Premier League midseason report card: Manchester City

Manchester City are top of the Premier League at the halfway mark. What grade did they get for their performances over the first half of the season?

The Good

Manchester City have had the best start in the history of the Premier League, breaking the record for consecutive wins in the process. By any measure, City have had an epic first half of the season. From a tactical standpoint, the most impressive feat has been their ability to translate the possession-heavy, pass first, second and third soccer reserved for La Liga or other European leagues to the Premier League.

Pep Guardiola’s side have put on a masterclass of passing soccer, using ever inch of the pitch and using all 11 players to care open their opponents. Aside from some small, game-by-game matchup adjustments there really are no secrets to what Guardiola sets his team out to do. Their precise passing puts opponents off balance, and they create overloads using quick (and usually diminutive) midfielders with a soft first touch and great vision. The problem for the opposition is that when executed well, there’s no antidote against this style. Safe to say the game plan has been executed very well so far this season.

It’s also worth pointing out the team breaking records in the most competitive league in the world are doing so without any of the top five players in the world, following a summer in which they loaded up on full-backs, the best of which, Benjamin Mendy, has been out with a torn ACL since September. Their success is testament to the system put in place by Guardiola, and the players’ ability to tweak their game in order to fit that system.

There’s an argument Kevin De Bruyne should considered among the very best players in the world, but a lot of his success this term is a function of his being placed in a system that gets the best out of his skill set. City average the most possession per game, the most shots on goal and the fewest shots conceded — not just in England but among all of Europe’s top five leagues. City have been historically good so far.

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The Bad

You’d have to dig really deep to find a fault within this City team during the first half of the season. Perhaps they’ve relied a bit much on late goals to earn wins — they’ve had to score a winning goal within the last 10 minutes of game four times. Although not necessarily bad, this is probably an unsustainable trend over the course of an entire season. The other minor concern is Guardiola’s reliance on a relatively small group of players. De Bruyne, Fernandinho, Nicolas Otamendi, David Silva and Kyle Walker have been nearly ever-present for the Citizens, which could come back to haunt them in the form of injuries down the road.

What’s Next?

City will challenge on all fronts in the second half of the season, and their expectations are quite lofty following an historic start. At this point, with the Premier League likely in the bag, perhaps only a Champions League and Premier League double will qualify as a satisfactory outcome, given what we’ve come to expect. The margins for error will be very thin, especially in the Champions League. In order to avoid any disappointments, City may need to allow key players some rest before the spring. That shouldn’t be a problem given the lead they’ve built up in the title race.

The Grade

A: obviously.