Manchester City’s back-to-back Premier League draws with Manchester United and West Brom were met with a mixed reaction, alternating between surprise and confusion.
Pep Guardiola’s great entertainers have lost their swagger and are almost unrecognisable, with adventure seemingly abandoned for pragmatism and daring swapped for sensibility.
The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager has set such incredibly high standards throughout his coaching career that any sort of blip or dip in form would always be seen as a disappointment.
But it has been strange to see a switch to caution, with City meandering through matches without their usual menace and threat to rip apart opponents.
Goals have dried up. City have just 18 from their opening 12 games, with five coming in the victory over Burnley. That’s down from 35 at the same stage last season, exactly half of their last title-winning campaign and 22 fewer than the “Centurion” season.
The knock-on effect has seen them drop more points, less than a third of the way into the season, than they did throughout the entire 2017-18 campaign - with just five wins so far.
"I see the football as global, as a total and everybody is important to do what we have to do," Guardiola insisted ahead of Saturday’s trip to third-placed Southampton.
"The numbers speak for themselves, we didn’t score goals. West Bromwich can score a goal, a deflection, it can happen. But we have to score two or three to win the game. We are not able to do it so we don’t deserve to win.
"We have to insist to play better, and play better to create more chances. This is what we have to do."
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Despite sitting ninth in the table, they remain in the mix of a congested title race - eight points behind Liverpool with a game in hand.
At the same stage last season, they were nine points behind Liverpool having played the same number of games and there is expectation that this season’s champions will collect considerably fewer points than the 99 they have averaged over the past three campaigns.
Football has not been quite the same in the coronavirus era with hectic fixture schedules, empty stadiums and the fear of injuries already impacting on matches this season.
Sides that press hard and high up the pitch, such as City and Liverpool, have not been able to replicate the tactic as effectively.
But that has not been the only change of strategy from Guardiola as he attempts to turn around last season’s underwhelming performances.
City’s problems were easy to identify - teams sitting deep would catch them on the break with speed and precision.
United beat them three times, twice at the Etihad Stadium, while Wolves, Arsenal in the FA Cup and Lyon in the Champions League all used the approach to pull off deserved victories.
City defended high up the pitch - on the halfway line and beyond - and with a lack of pace in a backline that often featured Nicolas Otamendi and Eric Garcia, players such as Marcus Rashford, Adama Traore, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Lyon’s Moussa Dembele were able to run in behind and make them pay.
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Benfica’s Ruben Dias and Bournemouth’s Nathan Ake were brought in to add strength to the defence and, along with the re-emergence of John Stones, City have tightened up considerably - conceding just one deflected goal in the last seven matches.
Part of the reason is that Guardiola has taken a more cautious approach. The normal high-risk, high line dropped a little deeper after it was exposed at the start of the season by Jamie Vardy in the 5-2 home defeat by Leicester.
A consequence of a deeper defence is a bigger gap to the attackers and a danger of opponents playing through the midfield, which is why City have so often played with a double pivot.
Defensive midfielder Rodri has started every Premier League match this season with Ilkay Gundogan or Fernandinho alongside him in two-thirds of the games.
Guardiola has said that defensive stability gives the side something to build on but it has had an undoubted impact on creativity.
The two draws over the past seven days have been in particularly stark contrast to the all-out attacking style that has characterised Guardiola’s time at the Etihad Stadium.
Against United, City created just two real opportunities, missed by Riyad Mahrez and Gabriel Jesus, while Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden remained on the bench as both sides settled for a draw.
Three days later, City struggled to break down a stubborn West Brom defence, failing to have a single shot on goal until the 30th minute.
The Baggies went into the game with hardly any confidence - indeed manager Slaven Bilic was fired shortly after despite picking up what could be a crucial point for their survival hopes.
But with the exception of the creator-in-chief Kevin De Bruyne, City’s ability to make and take chances has seriously deteriorated.
They have of course missed two of the greatest attacking players in the club’s history.
Sergio Aguero has missed much of the season, recovering from a knee injury, while David Silva left in the summer for La Liga challengers Real Sociedad.
Silva’s ability to sneak between the lines and create opportunities in half-spaces during tight games has not been replaced with namesake Bernardo still struggling for consistency and Foden spending much of his game time as a winger.
That emphasis on defensive strength - and the difficulty in creating the usual abundance of good chances - has brought City a long way from their usual entertaining style.
For the first time in his coaching career, Guardiola has had to rebuild a great team, which is not an easy task.
Starting from the back and working forwards may be a necessary development, particularly since City’s vulnerability has been regularly exposed.
"We just need to refresh some things that will maybe help us to play better, that's all we can do," Guardiola added. "We know we can still have an incredible season ahead of us and try to do it."
The City boss has always had his teams playing on the front foot and, along with the fans, he will hope they can get their sparkle back soon.
