107 points, 102 goals, 16 conceded and a quadruple — the complete FM26 recreation of Guardiola's revived 3-2-5, built around Nico O'Reilly's box-crashing runs from the left half-space.
Manchester City, this season, have struggled relative to their usual, substantially successful standards: they trail league leaders Arsenal by a significant margin at the summit of the Premier League table, whilst having been knocked out of the UEFA Champions League by Real Madrid, who demolished City 1-5 on aggregate. However, through the midst of the potent cloud that blocks out City's blue moon, a young, talented full-back has emerged as the potential solution to City's tactical dilemma.
25/26 has been Nico O'Reilly's breakout campaign, starring for the Cityzens at both full-back and in the centre of their star-studded midfield, and this season has deservedly earned his first international caps. Additionally, his brilliant brace in the Carabao Cup Final against fierce domestic rivals Arsenal helped his side to win their first trophy in almost two years. And, in the following game, O'Reilly starred once more as the Cityzens put Liverpool to the sword in a rampant 4-0 victory in the FA Cup, taking City one step closer to their second trophy of the season. But what is Pep Guardiola doing, tactically, to maximise this excellent full-back and those around him?
The Revival of the 3-2-5
Between 2023 and 2024, City and their famed 3-2-5 in-possession structure ruled all of England and, at one point, Europe. It was simply unstoppable — until it wasn't. As teams began to figure out how to stifle City's almost omnipotent attack, Pep Guardiola had to go back to the drawing board to try and devise an alternative strategy. Pep and his side increasingly leaned into a narrower, relationist approach, and this did, at times, bear fruit — however, City just simply didn't suit such an approach over the course of a prolonged period.
Now, as part of maximising Nico O'Reilly and those around him, Pep Guardiola has revived the 3-2-5 shape that was the catalyst to success in yesteryear. From his original left-back position, O'Reilly will invert into the left half-space in the attacking line of five. In turn, the right-back (Nunes, thus far) will stay deeper to form City's back-three with the side's two centre-backs, whilst City's double pivot remains deep to help form the side's 3-2 base. For a detailed breakdown of how the Playmaking Wing-Back and Inside Full-Back roles power this structure, our FM26 role synergy guide covers these pairings in depth.
Added Flexibility
Unlike much of previous years and their respective 3-2-5 set-ups at City, the side's aforementioned 3-2-5 in-possession shape is much less rigid, as City can situationally drift into alternative shapes like the 3-1-3-3 / 3-diamond-3 and 3-3-4 structures. With the arrival of more versatile profiles, such as Rayan Cherki and Antoine Semenyo — who naturally drift and deviate from their respective positions — City are more inclined to form situational 'sub-structures' within the overriding, primary structure of the 3-2-5. Examples of these can be seen in the diagrams below.
O'Reilly's Impact
As previously mentioned, Nico O'Reilly has been the catalyst to City's recent upturn in form. From the left half-space, he shows incredible tactical understanding and flexibility to be at the heart of a lot of City's attacks — you will be able to observe him dropping deeper to receive the ball or alternatively making a penetrative run in-behind the opposition's defensive line. This constant movement causes immense indecision in the opposition's rearguard, as they try to keep pace with the relentless full-back.
However, Nico O'Reilly is most threatening to the opposition's defence when he is, seemingly, one of the least potent threats on the pitch. As City progress into the final third, O'Reilly will initially camp just outside the opposition's penalty area, before making ghosting runs beyond the opposition midfield line — of whom is unbeknownst to the impending danger — to ruthlessly crash the box. This exact strategy was the key to City's success in the Carabao Cup Final, as O'Reilly single-handedly defeated the formidable Arsenal rearguard.
Let's Break Down the Tactic
In Possession
In build-up, City's strategy revolves around drawing in the opposition's high press. From here, City's 'keeper will hold onto the ball for a prolonged period to entice the opposition higher, before distributing short when he deems it best suited. City will use a lot of short passes in this phase to manipulate the opposition and eventually force the opponents deeper.
Upon progressing beyond the build-up phase, City will look to utilise counter-movements to create space in-behind, which they can ruthlessly penetrate with searching through balls. Additionally, City will look to attack the half-spaces often. Once reaching the final third, City will be patient in their attacking exploits, looking to meticulously break the opposition down rather than taking too many speculative shots from range.
In general, City looks to stretch the opposition as wide as possible in accordance with their 'maximum width' approach. Furthermore, players are encouraged to express themselves in an attempt to individually break down the opposition's defence.
Out of Possession
When City don't have the ball, they will operate from within an aggressive high block, from where they will close down the opposition often with the ultimate goal of forcing them wide. To supplement this, Pep Ljinders' time at Liverpool and the effect of his tenure there shows, as City's defensive line is positioned very high — akin to Liverpool's defensive line with Ljinders as Assistant Manager under Jürgen Klopp. Finally, upon losing the ball, City will look to counter-press to try and regain possession as quickly as possible.
Player Roles
Goalkeeper | Sweeper Keeper
In this system, the 'keeper — unlike previous iterations of Pep's City — will remain deeper than the backline in build-up, offering a backwards secondary passing option as City looks to draw the opposition high. This backwards pass, if played, would be seen by the opposition as a trigger to close down City's 'keeper. When City don't have the ball, their 'keeper will hold an advanced position to be in an optimal position to sweep any loose through balls in-behind City's defence, whilst also being active in claiming loose crosses into the penalty area.
