The evolution of Guardiola’s Man City reveals a key Champions League change

Manchester City's Bernardo Silva (left) and Erling Haaland during a training session - (Martin Rickett/PA Wire)

Manchester City were an indictment of the old Champions League group stage. Now they are an advertisement for the new league phase. They were the team who might have killed off the four-team group: City invariably seemed to have qualified before the penultimate game, let alone the last. Now they are stalked by jeopardy.

A year ago, with 45 minutes remaining, City were losing to Club Brugge, 25th in a 36-team table, facing the earliest of exits. They scrambled up to 22nd, drew Real Madrid and went out before the last 16 even began. Now they are 11th, trapped in congestion, part of a complicated equation. The side that made the Champions League predictable now make it unpredictable. Their last three matches have been a win over Real Madrid in Spain, sandwiched by a home defeat to Bayer Leverkusen and a historic loss to Bodo/Glimt.