Pep Guardiola has admitted that Mo Salah was among four players from whom he ‘learnt’ a game-changing tactical lesson this season.
The Liverpool superstar inflicted one of just four Premier League defeats on Manchester City during their latest title-winning campaign, scoring the winner at Anfield in October.
The Spaniard acknowledged that coming up against forwards of the Egyptian’s ilk in recent months prompted him to realise the importance of solid defending from his full-backs and implement a notable change in personnel in that position at the Etihad Stadium.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the Cityzens beat Chelsea on Sunday (via 90min), Guardiola said: “I learnt this season when you play against Bukayo Saka, Vinicius Junior, Gabriel Martinelli or Mohamed Salah, you need proper defenders to win duels one-on-one.
“They need just one action to beat you. Nathan [Ake] gave us a boost that we did not have in the past.”
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There has been a significant changing of the guard at left-back for Man City over the past year, with some of it perhaps prompted by Salah. After Oleksandr Zinchenko was sold to Arsenal last summer, Joao Cancelo began the current campaign as Guardiola’s first-choice on the left of defence.
However, the manner in which the Portugal international was turned by the Egyptian for Liverpool’s winner against City seven months ago may have accelerated the manager’s willingness to loan him out to Bayern Munich.
Instead, two nominal centre-backs in Ake and Manuel Akanji have been preferred at left-back, with both players impressing in that role as the Manchester club won a third successive Premier League title.
It’s a sign of Salah’s enduring brilliance that a manager as successful as Guardiola felt he could learn something from coming up against the Reds attacker, who’s scored on eight of his last nine appearances against the Cityzens (Transfermarkt) and continues to be a thorn in their side.