How Manchester City could match Inter Milan's 3-5-2 system, using the same 11 as the UCL semi finals
- William Russell
- Jun 8, 2023
- 8 min read
Manchester City have just a few days to wait before the biggest game in their history, as they take on Simone Inzaghi's Inter Milan at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey.
This is only City's second ever UEFA Champions League Final, with the first coming just over 2 years ago, as the Blues lost 1-0 to Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea in heart-breaking circumstances.
That match will be remembered for the way Pep Guardiola "overthought" in the final, as he chose to operate without a holding midfielder, leaving the fully fit pair of Fernandinho and Rodri on the bench, meaning current club captain Ilkay Gundogan was forced to operate as the deepest lying midfielder.
And, of course, there are fears amongst the fanbase that history could well repeat itself, as, despite all of the success that City have had under the 52 year old's control, he is prone to making the odd bizarre decision in big European games. Examples include playing a back 5 in the 3-1 defeat to Lyon in 2020 and a random 3-1-5-1 formation in the 2-1 loss against Liverpool in 2018.
But, this season, Guardiola has played essentially the same starting 11 in all of City's last 5 Champions League knockout ties, with the only change being initially forced, as Kyle Walker replaced the injured Nathan Ake.
Since then, however, the form of Walker and Swiss defender Manuel Akanji means the Dutchman didn't return to the side to start in the FA Cup final victory against Manchester United on Saturday.
Guardiola has started the same front 6 in all of City's biggest games in recent weeks; the Premier League match against Arsenal, the FA Cup final and both legs against Bayern Munich and Real Madrid. This front 6 consists of Rodri, Kevin de Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan Bernardo Silva, Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland.
They also have quality options, in the shape of Riyad Mahrez, Phil Foden and Julian Alvarez, from the bench. For a few months now, City have lined up with a 3-2-4-1 formation when in possession, with a defender, usually John Stones when he's playing, pushing into midfield to form a double pivot and add an extra number higher up the pitch.
This strategy has worked so far, so it'd be stupid to move away from it now, right?
Well, there are signs from City's last game that they are making a slight move away from this system, and are adapting more towards a 3-5-2 system, most commonly used by their opponents, Inter Milan.
As shown in the image above, Bernardo Silva is about 5 yards deeper than you would expect from a Pep Guardiola winger.
He is hugging the touchline, meaning Luke Shaw (the Manchester United player closest to De Bruyne) has to make a choice when the ball comes down his side: whether to press Bernardo and risk De Bruyne spinning in behind or maintain his position, and potentially allow the ball to be played into the Portuguese's feet.
Brazilian midfielder Fred (the Manchester United player closest to Stones) is also left with a choice to make. Many felt the 30 year old's involvement in the starting 11 was so he could tightly mark Kevin de Bruyne, just like in United's 2-1 victory over City in January.
Does he follow his original instructions of sticking to the Belgian, or does he mark John Stones, who was playing much further forward than surely anyone can have predicted?
On the opposite flank, Jack Grealish played in a slightly more advanced role, but still tracked back like a wingback. The 27 year old often dropped a bit deeper when City had possession, drawing Aaron Wan-Bissaka to him, allowing Gundogan to run into the space vacated by United's right back.
The picture above shows Grealish's recovery run in a United transition proving vital to preventing a potential chance. City's record signing was in the perfect position to block a potentially dangerous through ball from Victor Lindelof to the onrushing Wan-Bissaka.
Jadon Sancho's inverted position - occupying both Ruben Dias and Manuel Akanji - means Grealish's positioning is vital to stop the ball being played into the path being indicated by the arrow. If he wasn't positioned correctly, City's defenders would be drawn out of position, and space would open up for United's attackers.
As it happened, Lindelof had no other option but to lay it off to Bruno Fernandes, which took all the fluidity out of the promising United move.
Forming a back 5 out of possession, with either Bernardo or Grealish dropping in at wing back, will suit City against Inter in the UEFA Champions League Final, as it means there will be a 3 vs 2 overload in the penalty area in City's favour against Inter's two target men up front. This is all whilst keeping one player out wide to go man to man against Inter's wingbacks, Denzel Dumfries and Federico Dimarco.
Playing their wingers more like wingbacks has it's attacking benefits too, as shown by the Blues' second goal in the 4-0 Champions League semi final victory against Real Madrid.
Grealish is taking up a similar picture to the one Bernardo Silva was taking up against United; playing about 5 yards deeper than you'd typically expect of a Guardiola winger. Kevin de Bruyne is taking up a "false 9" position, with Erling Haaland loitering between the centre backs near the penalty area.
De Bruyne's positioning leaves Dani Carvajal in two minds, as if he engages with Grealish, it leaves the Belgian in space in a dangerous position. As it happened, the Spaniard chose to stick with De Bruyne, meaning Manuel Akanji can pass the ball to Grealish in space
Note Eduardo Camavinga and Bernardo's positioning, by the way. The young midfielder, who was tasked with keeping Bernardo quiet at full back, had drifted into midfield in John Stones style to offer a passing option, meaning he is out of position.
