January 9 2018

Roy Hodgson

Crystal Palace are one of only two teams that have been able to slow down the Manchester City juggernaut this season, writes Roland Blake.

Roy Hodgson presided over the 0-0 draw against the Eagles on New Year’s Eve and ended the Citizens’ incredible 18-game winning run in the top flight.

Other managers who are looking to topple the almost certain 2017-18 Premier League winners this season should look to Hodgson’s tactics as a model to follow when coming up against the prolific City attack.

City Strike Fear Across the Division

When coming up against the attacking force of City this season, few teams have been able to cope. Sergio Aguero, Gabriel Jesus, Leroy Sane, and Raheem Sterling have been scoring at will throughout the campaign and, with Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva pulling the strings behind them, Guardiola’s men have been simply irresistible.

City are 1/100 with Betway to storm all the way to the Premier League title this season. Another illustration of their unstoppable nature is the fact that prior to the draw at Selhurst Park, the Sky Blues had managed to put away an astonishing 61 goals in twenty games. In comparison, Manchester United, in second, had only notched 43 in the same time frame.

Pep Guardiola has succeeded in fine-tuning his charges after enduring an unsatisfying debut season in England, and Sterling, in particular, is a player reborn under the Catalan. The England winger leads the way for goals in City’s attack and he has been registering a successful strike every 108 minutes on average. Behind him, De Bruyne appears to have raised his game to an even more astounding level than the one he was at before.

The brilliant Belgian is involved in everything and touches the ball on average every 0.9 minutes. His pass completion rate is 83%, which is impressive, but it’s his vision that has shone through this term.

The 26-year-old had performed 23 through balls and created 68 big chances by the turn of the year, more than any other player in the top flight. These eye-catching displays have led bookies to place De Bruyne as the odds-on favourite to win the PFA Player of the Year award this season.

Hodgson Strikes on Almost Perfect Formula

After Palace’s dismal start to the campaign, when they looked a shoo-in for relegation, Hodgson’s appointment has seen a much-needed upturn in form. Even so, nobody could have anticipated that the Selhurst Park outfit would be the ones to put a stop to City’s demolition of the division when they hosted the league leaders on the final day of 2017.

City were well placed with bookies to register a 19th successive victory, but the wheels of their speeding freight train came screeching to a halt when they came up against a spirited Palace side in the final game of the calendar year.

Hodgson knew that he was battling against a side who had notched an average of three goals per game up to that point so serious measures needed to be taken in order to stop Guardiola’s men from breaking through. The former England manager opted to go for an extremely defensive approach, in which his charges worked tirelessly off the ball when out of possession.

This was illustrated by the fact that midfielder Luka Milivojevic covered 12.69km during the game; more ground than any other player on the pitch. Palace players hounded the City stars, preventing them from clicking into the higher gears and playing their usual free-flowing attack.

53 of City’s 64 goals for the season have come from inside the box, and Hodgson understood that this is where City threatened most. In the tie, City had fifteen shots on goal but they were limited to only five efforts from close range. This led to them going for unsuccessful long-range attempts, with only four of their fifteen shots on target.

While Hodgson’s men worked their socks off in the first half, pundits pondered over whether they would be able to keep it up after the break. They held out, though, and also managed to create a few decent chances of their own, with a total of ten efforts on goal. The result was a highly entertaining football spectacle.

From the success that Palace had against the Etihad-sponsored outfit after employing Hodgson’s shrewd tactics, other teams may look to emulate the London club when they come up against the Citizens.

The fact that the Eagles would have managed to grab a win if it wasn’t for Milivojevic’s missed penalty may lead some to believe that City can actually be beaten this term. But who will be the ones to do it?