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It was well documented how far Manchester City finished behind Liverpool, as they failed to defend their Premier League title last season – a total of 18 points, in case you needed to remind them.
That’s a considerable gulf for them to bridge this season if they are to be crowned English champions once again, but the Citizens proved during their win over the Wolves that they have the tools to do so, even if on defense, they remain vulnerable.
Manchester City survive a scare in the second half to become the first team to win their first Premier League game for ten seasons in a row! ?#WOLMCI pic.twitter.com/QEatRthxgW
– 90min (@ 90min_Football) September 21, 2020
Pep Guardiola’s team turned into an impressive first-half performance that left the Wolves speechless. This was a city team without Sergio Agüero and Aymeric Laporte against a well-oiled Wolves team that had beaten them twice last season, but seemed to be in total control.
Kevin de Bruyne was irresistible, his ability to produce Hollywood passes was as impressive as his willingness to run, press, advance and get behind. This was the Belgian at his best athletic and graceful form.
Phil Foden picked up where he left off after the block with another mature performance, drifting between the lines and collecting the ball as David Silva had done before him, but also showing that he has goals in his game by finishing off the flowing movement that he started. , slipping into the box to bring home Raheem Sterling’s clever cut.
It was a spectacular display in the first half and the title of this piece was already in the drafts: Manchester City prove they have all the tools to defeat Liverpool at the Premier League summit.
But then the second half unfolded and the defensive weaknesses that had cost City last season began to creep in again, and suddenly all the positives about this Manchester City team had an asterisk.
The wolves had woken up, and once Adama Traore and Pedro Neto started charging up the flanks and Daniel Podence started playing from the shoulder, Guardiola’s side looked vulnerable.
It wasn’t much different from how the Wolves clinched a 2-0 win at the Etihad 11 months ago, after Traore’s pace and the speed of the Wolves’ counterattack had opened City up.
They weren’t as exposed as they had been last October, but this was a side of town that didn’t look quite as unbeatable now. If Jiménez and Podence had been more clinical, the Lobos could have been level for hours.
Instead, City resisted. Despite their dominance in the first half, the 3-1 score makes reading comfortable when they were actually on the ropes at times in the second period.
Guardiola’s team showed both facets of their game during their first Premier League outing of the 2020/21 season. There was the fluid, effervescent and dynamic side, orchestrated by the superb De Bruyne.
But there was also the vulnerable side, the slight defensive weaknesses, the concern when teams counterattack to the beat.
With the quality that City has at its disposal and the football it can play, Liverpool’s title will be under siege this season. But the problems that plagued them the last legislature are still there, lingering in the background.
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