Unusually for a man whose Manchester City side are sitting 11 points clear at the top of the Premier League, Pep Guardiola must feel like he is surrounded.
City’s success as they chase a fourth league title in five seasons has served as a vindication of Guardiola’s playing style, grounded in the methods established by the great Johan Cruyff at Ajax and Barcelona.
Transporting his high-possession, high pressing methodology from Barca to Bayern Munich and now City has made Guardiola’s positional play one of the defining tactical methodologies of the age.
