A full tactical breakdown of Guardiola’s historic 22-23 system and its
accurate FM26 recreation.
Following City’s 100-point haul in 2017/18, the club continued to dominate English football, winning three of the following four Premier League titles, cementing Guardiola’s legacy as one of the very best managers to grace the best league in the world.
However, year after year, one thing continually alluded Manchester City: the UEFA Champions League.
In 2020/21, the Cityzens reached the Final, however, they succumbed to the insurmountable pressure on their shoulders as they were defeated 1-0 in the Final by domestic rivals, Chelsea, in Portugal.
Pep and Manchester City avenged this defeat across an incredible few months in the twilight embers of the 22/23 season to win the UEFA Champions League for the very first time in the club’s history, as they beat Inter Milan 1-0 in Istanbul.
This victory was the culmination of a historic Treble-winning campaign, writing City into the history books as the second English side to complete such a feat, after Manchester United led the way in 1999.
In this article, I’ll be providing my brief analysis of the system that achieved such success, before demonstrating my recreation of the tactics in Football Manager 2026 and showcasing the magnificent results said tactics achieved in testing.
Firstly, let’s analyse the core principles of their treble-winning system
The Rebirth of the Libero
The ‘Libero’ role was a role that was popularised by Germany in the 70s, with Franz Beckenbauer excelling in the newly birthed role.
Beckenbauer actually impressed so highly, in fact, that he would go on to win the Ballon d’Or twice during an incredibly illustrious career.
The Libero role became a rarity in the game following Beckenbauer’s retirement, as no club had a centre-back tactically adept and positionally aware enough to suit the role.
Upon discovering multiple squad issues in the middle of 22/23, however, Pep Guardiola would rebirth the role as John Stones would give the classic ‘ball-playing centre-back’ a new lease of life.
From centre-back, Stones would step up into midfield, creating a midfield partnership with Rodri, allowing for City’s two full-backs to invert and form a back-three in-possession.
An example can be seen below:
De Zerbi-Inspired Build-up + Releasing Spare Man
In 22/23, Brighton’s Head Coach, at the time, Roberto De Zerbi introduced the Premier League to an all-new evolution of the build-up phase: The idea of ‘Baiting the Press’.
From here, the ‘keeper or centre-back/s would momentarily pause on the ball, awaiting pressure from the opposition.
This tactical evolution bared fruit for De Zerbi’s Brighton side, as they tore apart many teams in 22/23 – however, this also inspired many other managers to implement such ideas; Guardiola was one of these.
In build-up, Guardiola would ask Ederson and Rúben Dias to draw in the press, wherefrom City, using a few, quick passing exchanges, could manipulate and exploit the resulting space in-behind/in between the lines.
In addition, Guardiola also implemented an adapted build-up shape: From build-up, Stones would immediately progress into midfield, both full-backs would stay wide, and Ederson would step up alongside Dias to form the side’s back-four.
This chain reaction of movement would give City an extra man in build-up, usually forcing teams to cede possession in these deeper areas.
An example of this shape can be seen below, from City’s 1-4 win against Southampton from the relevant season:
Below, you can see how I recreated this in-game as part of this tactic:
Let’s Break Down the Tactic
In Possession
City’s in-possession ventures often began deep in their own half, as they would work to try and draw in the press from the opposition – if said press would arrive, they would bravely play through the pressure.
As City progressed up the pitch, they would look to utilise their extra man in midfield, as a result of their box-midfield, to aid gradual progression.
When they would reach the final third, City would be patient and would work meticulously to formulate the best possible chances.
As a general rule of thumb, City would prioritise shorter passes in order to reliably retain and recycle possession.
Out of Possession
When City would lose possession, they would instantaneously launch an aggressive counter-press to try and immediately regain possession, in-line with Pep’s ‘six-second rule’.
When City didn’t have the ball for sustained periods, they would press the opposition high – however, they were very particular with their pressing triggers, usually waiting for the opposition to be positioned wide before fully committing to a high-press.
To supplement their high-press, the backline would hold a higher position to compact the space between the lines.
Player Roles
Ball-Playing Goalkeeper | Sweeper Keeper
Ederson’s elite ball-playing capabilities were at the forefront of City’s build-up in this system, as he would step higher to join Dias to form a back-four for City.
When City didn’t have the ball, he would hold a higher position, anticipating any loose through balls in-behind the high line.
Therefore, I felt this role combination replicated this best. No added instructions.
(DR) Inside Full-Back | Full-Back
In this system, both full-backs would begin wider initially, before inverting inside to form the team’s back-three in-possession.
Whilst the movements were similar for both full-backs, I felt there was a slight disparity between the two when each had the ball – on the right, Walker was far more willing to carry forward than Aké on the left, hence the difference in player instructions:
Centre-Back | Centre-Back
In this position, Dias was relatively reserved both positionally and in regard to his eccentricity with the ball at his feet, usually opting for safer passes to retain and recycle possession for the side.
Therefore, I felt this role combination worked perfectly. No added instructions.
(DL) Inside Full-Back | Full-Back
As aforementioned, both full-backs, in this system, were to begin wider initially, before inverting to form the side’s back-three in-possession.
