Rodri missing for City is a catastrophic loss, it can’t be underestimated how big a loss he was.
Like how we fell apart when Alonso left. Different players, so integral to the team.
Apart from that, I’m not sure they have the legs anymore in key positions. Kovacic is 30, Gündoğan is 34, De Bruyne is 33. While that in itself isn’t an issue, the fact they all play in the same position and are having to accumulate more and more minutes starts to take its toll.
Sporting and Brighton both just ran all over City, they couldn’t keep up when the tempo was up. We need to start at 100mph on 1st December.
I suspect Stones will be back in midfield after the break, his fitness record isn’t great. It’s an awful lot to ask of Rico Lewis or other academy players to be expected to fill in and get 90+ points.