Craig Burley

I was just thinking about how Man City cover up their deficiencies.

And you could argue the weakest point of their team is the two full-backs.

Yes, Nico Reilly has done well and he's played for England.

He's a good young player.

But he's not a left-back.

Matthias Nunes is not a right-back.

So they can get exposed.

Newcastle did their homework at the weekend with Jacob Murphy and Harvey Barnes.

And because... And he's going to have to figure this out, Guardiola.

Because City played as narrow as they did at Newcastle and as they do, they had Cherky and Phil Foden in behind Erling Haaland.

Whenever they coughed the ball up, all Newcastle did was, as soon as they won it, they went wide.

And the full-backs, Lewis Hall and Livermento, in the first 45 minutes, had more touches than anybody else in the field.

Why?

Because every time they coughed it up in midfield or Newcastle won it back, they went wide and they had a two-on-one.

So he's going to have to figure out a way to get the balance right in this side.

Yeah, it's all very well said.

Well, Foden will play and Cherky will play and Haaland will score goals.

But when you're not as dominant as you once were and you're losing the ball, teams are going to pinpoint your full-backs and your wide areas.

And Newcastle did that brilliantly at the weekend.

And that is something that Guardiola is going to have to figure out.