Manchester City host Basel in the second leg of their Champions League knockout phase with
Pep Guardiola’s team taking a 4-0 lead into the fixture.
City have only conceded 9 shots per game in this season’s Champions League, the fourth
lowest behind Liverpool, with 7.6, and Barcelona and Juventus, each on 8.4.
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of City’s defence, though, is the way they initiate
attacks from deep – all are comfortable on the ball and capable of retaining it under
pressure.
And goalkeeper Ederson is crucial to this, and to Guardiola’s style of play more generally.
City generally play in a 4-3-3, with full backs pushing up and Fernandinho dropping.
This creates a series of passing options from the back for the Brazilian ‘keeper, who
can go long if required but, generally speaking, goes short.
When Ederson is in possession, City’s centre backs, two of Stones, Kompany, and Otamendi,
split wide and drop more or less level with Ederson.
This is especially true if Ederson is at the extremities of his area or, even, outside
it.
Fernandinho drops between the lines, affording a direct vertical pass as well, while City’s
full backs push or drop into space.
It’s worth noting that Walker and whoever is playing at left full back do not push up
without thought, and will drop in if it creates the sort of shape that Guardiola’s positional
play encourages.
Ederson is left footed and does prefer to play off that foot; he’s confident enough
to shape his body away from the opposition to pass out to his right rather than needing
to see where the danger is coming from.
His focus, indeed, is on the pass receiver less than the opposition striker; it’s the
kind of composure not normally associated with ‘keepers.
With Ederson as comfortable and adept as he is, the opposition effectively need to press
a fifth defender, if they want to press high.
Basel, in the first leg, used a 3-4-2-1, with Dimitri Oberlin the lone front man.
He worked extremely hard to press Ederson, or City’s centre backs, with Valentin Stocker
and Mohamed Elyounoussi flanking him.
That front three could have pressed a back four quite capably, manoeuvring the ball wide
or long by pressing a combination of men and passing lanes.
But Ederson is always an option or, if he’s initiating the move, passing to City’s defenders
who are just as capable on the ball.
Because of this Basel, and Oberlin in particular, were left chasing shadows.
There was always at least one option available to whichever City player was on the ball,
even if all three Basel players were pressing effectively.
Should an opposition press be effective, Ederson also passes the ball long with ease.
While it doesn’t need to happen often, such is City’s skill in building from the back,
going long is always an effective option.
As City’s defenders drop off and lure the opposition into a press, one of the two central
midfielders will often move laterally into a space vertically above Fernandinho to provide
an out ball.
Ederson can also go long and wide.
It poses a quandary for opposition sides: do they push high and try to force an error
but risk getting caught out with a long pass, or do they sit off and let City build from
the back?
Ederson allows City to do either – it’s one of the reasons Guardiola made recruiting
the right ‘keeper such a priority.
Of course, Ederson is not just a passer of the ball, though his 87.8% in Champions League
fixtures is seriously impressive – Ederson is a fine shot stopper and his ability as
a sweeper keeper who plays behind a high line also allows City to push up and press.
A ‘keeper who makes saves, commands his box, and plays with a natural confidence that
was never present in his immediate predecessor Claudio Bravo, Ederson does all the basics
well.
But he’s more than the basics.
Johan Cruyff, Guardiola’s mentor and inspiration, famously said, “In my teams, the goalie
is the first attacker, and the striker the first defender.”
Ederson is just that – it’s little wonder he’s so important to Guardiola’s City.