“We don’t have a specific player to win games,” Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said earlier this season to explain his side’s consistency in a more congested season than ever before. “We have to do it together.”
City’s strength as a collective was evidenced in Saturday’s 2-0 win at Crystal Palace that took them to the brink of a third Premier League title in four years.
Guardiola could afford the luxury of making eight changes from the side that beat Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal and still roll out a starting XI that cost over £350 million ($483 million) to recruit.
Backed by Abu Dhabi ownership, City and Qatari-owned PSG have often been compared for the manner in which they have changed the face of European football over the past decade.
However, the manner in which they have used that wealth has been very different.
City, by contrast, have so far resisted the temptation to try and smash transfer records by assembling arguably the deepest squad in Europe.City’s depth won out over PSG’s stardust in the first leg.
After a bright first 45 minutes, Neymar and Mbappe were reduced to frustrated spectators as the visitors dominated possession and got their vital away goals from De Bruyne and Mahrez.
Keeping the ball will key to Guardiola’s plan for the second leg on Tuesday to minimise PSG’s threat on the counter-attack.
Credit: supersport.com
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