Watched two very similar games in terms of how they were set up. Villa vs Chelsea and City vs Burnley. Villa and Burnley chose to set up low blocks and wait for their chances. Both matches played out very differently though. (1/5)

@nomifooty has pointed out City's ability to exploit half spaces countless times. Stretch the defense and create space between the full back and the centre back. Having players who are comfortable with the ball in every area helps quite a lot in that. (2/5)

Chelsea are quick in passing, but not as quick as City. A lot of City's low crosses go unopposed while Chelsea's are dealt with a lot more ease. Individual brilliance of David Silva and De Bruyne and the likes does make a significant difference here as well. (3/5)

And how can I not mention Fernandinho? He may not be a proper CB but he knows how to pick a pass. He can initiate a counter with one lobbed ball to Mahrez/Sterling/Sane/Bernardo and we know what happens after that. (4/5)

Would be interesting to see how our defense performs against City's attack.
Here's the link to the video about half spaces. (5/5)