Man City must break recent Champions League habit vs Young Boys

Manchester City will be the favorites to maintain their perfect start and will benefit from taking a lesson from their previous performances.

Manchester City has a history of controlling games this season but not closing the deal until far later or not at all.

Despite having over twice as many passes completed and 69% of the possession versus Wolves, the Blues left Molineux empty-handed. It was made unduly tetchy during Saturday’s victory over Brighton.

After dominating the first half, City gave the Seagulls a chance to retake the lead, and the tension was further increased by Manuel Akanji’s red card at stoppage time. What counts in the end is that Pep Guardiola was able to get his club over the finish line.

But he will not be appreciating the bumpy ride of late. Stefan Ortega took the gloves as Ederson was rested following his lengthy travelling during the international break and the German did amply.

He was unable to break City’s current five-game losing streak without a clean sheet, though. Actually, for the entire season, City has managed just three. The Treble winners can ultimately outscore any club, but as they have demonstrated against Newcastle, Wolves, and Arsenal, this is not always the case.

The champions had given up during crucial junctures in their first two Champions League matches. Despite having complete control over both games, City was unable to win any of them.

The hosts trailed Red Star Belgrade 1-0 at the half after conceding right before the break. They won 3-1 after their excellent reply, which came just seconds after the half.

The Germans subsequently equalized against the run of play in the visit to RB Leipzig, which was witnessed by Guardiola, to make the score 1-1. The final goal was preserved by Jeremy Doku’s counterattacking sealer and an outstanding performance by Julian Alvarez.

Guardiola will be hopeful that there isn’t any conflict when City plays Young Boys in Bern, Switzerland, on Wednesday. The Wankdorf Stadium’s artificial field has already forced the team to modify their daily schedule.

The Blues often train at home before leaving on their away trip to Europe, but this time they’re flying early to adjust to the new pitch conditions. Young Boys, who were placed in pot four, are the worst team in the group according to the draw.

Despite the changes in preparation, this is the perfect chance for City to halt their losing run and for the defense to stop their poor habit. Although a shutout might be anticipated, this has an impact on the competition as a whole as well as City’s own psyche.

Increasing the number of clean sheets they have will help them regain the confidence that their opponents had before the previous season. Including in Istanbul, the Blues kept eight clean sheets on their way to winning the trophy.

City frequently won games much ahead of schedule, which allowed them to rest important players for other tournaments and eventually win the Triple Crown. On Sunday, Old Trafford will be emotional.

Guardiola will be able to spare the legs of numerous important players before the weekend if he can put the midweek match out of his sight in good time and avoid conceding at an awkward time. Young Boys is a team that has already given up five goals in their first two games, after all. It doesn’t need another suspenseful finale.

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