Last week, Pep Guardiola replied to a journalist's question by saying: "Do you want to be my assistant coach? The reason for my question was to try to gain insight into Manchester City's increasing use of narrow and fluid attackers. In City's stellar side of 2017-18, Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling would finish games with white paint on their boots after being stationed high and wide. Almost a decade on, Guardiola's system looks very different. To understand why requires a deep dive.

Source: BBC February 19, 2026 07:33 UTC