Pep must ruthlessly drop 5/10 Man City star

Manchester City’s miserable run of form continued on Saturday afternoon, with Crystal Palace claiming a point against the four-in-a-row Premier League champions.

It means that Pep Guardiola’s typically imperious outfit have secured just one win from nine matches in all competitions, and hands first-placed Liverpool an eight-point lead – with Arne Slot’s side holding a game in hand.

It’s patent that the Cityzens need to complete a rebuild across the coming transfer windows, and there’s one man above all else who is facing a pile of detractors after a spate of wretched performances.

Kyle Walker struggles once again

One of the greatest right-backs in Premier League history, it would appear that Father Time is starting to catch up with Kyle Walker, whose pace has deserted him as he continues to move toward his 35th birthday.

He’s been singled out for criticism on numerous occasions across the past few months, and rightly so. The Manchester Evening News could only provide the veteran with a 4/10 match rating, correspondent Simon Bajkowski noting that ‘the miserable season continues.’

Though the Three Lions star managed to make three tackles and win three of his four ground duels, as per Sofascore, his positional sense, or lack of it, played Daniel Munoz onside for the opening goal of the game. Moreover, he was easily beaten for the Eagles’ second.

You’d imagine that when Guardiola turns to address his side’s need for incomings, signing a new right-back will be the first port of call.

Honestly, though, the entire right flank failed to produce against a voluble Selhurst Park that proved well worth the point gained. Savinho is a talented young winger with plenty of room for growth, but it’s hard to argue that he’s at the requisite level for Guardiola’s project as things stand.

Why Pep must brutally drop Savinho

Savinho is electric-paced and creative too, but he’s yet to find his feet in Manchester. As per FBref, he ranks among the top 1% of wingers in the English top flight this season for shot-creating actions and the top 2% for progressive carries per 90, so there’s clearly some wonderful quality there.

A carry is considered progressive if the ball is moved towards the opponent’s goal at least 10 yards from its starting point or is carried into the penalty area.

The 20-year-old Brazilian joined the Sky Blues from French club Troyes this summer for about £31m, but he’s struggling to get to grips with the rigorous Premier League and lacks bite in key moments.

This was certainly the case against Palace, for he was hooked after 79 minutes having failed to stamp his authority on the match, taking just 34 touches – less than shot-stopper Stefan Ortega (42) – losing four duels and registering only one key pass.

It’s hardly surprising that MEN gave him a 5/10 match rating and rebuked his ‘anonymous’ showing. Given that he’d been reduced to cameos across City’s previous two top-flight clashes, it’s done him no favours as Guardiola desperately plots for a revival.

Whichever way you look at it, Man City have got problems, and need to turn the ship around quickly if they are to salvage their season.