A tactical tweak that has got Man City purring again

Story by[]BBCSat, December 27, 2025 at 11:15 AM UTC·2 min readThe current version of Manchester City is unlike anything we have seen from them before, and every league title Pep Guardiola has won has been secured with a unique system, so just how has the Spaniard reinvented his team tactically?Over the past few weeks, Pep seems to have settled on a side that looks like the below graphic. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe only real change seen to this City side is when Tijjani Reijnders plays in Jeremy Doku's absence, with the Netherlands midfielder taking Foden's central position and the England man moving to the left. In possession, City's preferred starting XI looks like this [BBC]Our tactical correspondent Umir Irfan has dived in to what Guardiola is doing at City. Here is one of the areas he has uncovered. Attacking midfielders at full-back workWhen Guardiola reinvents his system, changes are made based on the players he has rather than a predetermined idea of what system he wants to play. City have options at full-back this year - Nathan Ake offers a pure defensive profile, as he did in City's Treble-winning season, while Rayan Ait-Nouri and Rico Lewis give City positional versatility and attacking quality in small spaces. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBut Guardiola instead uses Nico O'Reilly and Matheus Nunes in those roles, in part because of their ability to cover large distances at pace in both attack and defence. Matheus Nunes assisted Erling Haaland's goal against Liverpool this season - note Nico O'Reilly's central position with Jeremy Doku positioned wider on the edge of the box. [BBC]Their physical profile helps them dominate defensive duels as well as get back to defend counter-attacks too. It also allows them to push high up the pitch, acting as attackers, usually in one of two ways. Both full-backs can play wide, which frees City's wingers to move centrally, a tactic that has been very successful this season. On the ball, they can play crosses from these positions on their stronger foot too. Alternatively, when wingers take a wider position, both full-backs have the ability to underlap the wingers, getting into dangerous areas centrally. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementO'Reilly in particular has shown a strong sense for goal through these late runs into the box which are hard for opponents to track, as the defender directly responsible for the City full-back is often the opposition's winger. O'Reilly scored against Bournemouth after surging into a central shooting position. Nunes is slightly wider, with Cherki moving into the box.