Manchester City repeated as Premier League champions for a fourth year in a row, holding off title challenges from recent competitors Arsenal and usual title rivals Liverpool.
Although Man City’s attacking superstars like Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne draw the most international headlines, the strength of this side lies in a steady defense that maintains consistency throughout the season.
With new signing Josko Gvardiol, the starting back line of Gvardiol, Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake, and Kyle Walker was exceptional, just as it was when Ake was removed so that the unit was a back three.
Furthermore, Manchester City have additional defensive options in Manuel Akanji and former center back – now defensive midfielder – John Stones.
In short, Manchester City are loaded in defense. But when they go to a back four, just how elite is their defensive unit?
Let’s take a look at how Man City’s back four stacks up against the best back fours in European football. The Citizens do play a back three, so, when appropriate, their best back three will be compared to another club’s trio.
Comparing Man City’s back four to Premier League title contenders
Manchester City mainly have to be concerned with comparing themselves to the direct competition in the Premier League, and both Liverpool and Arsenal have strong back lines when at full strength.
Arsenal are widely seen as the standard comparison for Manchester City because they have been the main title contenders these past two seasons, and they also have an acclaimed back four.
The thing is, Arsenal mainly derive their strength from the center back partnership of Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba. Those two together are probably slightly stronger than Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake as a duo.
But even if you want to argue that Arsenal’s center backs are better, it’s hard to argue in favor of their entire back four standing up to Manchester City’s because of the fullback issue,
Josko Gvardiol had a ludicrous first season at the Etihad with five goal contributions and three combined tackles and interceptions per game.
Arsenal’s left back of choice Oleksandr Zinchenko is good, but the former Man City man isn’t even a nailed-on starter at this point.
Then, the split in quality between the right backs is also significant. Ben White, again, is a solid player, but Kyle Walker is the best one-on-one defender at the right back position and has proven it by being the only player to consistently shut Vinicius Junior down.
So when comparing the back fours comprehensively, Manchester City take the cake over Arsenal because of the dynamism of Gvardiol and the consistent pedigree of Walker.
Next up is Liverpool, with their back line of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andrew Robertson, Ibrahima Konate, and Virgil van Dijk. Thanks to bounce-back seasons from all of those players, Liverpool have an enticing argument of their own.
The problem is that Liverpool lack the same consistency. Konate is frequently injured, and Robertson also missed some games last season.
It is important to point out the injuries, because Liverpool’s backup options aren’t as strong as Man City’s. That’s because the Citizens have players like Akanji and Stones available at multiple positions, and they can even shift into a back three.
Liverpool are more vulnerable defensively on the flanks, especially when Alexander-Arnold and Robertson go into cold spells where they start making silly mistakes.
Better than Real Madrid
Real Madrid are the defending champions of Europe, and in the last three Champions League tournaments, the winner of Real Madrid vs. Manchester City has decided the outcome of the tournament.
Therefore, on a larger scale, Real Madrid are the benchmark Manchester City compare themselves to, and although the Merengue club knocked them out of this year’s tournament in the quarterfinals, Pep Guardiola can say he has Carlo Ancelotti beat in one respect.
Man City do have a stronger defense than Madrid. The only player in the Real Madrid back four who would definitively start for Manchester City is Eder Militao, and only Antonio Rudiger and Dani Carvajal have potential arguments.
Again, the same discussion regarding Man City vs. Arsenal can be had with comparing Manchester City’s back four to Real Madrid’s defensive unit.
You could potentially argue that Eder Militao and Antonio Rudiger are a stronger pairing than Nathan Ake and Ruben Dias, but when comparing the back fours as a whole, Man City run away with it because of the difference in quality at left back.
Dani Carvajal can make a stronger argument to push Kyle Walker out than, say, Ben White could for Arsenal, but there is no question that Josko Gvardiol is a superior player to Ferland Mendy – certainly offensively and maybe even defensively, too.
Real Madrid actually wanted to sign Gvardiol last summer, but as was the case with the Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez transfer battles, Man City simply wanted to get the deal done more and therefore got the player.
The best of the rest
There are only two other teams worth comparing Manchester City’s defensive unit to, and they are Tottenham and City’s 2023 Champions League Final opponents Inter Milan.
Tottenham have four talented young players starting defensively in Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero, Destiny Udogie, and Pedro Porro. They can also call upon smart winter signing Radu Dragusin.
The thing is, none of those four players would start for Manchester City. Although Tottenham have greatly revamped their defense with Ange Postecoglou now in charge, they are still young and relatively unproven as a whole.
Inter Milan offer a far more intriguing comparison as a back three with Francesco Acerbi, Alessandro Bastoni, and Benjamin Pavard being the main starters when the Nerazzurri are at full strength.
But again, while all three of these players are good, none of them would start for City. Acerbi is a grizzled veteran who gets the job done, but Ruben Dias is a former Premier League Player of the Year as a center back.
Pavard vs. Walker is an advantage to Walker because of his consistency over the years and superior defensive skills. Bastoni is a great young player and one of the best ball-playing center backs in the world, but whatever he is strong at, Gvardiol is even better.
Manchester City have the best defense in the world
When looking at the landscape of European football, Manchester City come out on top. Right now, their defense is the best in the world when looking at their versatility, flexibility, experience, and even upside when accounting for the growth Gvardiol can undertake in his second season at the age of 22.
Manchester City have constructed a defensive unit under Pep Guardiola that is adept at playing the ball, capable of marking to strikers, and has personnel who mesh well.
Liverpool, Arsenal, and even Inter Milan have strong back fours that can compete with Manchester City due to having strong starters in all positions, but Man City remain the defensive benchmark in European football going into 2024/25, barring any interesting moves from, say, Real Madrid with Alphonso Davies and Leny Yoro squarely on the Merengue radar.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He covered Real Madrid from 2019-2022 for The Real Champs as a site manager. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.