One of the reasons that Joao Cancelo was allowed to leave Manchester City in the January transfer window was because the team have shifted in defence.
Pep Guardiola has become more cautious with his backline, favouring a three-man defence (usually made up entirely of centre-backs) with a full-back moving in alongside Rodri. There are fewer opportunities for a full-back to roam forward with abandon, and more insistence on not making individual errors - neither of which suits Cancelo.
This has worked in some games, but in others it has crumbled and left City looking fundamentally weaker. Individual errors mean they have shot themselves in the foot, while the safety-first approach at the back has stifled one of the hallmarks of the team in building out from the back.
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It seems no coincidence that as well as Cancelo being moved out of the team for this approach, Aymeric Laporte has only started one of eight Premier League matches since the World Cup break. Laporte does make mistakes - he lost his place in the team after errors in a defeat at Tottenham a few years ago, funnily enough - but he is also seen as the best ballplaying defender who keep City on the front foot and improves their build-up play better than anybody else in his position.
While it may not be as simple as saying that sticking Laporte in will automatically mean that all those balls will find Erling Haaland and City will win every game, playing Laporte or not does seem like a decision that will have to be a wider tactical point for the whole XI. And, while it may not have been what Guardiola had planned, recent performances and results surely warrant a rethink.
Sunday's defeat at Spurs left City on 13 points from their seven games since the restart, a really poor figure that would see them struggle to make the Champions League places if replicated across a season never mind challenging for a title. As Ilkay Gundogan said after the Southampton game, something is off.
As it is, their form before the World Cup and results around them means that they are still very much in the race to claim their third successive title, and with leaders Arsenal still to play them twice there is every chance they could close the gap. That will require a greater consistency than the Blues have shown recently though, winning the games around the 'big' ones to validate any good results.
Guardiola will have to work out whether it is worth revisiting the Laporte factor - whether he brings the actual player in or not, although with John Stones injured there is nobody else who can really compare - as he looks to try and find that missing ingredient that has brought the team so much success.
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