The reporter reported coldly Manchester City and Chelsea "double blue" battle, Guardiola let the two new signings of the winter window, Husanov (40 million euros) and Malmuche (75 million), and Brazilian central defender Reis (35 million) also sat on the bench. Although Manchester City beat Chelsea 3-1 to halt the slump of a 4-2 defeat to Paris in the Champions League in midweek, the debut of the high-priced new signings was not ideal. The team still relied on the core players of the previous successful team to rebound, and only then did they reverse the score to win 3-1.

The 19-year-old new central defender Husanov was too nervous and conceded a goal after three minutes with a header back to the field. 1 minute later, he made another mistake in the cross, and he was saved and he was save. Fortunately, Sancho's empty shot was blocked in the ninth minute, allowing Manchester City to avoid the passivity of falling behind by two goals in the opening period. Husanov played 53 minutes and was substituted in his debut, making his debut more disappointed than hopeful.

Egypt winger Marmoush was slightly better, with the exception of as many as three offsides in the first half, with a solo effort saved by Chelsea goalkeeper Alexis Sanchez in the opening two minutes. In the 34th minute, the goal was ruled offside and he missed his first goal for Manchester City. The Egyptian winger was replaced by Kevin De Bruyne in the 74th minute and had only two shots on goal during his appearance, two dribbles and three offsides. However, he was prominent in the forward and showed the advantage of speed and breakthrough.

In the end, Manchester City relied on goals from traditional key players Gvardiol, Erling Haaland and Foden, especially a mistake by Chelsea goalkeeper Alexis Sanchez, to reverse Chelsea 3-1 to return to the top four. The Daily Mail rated new signing central defender Husanov with just four points, while substitute John Stones had seven points. Malmouche had seven points, three offsides and no involvement in the goal, but he did create a threat from the wings. Goalkeeper Ederson and central defenders Joshua Gvardiol and Phil Foden all had 7.5 points, with Haaland scoring the highest number (8). If Manchester City wants to recover its championship strength, it still needs to hope that the form of the "veterans" will recover collectively.

Pep Guardiola started new signings Husanov and Marmush, who already had experience in the top five leagues, and the two had only trained together twice with the team, so they couldn't wait. Husanov opened the scoring with a gift, and he never conceded a goal in Lens. After the game, Pep Guardiola said that he was more interested in the Champions League qualification match against Club Brugge next Wednesday, and was worried that the newly recovered central defender John Stones would come out in a hurry and the old injury would recur, so he gave Husanov the chance to start. He also admitted that Husanov did not understand English and that there were obstacles to integrating into the team in the short term.

Malmoush made a better debut than Husanov, at least adding a breaking point to the previously stagnant Manchester City midfield. Pep Guardiola praised Malmouche by name after the game, emphasizing his positive running, but after all, he was unable to form a tacit understanding with his team-mates when he first joined the team. Next Wednesday's crucial Champions League qualification game against Club Brugge is due toThree new signings are not registered in the Champions League for the time being.Manchester City can only rely on the original team. Thankfully, Ederson, José Gvardiol, John Stones, Phil Foden and Erling Haaland have all improved their form and the probability of a home win is still high. Manchester City cannot afford to miss out on the knockout stages of the Champions League, and relying on new signings to improve their performance can only really get into the track after qualifying for the Champions League.

Souness has criticised Manchester City's slump this season, with Pep Guardiola, who has relied too much on a successful team, to blame. City's performance in the first half was not ideal, with two errors in the defence almost leading to a 2-0 deficit in the opening 10 minutes. Souness believes that Manchester City's conservative mentality is rooted in the manager's lack of progress, citing Liverpool coach Shankly as an example. After Liverpool's 1970 FA Cup quarter-final defeat to second-division Watford, Shankly immediately disbanded the successful 1960s squad and quickly rebuilt it. Shankly stressed that the core members of the team should not be allowed to work for too long, as this would create collective inertia after success.

In contrast, Manchester City should start rebuilding immediately after winning the Premier League and Champions League double in 2022/23. However, last summer he only re-signed the elderly Gundogan, and was completely unprepared for the new season's massive injuries. De Bruyne and Walker are past their prime. Last year, Pep Guardiola was still making excuses for his ageing team to be "too tired", but the opponent won't show mercy because you're tired.

Souness believes City's record number of signings in the winter window is proof of the club's panic and the team desperately needs new signings to provide motivation to get out of the crisis. The total investment of the three new signings (at least 180 million) is equivalent to the total expenditure of the previous eight winter windows since Pep Guardiola took charge in the summer of 2016. After captain Walker left Milan on loan, Pep Guardiola had to bring in full-backs to fill the gap. Pep Guardiola's metabolism has accelerated across the board, but only if it is passive and helpless. Manchester City's metabolism has accelerated across the board, but at the cost of being 12 points behind the top of the table and at least missing the title, and even the Champions League may not be able to qualify for the knockout rounds, which is a bit too costly.