Camavinga looked to press Grealish earlier in the move, but opted to travel back out to his regular position. This was arguably unnecessary, however, as Bernardo was already being closely monitored by Toni Kroos, meaning he could have delayed his move back to position until City had the ball in a less dangerous position.
Grealish collects the ball, and drives into the penalty area, where he pulls the ball across to Gundogan, who was making a midfield run from deep.
Notice how Camavinga has made it back into the box, but it not in the left back position, meaning centre backs David Alaba and Eder Militao have had to shift across slightly to the left to deal with Haaland at the back post.
This leaves space for Gundogan to drive into the space vacated between Carvajal and Militao...
... which he does with aplomb. Gundogan's shot is deflected off the heels of Militao, but Camavinga has neglected Bernardo, who can nod the ball into the net to double City's lead.
In this entire build up, City had many elements of a traditional 3-5-2 in their attacking system.
The player who starts the attacking move off, Manuel Akanji, is technically playing at left back, but is vacating much more of an outside centre back position, with Grealish wider than him.
De Bruyne and Haaland are operating as a front 2, positioned in between two defenders to create space for the wide players and for midfield runs.
And, in the last 2 pictures, City have 5 players in the penalty area - the front 2, the 2 "wing backs" and Gundogan - with a back 3 and 2 holding midfielders - Rodri and John Stones - staying in position to stop a potential counter for Real Madrid.
Inter Milan operate, and attack in a similar way. They like Nicolo Barella and Hakan Calhanoglu to support their front 2, by popping up to receive the ball in between the lines. Their wingbacks, Dimarco and Dumfries, maintain the width, and look to break teams down by finding themselves in space.
The main difference between Inter's wide players and City's is their preferred foot. Guardiola prefers to operate with inverted wingers, as, like with the analysed goal against Real Madrid, they can cut inside, and slide the ball through to underlapping midfielders entering the box.
There is also a difference in the way the two sides use their strikers. For City, the strikers are required to drop deep, help in the build and draw defenders in.
For Inter, playing as a striker is more about running in behind and posing a threat in the box for crosses. This wouldn't work with a player like Kevin de Bruyne playing in their front two, nor would Romelu Lukaku be as good as De Bruyne or Haaland in terms of receiving the ball in midfield for City's front two.
The final difference, and one which could be matched by City with a tactical change, is operating with a left sided defender on the left of the back 3.
Having a player who prefers to use their left foot, such as Nathan Ake or Aymeric Laporte, offers up different passing angles that helps the ball travel up the pitch quicker. Inter use Alessandro Bastoni in this role, and City could easily emulate that for the final.
So, if City were to use the same 11 players that started both Champions League Semi Final ties against Real Madrid, the 3-5-2 lineup would consist of this:
Goalkeeper - Ederson
Right centre back - Kyle Walker
Central centre back - Ruben Dias
Left centre back - Manuel Akanji
Right wing back - Bernardo Silva
Right centre midfielder - John Stones
Central centre midfielder - Rodri
Left centre midfielder - Ilkay Gundogan
Left wing back - Jack Grealish
Right striker - Kevin de Bruyne
Left striker - Erling Haaland.
Of course, some changes could be made to that. There have been some reports in the Italian media that Riyad Mahrez is set to start the Champions League Final over Bernardo Silva, with the right wing being arguably the most tightly contested spot in City's side. However, these rumours aren't from the most reliable of sources, so I don't believe this is a change that will be made by Pep Guardiola.
Bringing Nathan Ake into the side, however, is a change that could definitely be made, especially considering Kyle Walker missed training yesterday through injury. He would play as the left centre back, with Akanji switching over to the right, meaning there is a natural left footer playing off the left flank.
The Dutchman could also provide an option for Jack Grealish on the overlap, similar to the way Kyle Walker does when he plays on the right.
And, City's players can have an altered role that suits them personally. Bernardo and Grealish can cut inside with the ball, where they are able to create with their strong foot. Kevin de Bruyne and Erling Haaland can work a partnership where De Bruyne roams around, finding space in between the lines, whilst Haaland stays on the shoulder for the majority of the time City are in possession.
And, when City are pressing high up the pitch, they can press in the 4-4-2/4-2-4 formation that has been used in big games this season, where John Stones slots in at centre back and De Bruyne pushes up to press aggressively alongside Haaland.
If Inter beat that press, then Bernardo, Grealish, or both, can track back and fill in at wing back, creating a back 5 or even back 6 when Inter are in the final third.
Many City fans would somewhat wince at the thought of Pep Guardiola changing his tactics to cope with Inter Milan, referring back to many "overthinking" moments. I would feel that way too, had City not been using the proposed changes in recent matches, hence making them more familiar to the players.
My only concern is a bizarre change of personal from Guardiola. Tactically, I trust him to get everything right, and, in my personal opinion, the 11 players who played the two Real Madrid matches, with the debatable exception of Nathan Ake over Kyle Walker, are the same players who will be best suited to fit City's tactical system and attempt to make history in Istanbul.
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