Inside Full-Back | Full-Back — Nunes
Nunes, in this system, is asked to supplement O'Reilly's advancing movements by remaining deeper and forming a back-three for City. Upon receiving the ball, Nunes will tend to carry the ball forward and can, at times, cross from deep.
Centre-Back | Centre-Back
City's right-sided centre-back will primarily focus on retaining and recycling possession and his defensive responsibilities, offering a calmer presence in the centre of City's back-three whilst the two exterior centre-backs will be more progressive and adventurous.
Ball-Playing Centre-Back | Centre-Back — Marc Guehi
Marc Guehi has been a fantastic signing for Manchester City, arriving from Crystal Palace in the winter just gone. In this system, he operates from the left side of the side's back-three, from where he will carry the ball forward often and can progress the ball with line-breaking passes into midfield. Additionally, he will drift wider in possession to situationally support the side's left flank.
Playmaking Wing-Back | Full-Back — Nico O'Reilly
In this system, Nico O'Reilly will operate from within the left half-space. From here, he can roam from his position and offer differing passing angles for the players behind him, whilst often making runs in-behind the opposition's defence. This role, combined with the 'Make More Runs' instruction, will see O'Reilly make box-crashing runs into the penalty area, akin to that of real life.
Box-to-Box Playmaker | Defensive Midfielder — Bernardo Silva
Bernardo Silva's form, like Nico O'Reilly's, has seen an upturn since City's change of strategy. From this deeper position, Silva will initially remain deeper to circulate possession. However, as City progress higher up the pitch, Silva can, at times, drift higher into the right half-space and supplement the side's right side in attack — though this only occurs when certain things happen, such as Cherki drifting laterally towards the left side of the pitch. Finally, upon receiving the ball, Silva will dribble and take on his man often, as he has proven to be an elusive figure for opposition midfields to contain.
Defensive Midfielder | Defensive Midfielder — Rodri
In this position, Rodri will hold the fort for the side, simply recycling possession and getting on the ball often.
Advanced Playmaker | Centre Forward — Rayan Cherki
Rayan Cherki has been absolutely splendid for Manchester City since arriving last summer, with his skill, cheek, and maverick nature proving difficult for even Pep Guardiola himself to contain. In this system, he has operated as the side's primary playmaker, often dropping deeper or coming towards the ball to try and create for his teammates.
Upon receiving the ball, Cherki isn't afraid to take on a man to try and break down the opposition's block, whilst he will constantly roam from his position to be a thorn in the side of the opposition. Additionally, he will, at times, drift wider to link up with Semenyo on City's right side. Finally, when City don't have the ball, Cherki will move higher alongside Haaland to help form City's 4-4-2 out-of-possession shape — from here, both will drop deeper as City, as a whole, drops deeper to provide stronger defensive protection.
Wide Forward | Winger — Antoine Semenyo
Antoine Semenyo has been a crucial signing for Manchester City, offering a more direct and potent attacking threat to the side. In this system, Semenyo will hold the width (whilst being able to drift inside at times) and, from here, he can drift from his position to operate in more optimal areas of the pitch. Upon receiving the ball, Semenyo will constantly take on his man, all with the aim of reaching the byline to whip the ball into the box. Finally, both wingers in this system will drop deeper when City don't have the ball.
Winger | Winger — Jeremy Doku
On the other side, Jeremy Doku will hold the width on the left for more prolonged periods than his opposite — from here, upon receiving the ball, Doku will terrorise the opposition's winger with dazzling dribbles in 1v1 situations.
Target Forward | Centre Forward — Erling Haaland
In this system, Erling Haaland's role has expanded, as he is now tasked with situationally dropping deeper — particularly into the left half-space — which may create space for O'Reilly to attack in-behind. Upon receiving the ball, Haaland will keep it simple in linking the play, releasing short to those around him, or will carry the ball forward if there is space to do so.
Results
Premier League
In testing on Football Manager 26 with Manchester City, we demolished almost all competition in the Premier League, cruising to the title and amassing a record-breaking 107 points after winning 35 of our 38 league games. Across our 38 league games, we scored 102 goals (2.68 goals per game) and conceded just 16 goals (0.42 goals per game) — the best record for each statistic.
Domestic Cups
We won our first piece of silverware for the season in the Carabao Cup, destroying Liverpool 1-4 in the Final. On our way to the Final, we beat the likes of Stoke City (8-2 AGG), Brighton (2-0), and Brentford (0-4). We made it a domestic treble as we found success at Wembley again, beating Coventry 0-4 in the Final to secure the FA Cup. On our way to Wembley, we beat the likes of Leeds (0-2), Newcastle (3-0), and Barrow (0-10).
UEFA Champions League
A QUADRUPLE! A dominant display in the UEFA Champions League Final saw us defeat PSG 1-3, as we won our fourth and final trophy of this extraordinary campaign. On our way to the Final we overcame Liverpool (6-0 AGG), Juventus (4-1 AGG), and Marseille (5-2 AGG), after initially topping the League Phase with 8 wins from 8 games.
Conclusion
Whilst success this season will, likely, be few and far between, Manchester City are on the right path and, perhaps under Pep Guardiola and with the exceptional help of a thriving Nico O'Reilly, are gearing up for a much better, much more successful season in 26/27. If you want a taste of this thrilling tactic, make sure to download the tactic using the link attached to this article.
For more FM26 tactical recreations built around modern positional play principles, browse the full FM Blog tactics library. And if you want to understand more about how the Playmaking Wing-Back and IFB roles that power this system actually work in detail, our FM26 role synergy guide is essential reading.
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