Manchester City's horizons widened with David Silva and Samir Nasri
Despite a slip at Swansea City the midfielders served Robert Mancini well in the march to the title
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog ... amir-nasri
David Silva was a key man in Manchester City's Premier League triumph. Photograph: Anthony Devlin/PA
What formation does this Manchester City side play? It is not straight 4-4-2, and 4-4-1-1 doesn't do it justice; 4-2-3-1 is probably the best compromise, although there are elements of a Brazilian 4-2-2-2, because of the movement inside from the wide players.
In terms of Manchester City's starting lineups this season, the main focus was on the identity of their centre-forward. This was more about disciplinary reasons than tactical concerns – the behaviour of Carlos Tevez and Mario Balotelli at various points in the season was a real problem for Roberto Mancini. In the end, he did well to use Tevez, Balotelli and Edin Dzeko to good effect at different points in the campaign. None was ever a guaranteed starter, but somehow City always had goals upfront.
But the real debate was the identity of Mancini's second wide player. David Silva's place was assured even after his form dipped in the second part of the season, but on the other side Mancini had options – Balotelli, James Milner, Adam Johnson and Samir Nasri.
Mancini's preferred choice was Silva and Nasri in tandem, an interesting selection because they are relatively similar players – ball-playing wide midfielders that drift inside into central playmaking positions. This type of player has never been so popular – to the extent that when you encounter an old-fashioned winger like Antonio Valencia, intent on hugging the touchline, getting to the byline then drilling in a cross, it feels rather unusual. There are plenty of wide midfielders around, but relatively few wingers.
However, if you play two players drifting inside from either flank, it frequently causes problems. A fine example was Spain's terrible performance in their opening World Cup 2010 match, when Silva and Andrés Iniesta started as – in theory – Spain's wide players, but both drifted inside into a zone already occupied by Xavi Hernández. Spain often attacked across a width of no more than 15 yards, so the Swiss defence could play extremely narrow, prevent Spain from playing through-balls, and snatch a 1-0 win.
Spain only looked threatening once Jesús Navas replaced Silva and stretched the play, and from then on Vicente del Bosque always used a more direct player on the flank – either David Villa pushed wide, or Pedro Rodríguez. "I get the feeling that the coach doesn't really need me," Silva complained last year. "When we lost against Switzerland at the World Cup, I was the only one who felt the consequences." He played no further part in the tournament, but Del Bosque was right to introduce width to the side, retaining Iniesta as the sole "interior" wide player. With that in mind, Silva must have been apprehensive when Nasri joined Manchester City in August.
Of course, the Spaniard's superb form in the first couple of months meant that, if either of the two were to be dropped, it was the Frenchman. But their presence in the same team worked early on, because Nasri was not seeking to play the Silva role on the opposite flank. Instead, he stayed much wider – and on his debut away at Tottenham Hotspur twice crossed for Dzeko to head home. It seemed the balance would work – Silva cutting infield to play through-balls, Nasri staying on the periphery and stretching the play.
But that's not Nasri's natural role, and the more the season went on, the more Nasri moved infield crowded the centre. Only Nigel de Jong, plus the Swansea City duo of Leon Britton and Joe Allen, finished with a higher pass completion rate this season; Nasri was effectively another midfielder rather than a wide attacker.
City's star performance this season was clearly the 6-1 win at Old Trafford, where Silva and Milner started on the flanks. Silva stole the show with his late volleyed pass to Dzeko when the game was already won, but Milner's ability to work the flanks was crucial, as City created chances by overloading United in wide zones, then playing low crosses into the area.
Yet Mancini always preferred Nasri and Silva, even when Milner was fit, even when Nasri and Silva didn't quite work. In late January, City lost away at Everton with Nasri and Silva in the wide positions.
Mancini reacted, and for the next four games played Adam Johnson to give City proper width. They won those four matches by a combined score of 9-0 – the games were against weak opposition, but City's confidence was high, and their shape felt natural. Then came the trip to Swansea – and Mancini reverted to Silva and Nasri, trying to take on Swansea at their own game. City lost 1-0.
Regardless, Mancini continued with that duo for the next game against Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium. For 75 minutes City played in front of Chelsea, barely penetrating Chelsea's defensive unit, never considering they might go around it. They were 1-0 down when Dzeko replaced Silva and Sergio Agüero went to a right-wide position: the Argentinian was not a natural there, but City stretched the play, worked the ball from different angles, got crosses into Dzeko and ended up winning 2-1, with Nasri getting the winner.
Even in the last few weeks, when City rallied to win the league, the presence of both Nasri and Silva was infuriating. They helped to retain the ball at home to a Manchester United side who offered nothing going forward, but City needed a set-piece for the breakthrough. Against Newcastle United, they took the lead only once Yaya Touré had been pushed forward into an attack-minded role, but he could have been moved there even without the introduction of De Jong – Gareth Barry could have minded the defence. A key part was getting Nasri off the pitch and out of the way, allowing Touré space into which he could break. Barry, bizarrely, became the player who stretched the play – notably making a run down the left flank in the move for Touré's first goal.
The eventual win over Queens Park Rangers on Sunday was an inexplicable game – but again, with Nasri and Silva on either flank, Mark Hughes's side could defend narrow and keep solid defensive positions, and for long periods of the game they looked like robbing City of the title. Occasionally – such as in the 4-0 win over West Bromwich Albion, Mancini's first-choice shape has worked. More often it has not, and this Manchester City side is reminiscent of the triumphant Chelsea side of 2009-10 – it is a team that looks to individuals, rather than bases its play around the overall shape of the side. European success, one expects, will depend upon some fine‑tuning.
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