pundit had his say on why Manchester City are leaking an excessive number of goals this season..

Steve Nicol has stated that he is not astonished to see Josko Gvardiol, a natural center-back, not performing at his peak as a left-back.

The analyst discussed on ESPN FC the reason why Manchester City are conceding an abnormally high number of goals this season.Individually, Josko Gvardiol has been identified as one of the players who has fallen short of expectations.

Steve Nicol states that having observed Josko Gvardiol “making mistakes” for Manchester City does not startle him.

Additionally, Tony Cascarino asserted that Pep Guardiola erred in his choice to utilize the £77.6 million (Guardian) acquisition as a left-back.

Nevertheless, the Catalan coach recently lauded the 21-year-old’s “exemplary” performance during his rookie season at the Etihad Stadium.

However, Steve Nicol believes that Josko Gvardiol’s failure to perform admirably at left-back should not come as a surprise.”To begin with, there are players who are not performing at their peak individually; the left-back Gvardiol comes to mind in particular.” “In my experience, not a single center-back has ever expressed a desire to play wide, full-back, or football because they dislike being in the wide positions,” Nicol said on ESPN FC.

“Is it therefore unexpected that Gvardiol is committing errors? You could probably say no.”

Josko Gvardiol is not the issue; rather, Manchester City is.

Despite the fact that Steve Nicol has criticized Josko Gvardiol’s play, defensive issues are invariably a group effort.A multitude of concerns are presently in operation, which have resulted in Manchester City exhibiting an atypical lack of defensive stability.

An example of this is the midfield’s lack of control, which is partially attributable to the absence of John Stones, who provides ample protection against defensive transitions in the middle of the park.

The same can be said for his possession play, and the Sky Blues are allowing far too many blunders due to the substitution of striker Julian Alvarez for an advanced midfielder.

In specific contests, Manchester City simply does not retain the ball adequately as a unit.While it may be tempting to attribute errors at the back to specific defenders, it is insufficient to hold a single player accountable for a team that consistently concedes avoidable goals.