m really pleased with Phil,” Guardiola said on New Year’s Eve. “Since Crystal Palace, he learned a lesson.”

Suddenly the narrative changed around Foden; Guardiola felt comfortable starting him in the middle and stopped talking about the things he cannot do. Suddenly the focus was on what he was doing.

“Right now, he is the best in the league,” Guardiola said after Foden scored twice in March’s Manchester derby. “To be world class you have to win games; he’s winning games.”

Foden helped propel City’s turnaround, with an equaliser at Everton after returning from Jeddah — a game they went on to win 3-1 — before a purple patch of form from February that included hat-tricks against Brentford and Aston Villa, a winner at Bournemouth, those two against United, a screamer against Real Madrid, an important second at Fulham last weekend and, of course, the two to set up the final day victory over West Ham.

His step forward also came at a time when De Bruyne, perhaps as a result of some niggles after his injury, began to exert less of an influence on the biggest matches.

City often played well in those early games when they dropped points: they deserved to beat Liverpool and Tottenham and had enough chances at Stamford Bridge to put the game to bed well before Cole Palmer’s late equaliser.

After Christmas, they were not always convincing but they were winning, perhaps summed up, to some extent, by De Bruyne’s return. He scored an equaliser and set up a dramatic late winner against Newcastle on his return in January, after which the players sang the name of matchwinner Oscar Bobb in the dressing room.

That could be looked upon as a crucial victory, as the players felt that they had gotten what they deserved.

February was sometimes shaky, though: Haaland showed his value with two goals late in a battle with Everton. During this, opposition manager Sean Dyche, sat in the stands due to suspension, exchanged an exasperated glance with his sporting directors as Walker, De Bruyne and Bernardo prepared to come off the bench and change the game.

Later that month Haaland struck again to see off Brentford on an unusual night at the Etihad, with the home crowd baying for goals and the players struggling to keep pace.

Haaland was not always at his best and yet he has once again claimed the Golden Boot, with 27 goals from 28 starts, despite missing two months through injury.

But if it felt like he was lacking sharpness, it is because his chances were actually higher in volume and in quality than last season, and he converted them at a poorer rate. Still, it proved to be enough and he was the difference several times, including the huge victory at Tottenham on Tuesday.

The other key moment in that game, perhaps in the entire title race, came when Stefan Ortega denied Son Heung-Min in a one-against-one. It was a heart-stopping moment for everybody at City — Guardiola ended up on his back as the move developed — but the save came as no surprise: he does it every day in training and coaches regard him as the best one-against-one keeper at the club.

There was no surprise at Ortega’s save from Son (Marc Atkins/Getty Images)

City’s imperious run-in was the result of some of those shakier performances at the turn of the year: Stones’ absences were mitigated by Guardiola moving both Walker and Gvardiol up the wings, helping to concentrate all of the midfielders and forwards into the middle, providing the same ‘extra man’ effect that Stones has been so useful for.

There became more emphasis on Gvardiol pushing higher up the pitch in recent weeks, with Walker or his replacement’s role varying. The Croatian took on a starring role, with four league goals backing up very early predictions at City — going back nine months — that they had a star on their hands.

He scored twice at Fulham last weekend to help City towards another victory, after which one of the home side’s midfielders confided that he ran into Rodri and it felt like “running into a wall”. City had become formidable again.

Other than Guardiola’s early-season concerns about his players’ hunger, and some frank conversations among the players about the need to up their game, the City dressing room has been a peaceful environment this season.

Insiders say that has been one big difference compared to last season in particular, when many key players returned from the World Cup with attitude or fitness problems. Cancelo was shipped out due to his run-ins with Guardiola and his absence has been held up as an example of how things have been less problematic this time.

Guardiola places a huge amount of emphasis on his players accepting his decisions and not letting their emotions affect their performances. “No, I’m not going to explain,” he said in August of 2022. “Some players understand and some will never understand me. I don’t care. I’m manager and I decide.”

He does not allow injured players in the dressing room before matches, in case any negative vibes — even displayed unwittingly — distract the starters (Vincent Kompany was the only exception).

This season there have been fewer players who are likely to make their feelings known if they are not picked: Mahrez and Aymeric Laporte rarely hid their feelings. They still made major contributions but there were fewer ‘bad faces’, as Guardiola calls it, this season.

The captaincy dynamic has worked well thanks to some division of labour. A new leader was needed after Gundogan’s departure and the players voted for De Bruyne, who had previously confided that he had no interest in taking on the armband because he did not want the extra responsibility that came with it.

Fortunately for all involved, that is exactly the kind of responsibility that Walker relishes and the kind of thing that Guardiola promised him last summer as the club moved heaven and earth to convince him to spurn Bayern Munich. More conversations might be necessary this summer, given interest from Saudi Arabia.

They have split the duties exactly as they would have wanted, with De Bruyne taking the armband and Walker liaising with players and staff over training ground issues (and wearing the armband during De Bruyne’s four-month absence, a source of personal pride).

One new system put into place this season concerns the players’ parking arrangements: those who have been at the club longest park closest to the entrance. De Bruyne, as the longest serving, actually parks separately from the others, leaving Bernardo and Ederson closest of those in the regular queue.

Those two, along with Rodri, Bernardo and Ruben Dias, sat the squad down at the end of 2023 and told them not to be concerned about their rivals’ results, but spelt out that the hangover could not go on much longer. They were jolted into life by the realisation if things did not improve there and then, they would not be in a position to challenge in April and May.

Walker took pride in wearing the armband when De Bruyne was injured (Ben Stansall/AFP via Getty Images)

“The target for us is to put ourselves into a position where we can fight until the end, and this is something we have been working on and to arrive in this moment,” Rodri said in March. “Now is the moment that we have to do the last push.”

It is almost as if the City players need to feel that pressure to be at their best, as if the stakes are not quite high enough when it feels like there is a margin for error.

“I have the feeling they like to play with pressure,” Guardiola says. “They are used to it.”

City would much prefer to be gearing up for another Champions League final in a fortnight’s time but going out of Europe may have been a blessing in disguise as far as their Premier League aspirations went.

“We played a lot of games,” Guardiola said in April. “Real Madrid was really intense for many things, we were out of the Champions League having done really well and after two or three days we were tired here.” He pointed to his head. “Not just in the legs, complaining more they were tired here.” He pointed again.

Guardiola railed against the schedule after City beat Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-finals, battling through their fatigue and “sadness” at losing to Madrid, as the manager put it. With energy levels low, it must have been a huge benefit not to have to prepare and play in a European semi-final against Bayern Munich.

Without that, City could focus their energies on back-to-back games against Brighton and Nottingham Forest, where Guardiola admits they did not play well. They had a free week to prepare for Wolves at home, and another before Fulham away. Two additional matches against Bayern would have had knock-on effects in every league match since that elimination against Madrid.

They handled those complications last season and may have done again. With Arsenal pushing them even closer this time, the ability to focus on the title might have been a major benefit.

“The human being does not have no limits, science says you need a certain time to recover many things, not just physically, mentally as well,” Guardiola says. “And for many many years, we don’t give them that but, despite that, still we are there.

“That’s why I say I’m really impressed but all the time I’m thinking, ‘They will fall down’. This time (I thought) it would not be possible and still, they make it possible. That’s why when I reflect on my period here I will always admire these types of players for many years still for finding a way to still be in.”

Guardiola will be celebrating tonight and planning for the FA Cup final by Monday, but he will be plotting more success next season, the last on his current contract, too.

Love them or loathe them, City are a once-in-a-lifetime team.