One of the two most creative passers on Manchester City’s books was in the starting 11. He had an assist after 14 minutes. Not for City, admittedly. Joao Cancelo was in the Bayern Munich team. The beneficiary of his supply line was not Erling Haaland but Kingsley Coman. He was facing Wolfsburg and a former Wolfsburg playmaker, Kevin De Bruyne, became the latest public target of Pep Guardiola’s displeasure. There was no pretence of a minor injury. His demotion was tactical. “Definitely,” said Guardiola. was
There are different forms of exile, to the Bundesliga and the bench. One will last for five months. The other spanned 58 minutes. It offered scant evidence City are better off without the player with the most assists in the Premier League this season and the fifth most in its history. It did demonstrate the restlessness of Guardiola, the fractiousness with some of his players that has extended beyond Cancelo’s dramatic fall from grace. But without the creators, City weren’t creative enough.
