City's defensive frailties expose Donnarumma and Guehi after 2-1 loss to Villa
Manchester City's 100% start to the Premier League ended at Villa Park on Saturday as Aston Villa beat them 2-1, Nicolas Jackson scoring twice to sink City and leave manager Enzo Maresca facing defensive questions.
Since the start of last season, only eight players have made more errors leading to Premier League goals than Gianluigi Donnarumma and Marc Guehi, with three each, and City have registered only one clean sheet in their past six matches. Their most recent shutout came in a win at Liverpool two weeks ago, but around that game they have conceded to teams including Paris St-Germain and Sunderland, leaving Maresca to try different backline combinations.
Asked if the two goals were avoidable, Maresca told TNT Sports: "Absolutely, both. "Sometimes you have to be a bit more lucky because we only conceded those two chances, but we created a lot of chances. "We played most of the game in their box but you have to be clinical and avoid mistakes like the two goals we conceded."
Donnarumma, signed last summer to replace Ederson, has struggled with the ball at his feet and repeatedly put team-mates under pressure with passes out from the back. Captain Ruben Dias was seen gesticulating for the ball to be sent up the pitch after Donnarumma failed to control a difficult pass, and while Donnarumma could do little about Jackson's first, the Italy captain "could probably have done a little bit better" with the second, according to former City defender Steph Houghton on BBC Radio 5 Live.
James Trafford's summer move to Leeds for £45m was referenced amid comparisons in distribution and sweeping; Trafford "has made more passes than Donnarumma this season, has a slightly better rate at preventing goals and has come out to sweep the ball 11 times compared with Donnarumma's one," the club sources noted.
Marc Guehi, signed for £20m from Crystal Palace in January, has endured a difficult spell after a loose pass at Everton late last season that was blamed for costing City in the title race and helping eventual champions Arsenal. This campaign he was held culpable for both Ipswich goals last weekend, was caught by John McGinn to set up Villa's opener, hauled down Jackson on the edge of the box and received a yellow before being withdrawn at half-time.
Maesca experimented with personnel in response: Abdukodir Khusanov, whom City had identified as back-up should Matheus Nunes not be available, started wide, "struggled before being moved inside in place of Guehi," and Rico Lewis was introduced to cover the vacancy, with Maresca admitting he needs to "find that balance" in defence.
City face Brighton twice next week — in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday and in the Premier League on Saturday — and the Italian coach will need to address the defensive lapses if they are to prevent the issues becoming more serious.
