Manchester City's Struggles On and Off the Pitch

MANCHESTER, WEDNESDAY — Manchester City is currently experiencing a period of decline after four seasons of dominance in the English Premier League. Although they failed to retain the league title, "The Citizens" still harbor two ambitions, namely qualifying for the Champions League and winning the FA Cup. In the stands, City supporters are also fighting against the club's plan to increase ticket prices starting from the 2025-2026 season.

City's path to continuing their tradition of appearing in the Champions League next season has become slightly easier. They won 2-1 against one of their main competitors, Aston Villa, in the match of the 34th week of the English Premier League, Wednesday (23/4/2025) early morning WIB, at the Etihad Stadium.

That important victory was secured by right wing-back Matheus Nunes in the 90+4 minute after receiving a cross from Jeremy Doku. City started the match well, taking an early lead with a shot from Bernardo Silva in the seventh minute, but a penalty execution by Villa's striker, Marcus Rashford, in the 18th minute created a tense atmosphere for City until the end of the match.

City manager Pep Guardiola could not stop standing and pacing while observing his players on the sidelines. So tense was Guardiola that he received a yellow card from referee Craig Pawson for shouting at the fourth official.

City's dominance with 62 percent ball possession and seven shots almost meant nothing. They were trapped in the low defensive line trap of Villa, and Villa even had two significant opportunities through Rashford in the 39th and 63rd minutes. The threat was presented through a quick counter-attack process.

In addition to scoring two goals from the initial and final shots in the match, City was unable to pose a significant threat to Villa's defense. City's tactic of playing without a pure striker did not work well.

Despite producing six shots on target, those chances only resulted in 1.09 expected goals (xG). Villa had 1.68 xG. However, The Citizens showed the key to victory was the effectiveness of maximizing chances, not based on the collection of more chances created.

"Aston Villa is one of the best teams at the moment, but we played as we did in previous seasons, demonstrating a high level of commitment," said Guardiola after the match, as reported by BBC.

Nunes is like a "shadow" hero for City in their victory over Villa. When lacking a goal source in Erling Haaland, The Citizens found a scoring solution from an unexpected hero.

In the match against Everton last weekend, young player Nico O’Reilly lifted the City squad with his goal in the 84th minute. After O’Reilly's goal, City secured the victory from Goodison Park with a shot from Mateo Kovacic during stoppage time of the second half.

What is interesting is that Nunes and O’Reilly have been given new positions by Guardiola. Instead of playing in midfield, both have been trained by Guardiola to occupy wing-back positions.

Goals in two consecutive matches prove that this new position does not hinder their attacking roles. Guardiola is increasingly confident in both of them as they have played side by side on both flanks since the kickoff in the last two matches.

Nunes acknowledged that he has begun to adapt to his new role. As a wing-back, the player from Portugal stated that he not only thinks about helping the team in attacking but also understands the movements of the opposing attacking players.

"As a winger, I must be careful to anticipate counterattacks and observe the position of the opponent's left wing. I also try to be aware of my best position. I am happy to be in the right place to create the winning goal," said Nunes as reported on the club's website.

Three consecutive victories recorded by City this month have helped them maintain their competition in the top five for a Champions League ticket. With a total of 61 points, Guardiola's squad is already four points ahead of Villa, who are in seventh place.

City is competing with Nottingham Forest, Newcastle United, Chelsea, and Villa for the remaining three spots in the Champions League. The other two slots are already secured by Liverpool and Arsenal.

According to Opta, City are favourites to finish in the top five. Their chances of finishing third to fifth are 83.5 percent.

"Qualifying for the Champions League is important. We must remain calm. We need to focus first on the FA Cup semifinal (against Forest), and then we will prepare for four finals, two at home and two away, for the Champions League ticket," said Guardiola.

As the City squad struggles to meet two targets in the Premier League and the FA Cup, the supporters are also fighting from the stands. They oppose the club's policy to raise ticket prices starting next season.

This season, City is one of the clubs with the lowest season ticket prices in the English League. They have started selling season tickets for £425 (approximately Rp 9.5 million).

The figure is lower than the lowest season ticket prices of other major teams, such as Manchester United (579 pounds), Liverpool (713 pounds), Chelsea (787.5 pounds), and Arsenal (921.5 pounds). As a result, the nominal price of the cheapest season ticket for City remains below the average price of similar tickets for the six major English clubs, which reaches 714 pounds (Rp 16.02 million).

Management argued that the ticket price increase was also to help the team's development. However, Guardiola defended the supporters.

"I did not pay for the ticket, but I understand that feeling. We want them to come and always fill the stadium for every match," said the Catalan coach.