Artificial Transition: The Secret to Manchester City's Revival

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has displayed two sides of his character over the span of several months. At the beginning of the season, he emphasized that his team was in a period of transition and rebuilding. However, currently, the manager has begun to actively engage in psychological warfare in the context of the title race.

Following City's 3-0 victory over Liverpool on Monday (10/11/2025), this is evident. Guardiola stated that the Premier League is not won in November. He seemed to remind the league leaders Arsenal that the journey to the championship is still long. City, which continues to improve each week, is ready to pounce from behind.

We feel as if we have returned in many ways. This team has a good spirit. We have the energy that was lost last season, for some reason.

Guardiola's confidence has emerged after eleven weeks, particularly due to the resounding victory and dominant performance against the defending champions at the Etihad Stadium. City, which had already lost three times at the beginning of the season, now occupies the second position and is only four points behind Arsenal.

"We feel like we have returned in many ways. This team has a good spirit. We have the energy that was lost last season, for some reason. Last season, we lost players. We tried to encourage each other, but still could not do it," said Guardiola.

It is reasonable for Guardiola to start feeling confident. Observing the last two matches, against Bournemouth and Liverpool, City appears to have a new key weapon this season. This weapon is not an individual player, but rather a game system that confuses opposing teams.

Typically, the moment of a counter-attack transition occurs after one team manages to regain possession of the ball from the opposing team. This is an organic way of counter-attacking. City employs a different method known as artificial transition. They create transition situations themselves while in possession of the ball.

The method involves City inviting the opposing team to press high into their half of the field. Then, they stack many players in the midfield to increase passing options. When the opponents focus on guarding the central area, City typically executes a combination of quick short passes that culminate in a long pass.

A transitional situation also occurs when the ball changes direction to the other side or directly into the opponent's defense. The opposing team is unprepared as many players are still in half of City's defense. This is how Phil Foden and his teammates punished Bournemouth and Liverpool.

Not without reason, Liverpool has not progressed and suffered their biggest defeat of the season at the Etihad. In fact, last Wednesday, "The Reds" had just silenced the Spanish giant Real Madrid by relying on extremely high and aggressive pressing when not in possession of the ball.

Liverpool coach Arne Slot stated that their advantage in pressing up to the opponent's defense was ineffective. This was due to a defeat in the midfield. "We were always lacking one or two players in the midfield because (Jeremy) Doku and (Nico) O'Reilly posed many problems," he said.

Doku and O'Reilly, who play on the left wing for City, are Guardiola's trump cards for creating artificial transitions. They take turns moving into the central area to provide options. They assist the midfield players, namely Nico Gonzalez, Bernardo Silva, Foden, and Rayan Cherki.

Just look at the opening goal created by striker Erling Haaland. The sequence of the goal attack began from City's defense. Gonzalez was surrounded by Liverpool players while carrying the ball. However, Doku, Foden, and Cherki provided passing options at a distance of about 3-5 meters.

As a result, Gonzalez was freed thanks to a one-two pass with Cherki. He then provided a pass to wing-back Matheus Nunes, who advanced on the right side. City successfully transferred the ball to the opponent's half. Shortly thereafter, Nunes delivered a cross into the penalty area, which was met by Haaland's header to the far post.

For City's third goal, a similar artificial transition occurred again. Silva and Savinho attempted to relieve pressure from the right flank of the defense. Gonzalez created space and received the ball. Once again, Gonzalez played a crucial role, much like a quarterback in American football, shifting the attack to the left flank.

The ball was received by O'Reilly on the left side. Liverpool's defense appeared sparse as many of their players were still trapped on the right side of the opponent's field. O'Reilly then passed to Doku, who executed a long-range shot. Liverpool's weapon in high pressing turned into a disaster.

Meanwhile, in the match against Bournemouth, Haaland's two goals came from nearly identical transitions. The difference was that City exploited the opponent's offside trap to provide a direct through ball. "We can play in many ways at the moment. That's good for us, but not for the opponent. They don't know what we're going to do," Guardiola explained.

Opposing teams to City find themselves in a dilemma. They will be affected by artificial transition weapons when pressing high. However, if they choose to defend with a low block, they must contend with the presence of "The Robot" Haaland in the penalty area. Both options are equally disadvantageous.

In previous seasons, City relied more on holding midfielder Rodri as a link in their attacks. Other midfielders focused more on finding positions in the opponent's final third. The aim was to relieve pressure from the opponent. This approach is very different from this season.

Guardiola is no longer overly obsessed with controlling the game through ball possession. He builds attacks from the back to create space in front, rather than merely dominating the game. This is evidenced by City's ball possession statistics dropping from the top rank last season (61.6 percent) to fourth place this season (56.8 percent).

Behind the emergence of this new approach, one of the most important factors is the role of Gonzalez. The 23-year-old player has begun to become a crucial figure for City in his second season, capable of filling the void left by the veteran midfielder Rodri.

Interestingly, with Rodri's imminent return from injury, City will have two world-class defensive midfielders at the same time. So, competitors of City should be wary, as they have returned and are increasingly dangerous this season. (AP/REUTERS)