Pep Guardiola took charge of Manchester City in the summer of 2016, bringing with him a possession-based, positionally structured approach he had already used to success at Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Over the years that followed, City built one of the Premier League’s most dominant squads, winning multiple league titles and cup competitions while becoming a reference point for how modern top-flight sides structure their build-up play.
A different kind of centre-forward
The club’s approach evolved further after the 2022 signing of Erling Haaland, a more traditional, goal-focused centre-forward joining a system previously built around fluid, interchangeable attacking movement. Blending Haaland’s direct goal threat with Guardiola’s possession principles became one of the more closely studied tactical stories in recent Premier League seasons, and City’s positional-play blueprint continues to influence coaching approaches well beyond Manchester.