“They are exceptional human beings with a good mentality. I am very pleased.” – Guardiola
The above was the praise from Pep Guardiola for the young pair of centre backs, who helped City secured a clean sheet at Deepdale back in September. In our previous scout report, we had an analysis of Eric García’s talents. Apart from the former Barcelona academy player, Manchester City also have another gifted centre-back from the Elite Development Squad, Taylor Harwood-Bellis.
The 18-year-old was born in 2002, and he has made his debut in the UEFA Champions League months ago. In the domestic competitions, he played three full games for City. In this tactical analysis, we will provide you with a scout report of Harwood-Bellis’s strengths and weaknesses, and his capability to perform under Guardiola’s tactics.
Passing
When assessing a centre-back who plays at Guardiola’s City, his ability to pass is always an indicator. Unlike his partner, García, Harwood-Bellis’ passes were simpler and more direct. However, he is capable of playing vertical passes when necessary. In his first team spells, Harwood-Bellis played 74.03 passes per game and the completion rate was 96.7%. 37.35%of those passes were forward passes.
There were multiple ways for the 18-year-old to pass vertically. The first example we introduce is the determination to pass with his first touch. Passing vertically allowed City to keep the progression of the attack through the centre, where the receiver usually had more options for the next move.
In this scenario, John Stones passed the ball to Harwood-Bellis laterally. Despite a yellow shirt approaching him when the ball was travelling, the centre-back read this by scanning the pitch. Therefore, he quickly identified the passing lane and options and found Phil Foden with a first-time pass. This pass helped City get past Port Vale’s block and continued the attack.
In the second example, we will show you how Harwood-Bellis used his body feint to pass. Again, he tried to find Foden, however, his body orientation was more opened to the touchline. Both yellow shirts in front of him predicted that the 18-year-old was going to find the wide player, hence, started to move wide.
Until the very last moment, Harwood-Bellis finally showed his real intention, which was passing to Foden vertically. The body feint not only generated a wider angle for the centre-back to pass, but it also gave more room for Foden to exploit in the central areas. City could attack in an optimal area and carry on the attack.
