EFL Cup 2020/21: Manchester City vs Bournemouth – tactical analysis

Manchester City looked to win the fourth consecutive English League Cup, the journey began at the Etihad Stadium this season. The Citizens faced Bournemouth, a team that was in the Premier League last year. The 2-1 victory seemed to be a routine for Pep Guardiola and his team, but it means something more to City fans.

City are in trouble at the start of 2020/21 campaign with only 13 first-team players available. Therefore, many EDS players are given the chances to train and play with the first team, some made their starts for the team last night. Bournemouth did not surround, they also had chances but failed to grab every opportunity.

In this tactical analysis, I will dissect the tactics of Guardiola and Jason Tindall. It is a classic positional play against a zonal defensive side.

Lineups

Manchester City did not start with a left-back as Oleksandr Zinchenko and João Cancelo were injured, Benjamin Mendy was on the bench. On paper, Adrián Bernabé took that role. The American goalkeeper Zack Steffen and hot prospect from the academy – Liam Delap both made the first start for the team. The most important was the ideas behind the system, not the formation.

Bournemouth played a very different team from the 1-1 draw with Middlesbrough. Starters in the league – Dominic Solanke and Jefferson Lerma were not in the starting lineup. Many academy players are given chances to play, including Sam Surridge and Nnamdi Ofoborh.