With the security blankets removed, this Manchester City side is finding new solutions

With the security blankets removed, this Manchester City side is finding new solutions During Pep Guardiola’s time as Manchester City’s manager, Bernardo Silva and Rodri were often the security blankets for Guardiola and Manchester City. Whenever Guardiola needed a fire put out on the pitch, he often turned to the pair. This was warranted given the standing of the pair and what they provided their team and manager. However, alongside Pep Guardiola, Bernardo Silva and Rodri both departed City during the summer. Now, Enzo Maresca has had to find new solutions to issues that arise during a match. The departures of Rodri and Bernardo Silva may have come at the ideal time as now the responsibility falls to others and they all seem to be thriving. In hindsight, perhaps the time was right for Bernardo Silva and Rodri to leave Manchester City. Manchester City had to spend big to cover the loss of Rodri and Bernardo Silva. They brought in Elliot Anderson, Ayyoub Bouaddi and Enzo Fernandez for well over £300 million. The sales of Tijjani Reijnders and Nico Gonzalez also facilitated Manchester City’s hefty midfield rebuild. Looking specifically at the departures of Bernardo Silva and Rodri, it may well have been that last summer was the ideal time for both to leave City. Bernardo Silva was so often Pep Guardiola’s security blanket and rightfully so. He could play anywhere and his knowledge of Pep Guardiola’s system made him crucial to Manchester City and the success they enjoyed during their time together. So was Rodri. If Rodri was out injured the thought was often that everything will be fine when he returned. So often it was. Also, when Rodri was at his best, he was the first name of the team sheet. He was Manchester City’s most important player during his time at the club. With Pep Guardiola having departed the club, and also Rodri and Bernardo Silva, Enzo Maresca is now leading a new era at Manchester City. He didn’t have the opportunity to work with Bernardo Silva or Rodri. Bernardo was gone before Maresca took charge. Rodri always seemed set to return to Spain. That is what transpired. It now looks like it was the ideal time for both players to leave City to give Maresca a fresh start so to speak. Instead, Maresca has had to find new solutions and turn to other players to be his ‘security blankets’. It is only early days but he has found success with this pursuit within his new-look squad. Manchester City’s new-look side now have fresh faces who are stepping up in City’s time of need. Manchester City were never going to find like-for-like replacements for Rodri or Bernardo Silva. Those players do not exist. The players they brought in during the summer would have to be themselves and shine in their own way. While the sample size is small, players such as Elliot Anderson and Enzo Fernandez, especially, are doing just that. Manchester City’s 1-0 win over Manchester United illustrates this point. When Phil Foden was sent off in the 23rd minute in Sunday’s derby, Elliot Anderson did the work of two midfielders against Manchester United. He covered every blade of grass at Old Trafford. It was a remarkable performance from Anderson. In a way, it was a display that Bernardo Silva put in time and time again for City. Enzo Fernandez was pivotal to City’s attacking threat when down to ten men. Also, Erling Haaland, Ruben Dias, Marc Guehi, Gianluigi Donnarumma, and each and every one of their teammates lifted. They had to and they did exactly that to help City claim a famous derby victory. If either of Rodri and Bernardo Silva, or both, were still at Manchester City, they’d have put in the inspirational displays needed in a difficult setting at Old Trafford. But they are gone. Instead, City’s new-look side had to find new players to step up. This is what is happening at Manchester City. It is a necessary step in Enzo Maresca’s side’s growth and it perhaps needed the departures of Rodri and Bernardo Silva to take place for it to occur. Final thoughts. It is only early days in the Enzo Maresca era at Manchester City. There will be more tests and challenges to come for them. They will need players to rise through adversity along the journey like Bernardo and Rodri always did. The early evidence is that this City side have the players capable of doing so. There was never an optimal time for Manchester City to lose Rodri and Bernardo Silva. Perhaps last summer was the ideal time as it has placed the responsibility squarely on the shoulders of a new batch of City players and leaders. That is a challenge they need to meet. Based on the evidence from City’s win at Old Trafford against Manchester United, it is one they are more than up to.