Talk of philosophy has dominated English football this season. Some managers remain so stubborn to their footballing ideals that it can cost them, some have so few footballing ideals you really do not know what their teams will represent.One manager appointed the leader of the philosophy world is Pep Guardiola. Guardiola looks to play a certain style of football for the most part, yes, but his career as a tactician has become increasingly about adapting towards the opposition. His Bayern side would change formation on an almost weekly basis and we are seeing a similar pattern at Manchester City. That was abundantly clear against Chelsea, as Guardiola looked to match up to Antonio Conte’s recently successful 3-4-3.[ffc_insert title="The ten best signings of the season" name="Money well spent" image="https://www.footballfancast.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/4848590.jpg?admin" link="https://www.footballfancast.com/premier-league/football-fancasts-ten-signings-of-the-season" link_text="Ten of the best" ]Although Manchester City dominated the chance creation and territory – as we expect them to do against any side – they succumbed to a limp, frustrating 3-1 defeat. Sucker-punched on three separate second-half raids, Guardiola saw his side picked-off, as his own tactical decision making comes into question. Opting for a back three against Chelsea’s red-hot front three was asking for trouble, it gave no numerical advantage. Out of possession it didn't work, with City continuing to look vulnerable.In possession, however, City’s evident tactic to force the ball down the right flank brought rewards. It was, of course, where the game’s opening goal came from. The pass map below demonstrates this quite perfectly, in fact. De Bruyne played almost as a second right winger, with Guardiola clearly targeting Chelsea’s weaker left side – it saw Marcos Alonso and Gary Cahill exposed on numerous occasions. So there was success for Guardiola, in a way.

Offensively, Manchester City were actually rather good. They created chances against Chelsea like no other side has since their switch to a back three, but they – yet again – paid the price for missing all too often. Kevin de Bruyne’s howler from four yards out remains the worst of the lot, but it was not an exception. It has not been an exception, that has been the rule for City of late. While their defence continues to struggle, they can't afford to miss so many very good chances.

Sides should not be worried about missing chances, they should be worried if they are not creating them. That, usually, is a pretty good way to look at football. The trouble in this instance is that Manchester City have seen this trend continue for months on end, its hard to see it as a finishing blip. A regression to the mean is inevitable for City, but the risk is that it could all be too late by then.

With the issues so evident for a prolonged period of time, Guardiola must come under question. His decision to play with a back three would have been vindicated if chances were taken, of course. However, it was a decision that would evidently leave the defence so very exposed. Leroy Sane and Jesus Navas struggled to pin back Chelsea’s wing-backs and it left John Stones, Aleksandar Kolarov and Nicolas Otamendi all alone to deal with Chelsea’s potent front three. Although much of the blame must go on the players for missing chances, Guardiola’s adaptation left his side unnecessarily vulnerable to Chelsea.

The reverberations of the result at the Etihad Stadium will continue for weeks to come. Suspensions to Fernandinho and Sergio Aguero could be of far greater detriment to Manchester City’s campaign than one defeat, while Chelsea’s momentum has been boosted yet further ahead of an easier run of fixtures. Guardiola will not change who he is – that’s what makes him the immense success he is – and that could cost City in the short-term. The fear for everyone else is that City are the team best-equipped to expose the weaknesses in Chelsea’s team (of which there are several), but even they could not turn that into points.

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