Sixteen games unbeaten in the league. Eight wins from eight away from home. The Manchester City freight train continues to steam roll its way through seemingly impenetrable situations with such determination and grit yet come out gleaming on the other side.
Is it the Pep Guardiola effect? Or are these uber-talented group of players beginning to click at a time where the rest of the league are experiencing more ups and downs than a violinist’s elbow. You could say it’s a perfect mixture for success.
Guardiola’s tactics this season have been executed to a tee, and the Spaniard has thus turned a side who misfired their way to a disappointing third-placed finish last season, into an English-prototype of the Barcelona side that was widely known as the best team in club football.
An aggressive pressing system and elegant attacking play, intertwined with the astounding strength in depth and individual performances of Leroy Sane, Gabriel Jesus, Raheem Sterling and Fernandinho have all played a remarkable part in their decimation of everything in their wake. But it isn’t just the wins total that is impressive, it’s the manner in which they’re winning these games, and scoring their goals.
The Manchester derby, understandably, had possibly the biggest potential for upset from a City perspective, what with Jose Mourinho’s tactical tendencies to adopt a defensive strategy to frustrate his opponents, and of course the fairy-tale storyline of Manchester United quietening their noisy neighbours.
But Mourinho’s men simply weren’t up to the task, as David Silva and Nicolas Otamendi’s goals gave the Citizens a 2-1 win as they stretched their lead at the summit to 11 points, and set a new league record, winning 14 top-flight games in succession, in the process. Sunday’s game also marked their fourth consecutive league win by a margin of just one goal, beating Huddersfield, Southampton and West Ham all by a score line of two goals to one. Thus proving they weren’t a team that succumbed to pressure, but an outfit who could grind out results as well as play opponents off the park. This sent a powerful message to the rest of the league, notably the on-looking title challengers who are beginning to fall off the pace: even when they aren’t playing well, City still find ways to win games.
Goals are coming from multiple situations, and it isn’t just the result of slick, intricate passing moves or electrifying counter-attacks, as many would expect.
Both of City’s goals against their Manchester rivals came from set-pieces, a rather astounding statistic given the fact their two tallest outfield players for that fixture, Vincent Kompany and Otamendi, stand at six-foot-four and six-foot respectively. Aside from the centre-half pairing, City only donned one other player six-foot or taller, Leroy Sane, who is hardly renowned for his aerial prowess.
Silva struck two minutes before half-time after pouncing on a poor defensive header by United striker Romelu Lukaku, who had a helping hand in both City goals, from a Kevin De Bruyne corner.
Just as it seemed Mourinho would have to issue the hairdryer treatment after a flurry of wasted half-opportunities, Fabian Delph made a mess of Marco Rojo’s timid cross, allowing Marcus Rashford to equalise. The teenager proved a bright spot in an otherwise forgettable first-half from the Red Devils, as he has now been involved in 11 goals at Old Trafford in all competitions (five goals, six assists), more than any other United player.
In a drastic attempt to capitalise on their first-half superiority, Guardiola replaced the injured Kompany with Ikay Gundogan at half-time, pushing Fernandinho back to the heart of the defence alongside Otamendi. It was a risky move, but one that paid off, as the Brazilian, who has progressed into one of the best holding midfielders in the world, looked comfortable against the physical threat of Lukaku.
Nine minutes after the restart, David Silva sent a fairly tame free-kick into the United box, when Lukaku, who, from a United perspective, the less said about the better, shanked his clearance against Chris Smalling, and Otamendi volleyed home.
For all their dominance, City could have gone in search of another, but instead Pep opted to swiftly substitute Jesus and bring on Eliaquim Mangala, pushing Fernandinho back to his preferred defensive midfield position, and shut up shop.
The Citizens’ 65% possession statistic condemned United to their lowest figure at Old Trafford since Opta began collecting the data in the 2003/04 season. With all matters considered, it wasn’t a particularly close game. The visitors’ superiority shone through, and United were left to rue their inability to capitalise on their chances, with Lukaku firing a strike right at Ederson’s jaw from six yards when, in retrospect, he should have buried it in the back of the net.
The ruckus that ensued in the tunnel after the game supposedly stemmed from City’s over-zealous celebrations in the dressing room, a melee which left coach Mikel Arteta bloodied. But why should City hide their excitement at the victory? They’ve now toppled their two biggest title challengers away from home, after beating Chelsea 1-0 at Stamford Bridge in late September, their two toughest fixtures on paper. That’s cause for celebration.
Mikel Arteta received a cut eyebrow and another employee was injured when Romelu Lukaku threw a bottle. [@ellarguero]
— City Watch (@City_Watch) December 10, 2017
As for the bigger picture, only two teams have reached this stage of the Premier League unbeaten, the 2010/11 Manchester United team, who went 25 games unbeaten before succumbing to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of bottom-dwellers Wolverhampton Wanderers, and the Arsenal ‘Invincibles’ in 2003/04.
Both of the aforementioned teams went on to win the league, and for now, unless by some strange coincidence the City squad is hit by a deadly virus-like plague, the Premier League title is all but theirs.
The question remains, however: can they go all the way without losing a game, thus joining the elite ‘invincible’ group alongside Arsenal? That possibility certainly exists, but for now, let’s just sit back and enjoy watching one of the best teams to have ever graced the Premier League.
James Cragg Sport 