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60 seconds of chaos shows why Pep Guardiola is giving Man City fans a different kind of transfer rebuild

-Credit:Reach Publishing Services Limited
-Credit:Reach Publishing Services Limited


At 2-0 and coasting, Manchester City looked to have avoided an upset and had control of their FA Cup tie with Salford. That was, until a rare ball into their own box caused chaos and Ilkay Gundogan had to track back and hack clear.

From the resulting throw-in, Matty Lund beat the offside trap but Kevin Berkoe couldn't get a shot on target. With a bit of composure, Salford would have halved the deficit and Pep Guardiola knew his defence was all at sea.

Paul Scholes, up in the director's box, was on his feet, and Guardiola was on his knees. They knew how big a chance that was - but City made Salford pay in the following attack, as Jeremy Doku found Nico O'Reilly to stroke in a game-killing third before half-time.

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Guardiola was pleased, obviously, but agitated towards the break as he became frustrated at a poor pass and made a beeline for Matheus Nunes to deliver some on-pitch instructions as they walked off. He was doing the same to Jeremy Doku before the restart, amid his pre-match message that standards must improve regardless of results.

It summed up his pre-match comments in the City programme. "Our last game against West Ham was good in terms of the result but it's clear our level is still not where we want it to be or where it has been the last eight years," he wrote. "We all know we have a lot of hard work ahead to get back to our best."

In his pre-match interview, he lamented the defensive problems that forced a line-up with just two recognised defenders. You sense the defensive mix-up prior to O'Reilly's goal will have weighed heavily on his mind.

O'Reilly was a makeshift left-back, Jahmai Simpson-Pusey was starting, Nunes was at right-back, Nathan Ake went off at half-time, and Kyle Walker was jettisoned all together. John Stones and Ruben Dias remain out and there were necessary rests for Josko Gvardiol and Rico Lewis.

City are closing in on centre-back Abdukodir Khusanov as a first January signing, with Vitor Reis another central defensive target along with Eintracht Frankfurt striker Omar Marmoush. None of those are defensive midfielders which appears the most pressing area to reinforce, but the state of the back line against Salford and the uncertainty within it when the visitors attacked perhaps underlined why Guardiola and City have prioritised centre-backs.

There is depth in numbers in that position but two were unavailable here, one went off at half-time, and teenager Simpson-Pusey looks like a youngster doing as best as he can in a tough situation (but not at the level of previous academy centre-backs like, say, Taylor Harwood-Bellis or Eric Garcia).

It was Simpson-Pusey's clearance forward that began the move for the direct first goal, and he will have a fine career if his early starts are anything to go by. City's transfer targets, however, suggest that career is unlikely to be at the Etihad, which is a shame.

Guardiola was making a brutal point with Walker's omission, and the teamsheet was perhaps another statement to the board (and the fans). To get City out of their rut and start the rebuild, he is building from the back. In true Pep Guardiola style.