Swansea City 1-3 Manchester City Review

League Cup Round 4

As we learned during the losing run of last season, and are seeing with other Premier League teams, it’s important to kill a losing run as soon as possible. They were able to do that against Swansea City, progressing to the next round of the League Cup, and getting some important minutes into the legs of returning players. The kind of rusty performances you wouldn’t want to see against Bournemouth, Dortmund, or Liverpool.

MOTM: RAYAN CHERKI

Only Nico Gonzalez had more touches (146) than Cherki (119). Third most passes completed (74). 1 goal and an assist. 5 shots. 6 chances created. Hit the woodwork once. Made the most penalty box entries (13). 5/11 ground duels won.

It’s impressive to see this level from Cherki already, the desire to perform on/off the ball, despite not having the kind of chemistry with his teammates that’ll come over the next few weeks. Quite eager to drop and collect the ball, instead of waiting for the ball to arrive. Which is useful in moments, but not all the time. I’m sure that will come quickly, and from there he’ll find the ball more often and have better opportunities to create from.

One aspect of his game that gives him time on the ball is how well a pass can be disguised as an extra touch. Whether that's stationary or in stride. That’s a nightmare to anticipate as an opposition player, and it makes his actions look smooth.

Notable Stats:

• Marmoush and Cherki get their first full ninety of the season.

• Divine Mukasa gets his second start for the first team.

• Oscar Bobb has already played 6x the amount of minutes he played during the entire 24/25 season.

• Most Ball Recoveries - Man City 25/26 All Comps
  1. Bernardo (37)
  2. Foden (36)
  3. Nunes (34)
  4. Reijnders (33)
  5. Rodri (31)

Game Stats:

Swansea City 1-3 Manchester City

• xG: 0.13 - 1.69

• Possession: 24.0% - 76.0%

• Field Tilt: 15.0% - 85.0%

• Penalty Box Shots: 0 - 16

• Penalty Box Entries: 1 - 36

• Touches in Opposition Box: 2 - 57

If you want to stay up-to-date on individual player minutes, back four combinations, underlying numbers, and more, check out the live Google sheet below. 👇

Here is how Manchester City looked to set up against Swansea in the League Cup once in possession, with a back three formed by Nico Gonzalez as the six, as Rico Lewis pushed forward to overload the last line. Mukasa, on the other side, makes runs through the left half-space and into the box.

Ait-Nouri, as part of the back three, acting as the LCB, and looking to play passes into Jeremy Doku and those between the lines, rather than getting forward like we’re used to seeing from O’Reilly. There were some good moments of Ait-Nouri underlapping, getting into the box, but his best work came from his forward passing.

They weren’t looking to stretch the pitch as much as in recent matches, leaning on the technical ability of the players between the lines, and overloading the defensive line of Swansea. Pulling opposition players out to press the likes of Cherki, who could then find the run of Bobb and Marmoush into the box, for example.

Sharp reminder in the opening 10 - 15 minutes of how rusty many players are, returning from injury, and how badly a start against Aston Villa could have gone. That is where you can give some credit to Swansea for the intensity they started the game with. Too quick to play through the lines, with some sloppy touches, and passes without the zip needed to avoid opposition players jumping onto them. Error from Khusanov gifts a great chance for Swansea, on top of the opening goal.

G. Franco 12’ 1-0

Watching back the Swansea goal, you can't do anything about the finish; it's excellent, and Tafford doesn't have a chance. Ait-Nouri gets a little ahead of the ball; it's the moment he takes a back step, expecting the winger to go down the line, he's beaten inside. Nico is looking to stop the opposition player from continuing to move across the box, rather than expecting the pass. Too deep. If he's a touch higher, on the line of the box, he'd intercept the pass. Against Bournemouth and Liverpool, Nico has to defend that space better.

From there, Manchester City slowly began to settle into the game, drop Swansea, and move the ball better. The first few shots (14’, 19’, 33’) are blocked, and Cherki hits the post (38’). Turning up the heat towards the end of the first half.

Jeremy Doku 39' 1-1  

As Nathan Ake passes to Ait-Nouri, Doku makes his double movement by initially dropping deep, then running in behind the opposition full-back. Making up the mind of Ait-Nouri to play the ball over the top. Overhit, but Doku does well to reach it. Mukasa also makes a supporting run. Bobb was making the run to the back-post, which was on if the pass by RAN wasn't overhit.

Doku picks up the ball, moves inside, fakes taking a shot, then keeps moving inside to take his shot. Fortunate with the deflection, but not with his movement. Not with the initial fake shot. Bringing Manchester City level.

Not many came off, but I liked a lot of the intent behind the passes Ait-Nouri was trying to play forward into Doku, with the runs he was making. Similar to his assist for him in the CWC against Juventus, playing it between the opposition RB and RCB. It could be something we see often with those two.

