Was the front three Manchester played against Real Madrid their best attacking lineup?
Was the front three Manchester played against Real Madrid their best attacking lineup? Ever since Antoine Semenyo signed for Manchester City, Pep Guardiola has been juggling with what his best attacking lineup is. The City squad is filled with attacking talent.
Erling Haaland, Omar Marmoush, Jeremy Doku, Antoine Semenyo, Savinho, Rayan Cherki, and Phil Foden are a quality set of attacking options for Pep Guardiola to utilize. The issue has been that Guardiola is yet to settle on a defined front three. Against Real Madrid in City’s 2-1 defeat at the Etihad, Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku, and Rayan Cherki started.
The trio played well and they did look like Manchester City’s best attack. The question is, if Pep Guardiola is picking his first-choice attack, is Doku, Haaland, and Cherki it? Deciphering what the best attack for Manchester City is isn’t a straightforward process.
One idea that can be discarded concerning what is the best Manchester City attacking lineup is the idea that Erling Haaland, Antoine Semenyo, Jeremy Doku, and Savinho can all start together. Pep Guardiola tried this against Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League Round of 16 tie at the Bernabeu. It failed spectacularly as City were beaten 3-0 and their lineup was too unbalanced.
That was the only time Guardiola has tried to pigeon hole so many attackers into one lineup. Based on how that game panned out, it likely won’t be seen again. A look at any previous Man City results shows that Pep Guardiola prefers to work with a front three.