A first goalless outing in 18 European matches might immediately catch the eye where Manchester City, held goalless by Inter at the Etihad Stadium, are concerned but Pep Guardiola will know that his greater worries are less what happened in the final third than what might have happened at the other end.
There were flashes of control and threat from City even if they were some way from their best. Jack Grealish looked atypically lively, occasionally even a throwback to the days he stole the hearts of the footballing world in an Aston Villa shirt. Erling Haaland had sniffs, Phil Foden had the best opening of the night and by the end, even a defense as impressive as Inter’s was being stretched to breaking point. Had Ilkay Gunodgan put his late headers anywhere else at the death then City’s perfect start to the season would have continued.
It would have had a feeling of false gold to it, however. Surely the team that started at the Etihad will have to be rejigged when Arsenal come to town on Sunday, and not just because of the injury suffered by Kevin De Bruyne late in the first half. The balance is all off. With the ball, City were having to commit so many bodies so high up the pitch that it occasionally looked like a line of six right off Haaland. Inevitably, that invited openings for Inter off the ball, enough that Guardiola’s men were lucky indeed to end this evening with a clean sheet.
That might be no matter at all if the same weaknesses that Inter so effectively exploited had not previously been identified by West Ham, Brentford and even Ipswich Town. Even in a pretty favorable schedule to start the league season, the vulnerabilities to the counter have been apparent for those watching City closely. Simone Inzaghi was certainly one of them. His curious decision to go without Lautaro Martinez from the off was vindicated, in both Mehdi Taremi and Marcus Thuram he had strikers who could serve as the out ball and then play the pass to keep the counters moving.
The City right was an area of particular joy for Inter early on. Rico Lewis is learning what might be one of the most complicated roles in modern football; the likes of Oleksandr Zinchenko and Trent Alexander-Arnold scarcely go a week without taking the blame when the zone they have inverted from gets punctured by an opponent. Inter were intent on doing the same.
How Taremi did not end up with at least one assist only Matteo Darmian knows, the former Manchester United man opting to backheel to no one in particular when he was through on Ederson’s goal. Add in Thuram’s tribute to his boss’ older brother Pippo — the man they said was born offside — and you had a wasteful display from the Italian champions. The late introduction of Henrikh Mkhitaryan and in particular Martinez added further spice to the Inter attack, the latter might really have tested Ederson in the 84th minute if the ball through to him had been truer. Only better execution stood between them and at least one goal at the Etihad.
There are of course fairly straightforward fixes, for now at least. Gundogan’s introduction for De Bruyne at the interval brought a little more balance to this side, not only ghosting in for good shots but ensuring a little bit more muscle in front of the back four when Inter had possession in the final third.
The other solution is even more straightforward. Add Kyle Walker to this backline, get Rodri his midfield support act from one of the central defenders, job’s a good’un. Walker, 34, has been as effective at snuffing out opposition breaks as any player in the world for over half a decade. Where Manuel Akanji could often be second to balls into the right back, Walker would surely have gobbled them up. In the long term, City are going to have to work out who the afterburners defender they need is going to be. Before then, plugging Walker in to quell Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka seems a shrewd patch job.
