Man City: Why defeat by Chelsea in the Champions League final could shape Pep Guardiola’s season

Manchester City’s players were frustrated by their manager’s tactics in the Champions League final and Guardiola will need a fast start to the new season to quell any disharmony in his squad

When Pep Guardiola sat down with Jack Grealish, he gave the speech that brings a sparkle to the eyes of any player. The Manchester City manager told Grealish that he could finally be the difference in delivering the Champions League. He can make the difference in any individual game, after all, and City were already within millimetres of winning the competition last season.

The big question going into the new season is whether their very participation in that final – and what Guardiola did in it – might have taken them further away from glory. It might even be the most meaningful game of this season as well as last season.

Consider the alternative consequences. Had Manchester City beaten Chelsea, their domination would have seemed complete, giving the squad the confidence to go and take the club even further. A Chelsea that merely scraped into the top four to qualify for the Champions League would meanwhile feel a lot more fragile than one that won it, but they are instead set to go to another level themselves. Thomas Tuchel's side have that rare bond that comes from the greatest victories. There is now the sense that signing Romelu Lukaku will complete them.

There isn’t quite that with City, especially given the struggle – and apparent reticence – in signing Harry Kane. The Grealish signing has instead raised questions over who he will replace, and the potential for some unrest.

There is so much that remains unaddressed from that final, much of it involving those same attacking players.

The fact Euro 2020 started two weeks after the showpiece in Porto meant there was no time to dwell on that defeat – although there was a slight atmosphere in some camps like England’s at the start of the competition – but Guardiola’s approach remains baffling.

Ilkay Gundogan inadvertently hinted at this before the Euros. “A few days before the final, it became apparent that there was a special idea in the head of the manager,” the midfielder said. “I tried to make the best of it. It was not to be.”

Gundogan was directly placed into the first of four main problems. He was asked to be the most withdrawn midfielder, rather than a proper holding player such as Fernandinho or Rodri. Oleksandr Zinchenko meanwhile had to step into the centre when required, except the lack of clarity about when that was led to regular disputes with Raheem Sterling.

Sterling meanwhile found himself in an unfamiliar role, as did Phil Foden. The main issue was that too many players were asked to fulfil jobs they weren’t sufficiently prepared for, for a system they weren’t familiar with. Some have privately complained about it.

Many of Guardiola’s contemporaries – the game’s top managers – have openly wondered about it. All of them subscribe to the golden rule that you don’t do anything to mentally unsettle your players before a big final.

A bit of edge or something a little different is fine, of course, but not something so unfamiliar to them that dislodges them from the state of focus required for the final. This is what happened in Porto. One big-name manager was stunned by it, and feels its potential effects are underappreciated.

This could have repercussions that may only truly reveal themselves in moments of difficulty. At the very least, it can break Guardiola’s mental hold on the players.

The first issue is that the players may directly blame the manager for causing them to needlessly underperform in the biggest game of their careers. This is a problem that can be overcome in easy early wins. As soon as they drop off, though, they may not be as willing to listen to him.

The majority of the players find Guardiola so intense he can be exhausting, but are willing to put up with it because they see him as a genius. If that genius leads to this overthinking, though, it creates doubt that could be deepened by irritation at squandering the opportunity for that Champions League.

This is something quite subtle when it comes to the chemistry of a team, but it has been seen in the past. It even happened with City’s most revered manager before Guardiola in his greatest moment of victory. Roberto Mancini’s antics on the day they won the 2011-12 title surprised the players. Something changed.

The same happened with Gerard Houllier when he was on an upward curve at Liverpool. The players lost faith after they lost a Champions League quarter-final against Bayer Leverkusen due to Didi Hamann being removed from the team.

Neither of these managers were as good as Guardiola. But neither manager was as exhausting. This can expose irritation at that.

None of this is to say it is definitely happening. These are not irretrievable issues, and it remains far likelier that City will maintain incredibly high form. The problem is that the seeds are there. The Independent has been told some players remain irritated by it.

It doesn’t help that the club considered their main competitors for this season, in Chelsea, were the most to benefit from it. Guardiola effectively broke a managerial rule with his approach. The hope for City now is that it hasn’t broken his hold on the team.