King of possession football Pep Guardiola becomes set-piece specialist

Manchester City have bagged 10 goals from dead-ball situations this season, second only to Liverpool in the Premier League

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is delighted his team have become set-piece specialists. PA

Pep Guardiola is a byword for possession football, not set-pieces. He is intrinsically associated with slight midfielders passing the ball, rather than giant centre-backs heading the ball in from dead-ball situations.

Yet when John Stones applied the final touch to Kevin de Bruyne’s corner against Fulham, it was Manchester City’s ninth goal from a central defender already this season.

Only Riyad Mahrez has scored more goals for City than the four main centre-backs have got between them. In the Premier League, City’s total of 10 set-piece goals puts them behind only Liverpool. The purists have prospered by being pragmatic.

It helps, of course, that City can benefit from the delivery of expert technicians. De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan, Mahrez and Phil Foden also offer two right-footers and two left-footers, meaning they can deliver in-swinging crosses from either flank. A demanding manager thinks they can show still greater potency in a manner than relies less on tiki-taka and more on aiming for the big lads in the box.

“We have to improve in our takers,” Guardiola said. “I think Kevin, Gundo, Riyad and Phil have to improve a little bit to put the ball in the right spot, because I think we can be dangerous in that position because of our central defenders, and [defensive midfielders] Rodri and Fernandinho, when he plays. We are strong in this department.”

Guardiola credited coach Carlos Vicens for his work on free kicks and corners. “The meeting about the set-pieces is so inspired, so clear and clever,” he said. “I think the players appreciate that. I am more than delighted with the job that Carlos has done.”

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City host another of the division’s best exponents of dead-ball situations tonight. Only the top three have got more goals from set-pieces than Brentford and Thomas Frank’s team have added to their armoury by signing Christian Eriksen after he left Inter Milan.

While the Dane is unlikely to make his first appearance in the Premier League since his Tottenham days, Guardiola is delighted to see the playmaker back. Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch during Denmark’s Euro 2020 opener against Finland. While his heart stopped beating then, he has been fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator, allowing him to resume his career.

“It is great news, he came back to play what loves and what he does exceptionally well and I am pretty sure all the doctors take all the measures to not suffer another blow,” Guardiola said. “Fortunately he can come back, It is good news for him, his family and Brentford.”

With Chelsea in action at the Club World Cup and Liverpool not playing until Thursday, City have the chance to go 12 points clear, even if only for 24 hours, with a 13th win in 14 league games.

“We arrive at the important part of the season and we have to win, because Liverpool will lose few points,” Guardiola said, as he guarded against feelings that a fourth title in five seasons is an inevitability. “It’s a long run until the big prizes, you can smell it. We had an incredible January.”

Jack Grealish, Kyle Walker, Mahrez and kit man Ally Marland celebrated on a night out on Sunday.

It made headlines but Guardiola argued they were treated unfairly as he joked: “I’m so upset because they didn’t invite me. The video didn’t show exactly what happened. They had dinner together sober, enjoying with their mates and backroom staff. The players know the risk when they go out because of social media but all of them – Riyad, Kyle, Ally, Jack - were perfect. But they will be fined because they didn’t invite me.”