‘Really shocked’… Martin Keown says he couldn’t believe what Guardiola did in Man City v Aston Villa.

Jordan Sancho eventually apologizes to Erik ten Hag in a statement that is absolutely shocking: “I am sorry.” Extremely stunned… Martin Keown was astounded by Guardiola’s performance in Manchester City’s match against Aston Villa.Martin Keown stated that one decision made by Pep Guardiola during Manchester City’s recent match against Aston Villa astonished him.

City suffered their third Premier League setback of the season on Wednesday night, falling 1-0 to Unai Emery’s squad.Upon reflection of the match, one analyst has identified a specific maneuver executed by Guardiola that was deleterious to City’s performance that evening.

Keown is perplexed by Guardiola’s decision to vanquish Villa.”I was astounded to discover that they were utilizing Akanji in the midfield,” he stated. One may observe the personnel currently resting on the bench for Manchester City who were acquired with the intention of occupying that midfield position. “Akanji must be in the defensive position in case any of those counterattacks occur.” Due to the absence of John Stones, who intermittently assumed a midfield role last season, Akanji has operated in this hybrid position for the duration of this campaign.

Given that both Stones and Akanji participated in midweek matches and alternated between midfield and defense, the reality that Villa had a total of 22 shots on goal compared to City’s two indicates that controlling a game with defenders in midfield is not always the most effective strategy.

In terms of Akanji’s performance in particular, he was dribbled past three times and lost four of the seven duels he engaged in by the end of the 90 minutes.

Given that Rodri was suspended for City in midweek, it is not difficult to comprehend why Guardiola utilized Stones and Akanji in the midfield despite the fact that Kalvin Phillips was on the bench.

Subsequently, should Rodri and Stones maintain their fitness and availability, Guardiola would presumably be able to reassign Akanji to the defense, where Keown considers him to be an indispensable member of the group.