Guardiola's hint at Alvarez plan
Julian Alvarez was a surprise inclusion in the Manchester City matchday squad vs Everton, especially after Pep Guardiola had said the striker wouldn't be back in Manchester until after the game. But he was back in training on Friday, and on the bench on Saturday, getting a hero's entrance onto the pitch pre-match as he showed the Etihad crowd his World Cup winner's medal. Whenever he went to warm up, the North Stand rose to applaud their champion, and the whole stadium roared as he was introduced late on to try and find a winner.
As City switched to a back three, Alvarez lined up alongside Erling Haaland in the 15 minutes or so he was on, including injury time. Alvarez has played behind Haaland whenever they have previously played together, but this was a more decisive front two, with Alvarez floating around his taller teammate and two wingers looking to put balls in the box and three midfielders offering support. The need to find a winner will have influenced his move a little further forward, but after Alvarez did so much to create space for Lionel Messi at the World Cup, could this be a hint at how Guardiola plans to use his world champion from now on? And could one less man in defence be a formation that facilitates playing Alvarez alongside Haaland more often?
