Two Man City players could have new roles after Pep Guardiola experiments

It got lost amid Erling Haaland's blistering hat-trick, but Pep Guardiola produced another intriguing tactical switch in Manchester City's win this weekend.

Trailing 2-0 and completely second best, Guardiola called for Ilkay Gundogan and Julian Alvarez just five minutes into the second half, and the pair were ready as Bernardo Silva danced along the edge of the box and fired in City's first goal. That prompted a re-think as Gundogan and Alvarez were sent back to warm up, although they were soon introduced and they quietly changed the game.

Gundogan took up his usual midfield role, replacing Joao Cancelo as City reverted to three at the back, while Alvarez replaced Riyad Mahrez- but he didn't stay on the right for long and that was key to the Blues' comeback.

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Instead of Alvarez sticking the the wing, he found himself in the box to flick on Kevin De Bruyne's deep cross to Phil Foden behind him. Foden returned the ball for Erling Haaland to level the scores, before Guardiola's tactical change that could hint at new roles for both Foden and also Bernardo.

Alvarez finished the game on the left wing, where he has previously played for River Plate but not often, with his preferred role through the centre and next-best option on the right. That saw Foden come inside to partner De Bruyne and Gundogan in midfield, suggesting Guardiola may finally start to trust him with the tactical awareness needed to play in the centre.

The third goal came from Alvarez naturally coming into the box for a corner, playing a clever one-two with Bernardo, for the Portuguese to find John Stones who found Haaland. The fourth goal came as Foden fed Gundogan, Alvarez stayed wide