Manchester City "buzzer-beating" to replace the goal, does Guardiola want to change the strategy?

Written by/Han Bing Signing a world-class goalkeeper like Donala is often considered a strong performance by the club to express their willingness to compete for the championship, but Manchester City's signing of Italian national goal has caused heated controversy. Donalarum, who is not particularly skilled under his feet, is obviously not a Guardiola-style goalkeeper, and Manchester City's dilemma at the beginning of the season seems to prove Guardiola's forced change.

Guardiola's past tactics allow Brazilian goalkeeper Edsson, who is good at controlling the ball, to fully utilize his outstanding foot skills. However, in the past two seasons, Edsson, whose save ability has declined, has gradually lost Guardiola's trust, and the Spanish coach had to use substitute goalkeeper Ortega last season. This summer, Manchester City repurchased England's local goalkeeper Trafford for another £27 million, meaning it was only a matter of time before Edsson left. Unfortunately, the sluggishness after the start of the season forced Guardiola to find a first-class goalkeeper with more stable performance as soon as possible. For Manchester City, which urgently needs to reduce conceded goals, this choice is obviously necessary, but it does not mean it is reasonable.

Time is back to the summer of 2016. Guardiola, who just took office, had his first adjustment to replace Hart with Bravo, which shows his importance to the goalkeeper. Bravo joined from Barcelona, ​​and his ball-handling ability is more popular with Guardiola than Hart, who has outstanding save ability. But Bravo was eventually abandoned for his poor save performance until Brazilian goalkeeper Edsson joined from Benfica in the summer of 2017, the ball-controlled goalkeeper became one of the solid cornerstones of the Manchester City dynasty.

Although Edsson, now 32 years old, is still in his battle year, he is regretting that he is becoming the second Bravo. When Manchester City fell into a trough last season, Guardiola said the team must face more physically confronting and aggressive games. The introduction of Donnarumma and let Edsson go means Guardiola’s compromise on reality. Manchester City now needs Donnarumma, who has strong save ability and can stabilize the defense line.

Donalu Ma averaged only 23.4 passes per game in Ligue 1 last season, while Liverpool's Alisson had 31.7 times. Donnarumma averaged 6 long passes per game, while his predecessor Edson had 9.4 times. But Donalou's pass success rate in Ligue 1 last season was 85.4%, slightly lower than Edsson and higher than Ortega and Trafford. Donnarumma's advantage is a 66.2% save success rate. He performed better in front of the goal in the previous Ligue 1 season and the 2024/25 Champions League season, saving more than 70% of his opponents' shots. The performance in the penalty shootout was also top-notch, saving almost 25% of the penalty kicks.

Guardiola's acceptance of Donaluma's abandonment of Edsson seemed to betraying his own principles. After all, Edsson is a model of a "ball-controlled goalkeeper", with 8 assists in Manchester City in eight seasons, including 4 of them last season. Donnarumma was abandoned by Paris Saint-Germain coach Enrique, who also favored the "ball-controlled goalkeeper", who chose 23-year-old Lille goalkeeper Schwarier. Last season, Schwarier defeated Donnarumma in both long passes in Ligue 1 (158 vs. 62) and forward passes (61 vs. 16). Of course, Donnarumma's skills at feet are not bad. He is unwilling to attack from the backcourt, which may be due to previous serious mistakes. In the second leg of the 2022 Champions League quarter-finals, he was intercepted by Benzema in the penalty area and conceded the ball, causing Paris Saint-Germain to be eliminated. In November 2023, Takumi Minamio, who also "owned assisted" for passing the ball, conceded a goal. In the Milan era, he did not receive Paletta's return pass in April 2017 and scored an own goal. In March 2019, he received the pass and shot De Frell and accidentally entered the empty goal.

But Donnarumma's excellent sense of position, excellent reaction speed and the championship "big heart" may be more suitable for Manchester City, which is in the transition period and the general lack of confidence in the newcomers. Donnarumma conceded less than expected in every Champions League season. Manchester City's game is more open, so it is necessary to make up for the team's mistakes in missing opportunities on the offensive end. Of course, Guardiola, who regards ball possession as a football belief, may relieve Donnarumma's inner demon that dares to control the ball.

Donaruma has been proving her confidence since she chose a number. In the Milan era, he chose No. 99 of his birth year, and was unable to continue wearing No. 99 due to Ligue 1 rules. When he arrived in Manchester City, he chose his birthday on the 25th. Donnarumma's debut at Manchester City is likely to be a big scene: the Premier League Manchester City Derby on September 14. Guardiola believes that Trafford has missed it once, and neither he nor Manchester City can withstand the second shot from choosing the wrong goalkeeper.