How Schalke posed problems for Manchester City

With the draw of Manchester City, Schalke 04 awaited a real Herculean task in the Champions League round of 16. However, Schalke sprung a surprise with a good performance. A clever and disciplined defensive approach kept Manchester City away from Schalkes goal for most parts of the match and left former Barcelona boss Guardiola perplexed. The following analysis will unveil the defensive strategy Schalke coach Domenico Tedesco used to make Manchester City struggle.

Schalke’s formation against Manchester City

Domenico Tedesco deployed a 5-4-1 formation in the first leg against the current Premier League champions. The main idea of Schalke was to use the pace of their wingers in counter-attacking opportunities. In order to avoid their wide forwards being pinned down in their own half, Tedesco lined up a back-five with wing-backs defending the wide areas. This enabled left winger Hamza Mendyl and right winger Weston McKennie to stay higher up the pitch.

At the back, Tedesco lined up a back five led by the tall and fast centre-back Salif Sané.

Well-structured defence

The 5-4-1 formation of Schalke created a clear allocation of direct opponents. Manchester City used a 3-2-2-3 structure in possession phases. Therewith, they attempted to outnumber the opposition back line with five attacking players. However, Schalke were capable of creating numerical equality with their back five.