I don't disagree, but City have players with decent acceleration to be able to make up those short distances. Of the midfielders we have, I can't think of any outside of Partey who actually do have that specific attribute to make up for a lack of top speed or power. Maybe Torreira? He's not fast however he has good acceleration but he's not coming back. We're kinda saying the same thing tbh, mitigating that problem will be about making the pitch more compact - I could see it working if we're capable of doing that consistently for 90 mins. A lot will rest on the backline aswell as they'll have to push up consistently. You can see elements of this over the course of the season just gone but we were unable to maintain consistency, partially due to injuries.I fully understand that City have better players and have done for a while. So their on the ball work is something that is very difficult to replicate.
However, winning the ball back is something that isn't reliant on pure physicality. For example, to play a high line, you need players who are comfortable on the half way line. They don't need to be lightening. They need to feel confident in reading the game with space behind them.
City were able to win the ball Back consistently and foul in a smart manner, with Aguero as a 9, flanked by attacking wide players. They had a diminutive 8 in Silva and De Bruyne. De bruyne is quite athletic, but he isn't the best tackler and he isn't someone who is going to recover and win the ball Back repeatedly. They took up Double 10 positions with inverted full backs.
Fernandinho and Walker provided the physicality. Its all about distances and coaching.
Tielemans isn't Bissouma, but he isn't Xhaka. He bites into tackles, he can turn and move when defending and he recovers the ball. He can easily fall into a double pivot next to Partey.
Technicality is important.
We might not need to have physical monsters or the like in midfield to win the ball back - but it would be nice to have the option.