If Pep Guardiola was understandably deflated after another bad defeat at Real Madrid, it was actually all the more acute because of the game immediately before.
There’s a belief around Manchester City that the Catalan was unusually emboldened by the FA Cup victory over Newcastle United. The team had recently seen a revival of their attacking play through an aggressive formation that involved Antoine Semenyo tucking in while the full-backs offered the width, with Rodri pinning everything together. Modified for the cup game at St James’ Park, City produced what was probably their most complete performance in months.