The second half sees the team continue to turn it up, having 14 shots to the 0 by Swansea, nine of those inside the box, and 79% possession. Whether it was Bobb, Marmoush, Cherki, or Doku. Pushing Swansea into their own box, with all ten outfield players behind the ball. Stones (Khusanov), Foden (Mukasa), and Gvardiol (Ait-Nouri) came on in the second half after 63’ minutes.

Omar Marmoush 77' 1-2 

Manchester City is trying to break down Swansea, who have 10 players behind the ball. Dribble into the box by Cherki doesn't work; they bring it back out to Nico and reset. He waits for an opposition player to step up, laying off to Cherki, who then does the same. Lewis pins one player. Two are drawn to Cherki. Marmoush and Bobb each 1v1, looking for a pass into the box.

Marmoush does well here, putting his arm in front of the defender as the ball goes across him, which gives him the space to arrive and strike the ball. Excellent finish, top corner, near-post. Aguero esque.

Rayan Cherki 90+3' 1-3  

Pass over the top from Cherki is cleared by Swansea. Gvardiol covers a huge amount of ground to win the loose ball and drives forward. It looks like he intends to make the pass to Marmoush. Whose late run leaves him behind the pass.

Instead, it ends up being perfectly placed for Cherki to arrive. Taking a touch over to his left before shooting back across goal to the bottom right corner.

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Aston Villa 1-0 Manchester City

I didn’t have the time to do a full review of the Aston Villa match from last weekend, but there were a few points to mention. The space to attack was out wide, not through the middle, and Manchester City didn’t make enough of those spaces. Of course, injuries to Nico and Rodri meant Reijnders played at six; otherwise, he’s exactly who could have taken advantage of the space out wide to combine with Oscar Bobb.

Aston Villa defends exceptionally through the middle of the pitch, along with the carriers who can take advantage of turnovers. Kamara drops into the backline to prevent it from being overloaded. Two wingers that worked hard off the ball to maintain pressure on players dropping outside the block, tucking inside to not allow easy passes between the lines.

The other issue was the press, being soft among the players in the first line when it comes to winning the ball high up the pitch. Not closing down the distance quickly enough. Set up to have Haaland run directly at Martinez, force passes out to the CBs under pressure who’d hit rushed long balls into the area that Manchester City had a +1. The lack of aggression among Savinho, Silva, Foden, Haaland, and Bobb allowed the Villa defenders to circulate the ball and find the pass through the press.

The other point of confusion, which we won’t see often at all, comes from having Reijnders and Stones at the base of the midfield. If Buendia drops deep or Digne is free, Nunes needs to hand off a player to Stones before he jumps. Just a few seconds of hesitation gives Villa a way through the press. All of those issues played a big part in the opening thirty minutes of Manchester City being so poor.

Moving Forward

Important win to get back on track after the loss against Aston Villa, whilst getting returning players up to speed in time for the schedule stacking up with games every three days. You have to bear in mind, with the opening thirty minutes, how many players are returning from injury, and how many players haven’t played together before. There are now genuine options on the bench to change the game at either end of the pitch, healthy competitions for places, and to keep the group fresh. We’ll need them all across the next week of games against Bournemouth, Dortmund, and Liverpool.

By the time his career at City is finished, Marmoush is going to have a hell of a goal catalog, likely only surpassed by Haaland and Aguero. That’s the biggest compliment I can give him. The team needs more shooters, others to step up with goals, provide runs in behind, and be a threat from outside the box. Marmoush brings all of that.

A bit of patience is needed with Oscar Bobb. He makes a lot of good decisions until he arrives inside the penalty box. Works hard off the ball. Benefited from Cherki picking out some of his runs into the box. Waiting for the final actions inside the box to click. Unfortunate not to come away from the match with an assist, though.

Recovering the ball high up the pitch, winning second balls, making quick passes through the lines in the middle third, and picking his moments to carry. Nico Gonzalez is coming along well this season. Great to have him back now, ready to start against Bournemouth.

I’ve put together a long post on Tijjani Reijnder's progression so far, which you can find linked below. A player that’s not hit his best level has not quite found his role in the team, but has contributed with his runs off the ball, playing 1-2s, plenty of shot involvements, and a couple of decisive moments. The performance against Wolves. The assist against Arsenal. That being said, he’s got a lot more to give once it all clicks.

For the Quarter Finals of the League Cup, Manchester City will face Brentford (H), the date yet to be confirmed, will be either the 16th or 17th of December. Between playing Crystal Palace (A) on the 13th and West Ham (H) on the 20th.

Next up for Manchester City is Bournemouth (H) in the Premier League on the 2nd of November at 16:30 (UK). The Cherries sit 2nd in the table despite only winning two of their last five matches. Only lost one game, which was against Liverpool on the opening day of the season. Away from home, they’ve only beaten Spurs (0-1) and conceded 2+ goals in the remaining three games. Semenyo (6) is their top scorer after his hot start, with Eli Junior Kroupi (4) close behind.