Aké was the least adventurous of the pair, in-possession, and that’s reflected by the lack of player instructions.
(DMCR) Defensive Midfielder | Centre-Back
Of course, I could have selected the ‘Advanced Centre-Back’ role for the Stones role in this tactic – however, from build-up, that wouldn’t create the space needed for the ‘keeper to step up, akin to that of Pep’s City in 22/23.
Therefore, I felt this role combination worked perfectly. No added instructions.
(DMCL) Defensive Midfielder | Screening Defensive Midfielder
In this position, Rodri held the fort for the side both in and out of possession.
When City didn’t have the ball, they would often switch into a faux-4-1-2-1-2 pressing shape, wherefrom Rodri would screen the centre of the pitch.
Therefore, I felt this role combination was best suited. No added instructions.
Channel Midfielder | Centre Forward
In this system, Kevin De Bruyne dominated the right half-space, surging the team forward with marauding carries and supplying teammates constantly with beautiful crosses into the back-post and sumptuous through balls in-behind the opposition.
Additionally, whilst he predominantly operated in the right half-space, De Bruyne could roam around to disrupt the opposition’s low block and draw opposition midfielders and/or defenders out of position.
When City didn’t have the ball, De Bruyne would move higher to form a front two with Haaland.
Therefore, I felt this role combination was most suitable, with the added in-possession instructions:
Attacking Midfielder | Pressing Defensive Midfielder
In this position, Gundogan would also predominantly operate in the half-spaces.
However, Gundogan would often ghost in and around Haaland and/or the penalty area, as his late-season form carried City at times – his two goals vs Everton at Goodison Park were crucial as City ended up cruising to a vital 0-3 win in the title race.
When City didn’t have the ball, Gundogan would drop deeper than De Bruyne, however, he would regularly step up to press the opposition’s single-pivot.
Therefore, I felt this role combination worked best, with the added instructions:
(AMR) Winger | Wide Midfielder
In this system, both wingers were instructed to hold the team’s width, allowing for De Bruyne and Gundogan to operate in the half-spaces, thus creating a 5v4 against the opposition’s backline.
Additionally, this wider positioning would put City’s wingers in ideal positions to attack the opposition full-back/s 1 vs 1.
On the right side, Silva was often deployed here and, in this position, he would sometimes sit comparatively narrower than his wide counterpart, allowing him to get into goalscoring positions more regularly.
A great example of this would be when Silva gave City the lead in their famous 4-0 demolition of Real Madrid in the Champions League Semi-Final 2nd leg.
Therefore, I felt this role combination was most ideal, with the added instructions:
(AML) Winger | Wide Midfielder
Unlike Silva on the opposite flank, Grealish would almost always reside as wide on the left-side as possible.
From here, he could take on the opposition full-back regularly or could supply a through ball in-behind, into the half-spaces for Gundogan to chase.
Therefore, I felt this role combination was best fit, with the added instructions:
Poacher | Centre Forward
Haaland ran riot in City’s treble-winning campaign, scoring 52 goals in all competitions, including a record-breaking 36 goals in the Premier League.
Whilst Haaland was, relatively speaking, quiet in the latter stages of the season, his FIVE goals in a 7-0 drubbing of RB Leipzig helped City to progress into the Quarter-Finals of the Champions League.
I felt this role combination best replicated his goalscoring proficiency in-game.
Results
Premier League
In testing, we were absolutely fantastic as we strolled to the Premier League title, amassing 100 points across an outstanding league campaign where we won 33 of our 38 games!
In the 38 league games, we scored 104 goals (2.7 goals per game) and conceded just 26 goals (0.6 goals per game).
Domestic Cups
The first trophy up for grabs this season was the Carabao Cup, wherefrom we reached the Final.
In the Final, however, an early James Garner goal was enough for Everton to seal a 1-0 win at Wembley, quickly extinguishing any hopes of us achieving a quadruple this season.
We would avenge this failure, however, by winning the FA Cup, defeating Liverpool 0-2 in the FA Cup Final!
On our way to Wembley, we beat the likes of Spurs (0-1) and Bristol City (0-3).
UEFA Champions League
City won the Treble in real-life, and we replicated that feat as we beat domestic rivals, Arsenal, 2-1 in the UEFA Champions League Final to secure our third, and final, trophy of the season!
On our way to the Final, we overcame the likes of Spurs (3-1 AGG), Real Madrid (3-2 AGG), and Barcelona (4-2 AGG), after finishing 3rd in the League Phase.
Read Also
- FM26 Tactics Hub
- FM26 Best Youth Academies
- FM26 Wonderkids by PA, Price & Position
- FM26 Transfer Budgets
Conclusion
Pep’s treble-winning campaign may well prove to be the crescendo of his time at the Cityzens, however, what a campaign it was – especially considering how the campaign was threatened with potential mediocrity as late as late January!
From February 2023 to May 2023, City were simply unstoppable, and that culminated in their night in blue paradise.
If you want a taste of this fantastic tactic, make sure to download the tactic using the link attached to this article and make sure to follow FM Blog (@fmbIog) and myself (@AshtonGgmu) on our respective socials.
I hope you have enjoyed this article, and I wish you much success with this tactic on your saves! Thanks for reading!
