Manchester City, a club in crisis, has too much money.
The 195th local fight in the city’s history will be played in Manchester on Sunday.
The situation is exceptional in itself, that the manager of the champion City Pep Guardiola surely feels greater pressure to win in his skin than his United colleague Ruben Amorim.
In addition, Amorim has a mental edge over the Catalan, because in his last week at Sporting, he covered City’s million-strong team in the Champions League by no less than 4-1.
The match is part of City’s recent cycle of disasters. The team has won only one of their last ten games.
On Friday, the financial impact of the “million crew” was confirmed. Namely, Manchester City posted a record high turnover (around 860 million euros) and a profit of 89 million euros, which was below the line.
The result would have been even more impressive if City had reached the Champions League final to defend the spring 2023 European Cup.
Too many games
Money wouldn’t be a problem under normal circumstances, but City’s financial superiority puts it in a bad light.
The club is waiting for the Premier League’s verdict on 115 different charges for violating financial fair play regulations, so it really doesn’t want to mess around in the transfer market.
That’s why the team didn’t buy For Julián Alvarez replacement, even though the Argentine was one of the most important links in last year’s league championship. Simultaneously For Kyle Walker an extension contract was tailored, even though the almost 35-year-old defender’s legs no longer work the way they used to.
City manager Pep Guardiola has a lot to think about. EPA / AOP
Guardiola is practically forced to buy players in January when the transfer window opens. At least a long-term patient To Rodri should find a suitable replacement.
– There are more matches now than ever before. Naturally, there will also be more injuries. In such a match calendar, we would need a group of 45–50 players, Guardiola lamented at Friday’s press conference.
– Of course, it would also strain the club’s finances, but in the summer we have to play in the World Cup tournament for club teams, which ends just three weeks before the start of the Premier League. We need more players.
“You just have to persevere”
In addition to Rodri, there are at least on the sidelines John Stones, Nathan Aké and Manuel Akanji and the suspended one Rico Lewis. Kevin De Bruyne, Mateo Kovačić and Phil Foden are still strongly semi-fit.
– It’s not about training, the club’s doctors or physiotherapists or what the players eat or the amount of rest. The only problem is the number of matches.
– I don’t know what will happen to my team in January-February. We just have to persevere. Players will come back to strength sooner or later.
City’s director of sports is responsible for player traffic Txiki Begiristainwith whom the young Guardiola already collaborated in the midfield of Barcelona’s Dream Team.
However, the 60-year-old Basque plans to retire after this season, and City are hoping that his successor Hugo Viana could start getting to know the job possibly already during the spring.
Viana built his reputation in the same Lisbon club as current United coach Amorim.
Rúben Amorim’s substitutions helped United win on Thursday. PDO
In fact, they are very close friends and spend a lot of time outside the stadiums as well.
– I never even thought about moving to City. United was my only option, Amorim denied on Friday.
“No, no, no, no”
The Portuguese pilot showed his tactical skills on Thursday when he turned the Europa League match against Viktoria Plzeň in his favor with some good substitutions. At the same time, United’s two-game losing streak was broken just in time during the Derby.
City is in the middle of the deepest slump of Guardiola’s 16-year coaching career. Amorim, on the other hand, is a new face at United and the backlash he gave the Catalan on the Eurofields is fresh in his memory.
– No, no, no, no, Amorim denied four times when he was asked if right now is the best time to attack City.
– The big teams can wake up at any time, and I think they are in a better position than us anyway. Of course, we have our own strategy to win the match, but we are only focused on our own performance.
The Manchester Derby was a one-sided show for a long time when United were so much better than City. In recent years, the situation has turned upside down, while City has dominated the city and the whole of England.
Substitute Rasmus Højlund’s (second left) two goals turned the Euro match for United. PDO
The first Derby played in 1891 was won by Newton Heath (later United), who defeated Ardwick AFC (later City) 5–1 in the qualifying rounds of the Cup.
Although futis has changed in just over 130 years, surprisingly many things are exactly the same as they were back then.
– The team’s soul and will to fight are saved. I feel sad for the players because they are fighting. “It’s incredible how they can compete in these conditions,” Guardiola said.
Manchester City–Manchester United on Sunday at 18:30. The match can be followed on Viaplay’s service and on VSport’s channels.