You don’t have to play Pep Guardiola’s tiki-taka football to win the Premier League

FILE. Manchester City under Pep Guardiola have won six of the last seven league titles, but this season have struggled as they find themselves 12 points behind the table-topping Reds.  Darren Staples/AFP

FILE. Manchester City under Pep Guardiola have won six of the last seven league titles, but this season have struggled as they find themselves 12 points behind the table-topping Reds. Darren Staples/AFP

Published Jan 27, 2025

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Despite their domination over the last seven seasons in the Premier League, there is an alternative to the tiki-taka style of football employed by Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.

This is according to former Bolton Wanderers player Fabrice Muamba.

Now coaching Championship side Burnley, Muamba said he was pleased to see the way the league was heading this season as Liverpool top the table, who play a more attractive type of football.

City have won six of the last seven league titles, but this season have struggled as they find themselves 12 points behind the table-topping Reds.

“I enjoy watching the games, the style of play is so exciting these days,” Muamba told SportsBoom.com.

“At the end of the day I think over the years we’ve been brainwashed with a tiki-taka style of football, fans want to see attacking, quick football."

“If you look at Brighton, they’ve showed there’s more than one way to play football."

“Liverpool are showing how to play attractive, fast-paced football, it’s what the supporters want to see.”

Muamba, now aged 36, played just one match for Arsenal after coming through their youth academy before a move to Birmingham City.

Having played 167 times in the Premier League with the majority of those caps coming with Bolton Wanderers, Muamba’s career was tragically cut short at the age of 23 when he suffered a cardiac arrest during an FA Cup match between Bolton and Tottenham in March 2012.

Though his heart stopped for 78 minutes, he was revived but was forced to quickly retire from professional football afterwards. This was following medical advice and spending nearly a month in hospital.