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Another firm, if slow, step from Manchester City.
Three points against Newcastle on Boxing Day elevate Pep Guardiola’s side in the Premier League table and the form of the 2-0 victory encouraged anyone expecting a title challenge from Etihad this season despite the increased evidence of family problems on the team.
This is certainly not the team that beat the Premier League for two years on its way to back-to-back titles, crushing opponents week after week with its formidable attack. But neither is it last season’s team that was too entertaining for its own good, combining offensive flair with defensive sham in order to realistically challenge Liverpool.
While Manchester United and, less expected, champions Jurgen Klopp have suffered ups and downs, the Blues have been remarkably consistent since the arrival of Ruben Dias to shore up their bottom line; Burnley is the only team that has scored as the attack has not been able to curdle so many times, but the worst defense in the league has secured only two defeats.
The million dollar question for City this season is what exactly we are seeing: are the champions of previous years waiting for their attack to fire, a team that has sacrificed their attacking instincts to cover up their defense or something? brand new in Guardiola’s Playbook?
If you needed more proof of how weird this season has been, the normally ultra-defensive Newcastle pressing City jerseys high up the field in a full role reversal of recent encounters made a revealing start.
City have often found themselves in such unfamiliar situations this season due to their struggles in attack, and the absence of Gabriel Jesus (and Kyle Walker) due to Covid didn’t help before kick-off.
However, there are signs that the Blues are finding a way to score goals without a recognized center forward and without the need for Kevin De Bruyne to lay him on a plate. For the second straight home game, Joao Cancelo, playing high up the field as a central midfielder, found Raheem Sterling in the box, who squared for Gundogan to shoot home within the first 15 minutes. Sterling may not have as many goals as he would like or hope so far, but seven assists are a considerable improvement over his previous best.
Manchester City brought some Christmas cheer with three points against Newcastle on Boxing Day.
Goals from Ilkay Gundogan and Ferran Torres were enough for a Blues team to clinch victory and climb to fifth place in the Premier League table.
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The goal settled the Blues, but because this is the City of 2020 they had a hard time wandering further away. De Bruyne, so often frustrated by chances he creates without being shot, was guilty when Ferran Torres scored on goal and was unable to beat Karl Darlow or force a corner. Despite some threatening curves, it was not De Bruyne’s night and it was not his season in front of goal (not that he is alone in that).
Cancelo was a one-man human wrecking ball, sucking up any Newcastle counter when he wasn’t prowling forward playing through the magpies. Wherever the ball passed, the Portuguese international appeared.
That helped City ten minutes into the second half. Gundogan’s determination recovered the ball in the third for Newcastle and a wicked low cross into the box from Cancelo fell on Ferran Torres, who took his place and rolled on the second goal. To say that he has played out of position so often, and that players often take the time to establish themselves in both the Premier League and the Etihad, that the 20-year-old is the top scorer in his first season with the Blues. justifies it. the excitement for his signing.
Cancelo kept hammering, throwing balls into the Newcastle area with abandon from the right channel where De Bruyne has often operated with such success. Only Sterling can answer how he managed not to deliver another ball from the right back when the goal was at his mercy, while Bernardo Silva hit the wood on follow-up.
That pointed to the problems that City still have in front of goal, with Sergio Aguero starting on the bench as a result of his continuing knee problems. Guardiola said before kick-off that the forward would have played if he had been in shape given the absence of Jesus, although he did bring him in for the final minutes.
The Argentine thought he had a goal when he detached himself from his man to meet another delicious crossing from Cancelo but Karl Darlow’s knee denied him. He was also denied a penalty cry at the end, which while it was probably the right decision, it was encouraging for him to get into the position and a reminder of what he can offer when he’s fit.
A fit and shooting Aguero is still quite a ways off given his struggle with injuries this season, while Jesus also needs to find his scoring boots when he returns from his last absence.
Despite that, this remained a positive night for the Blues, as their slow ascent up the table continues. They may still be challenging any typecasting of what they have shown before, and there is still a clear obvious improvement they can make in the future.
However, it was another excellent defensive performance with John Stones and Ruben Dias keeping another clean sheet and Nathan Ake fitting in well as a left back. That is proving the basis for solid progress, and the game between Cancelo, Gundogan and Sterling is enough to suggest that City may not rely too much on De Bruyne playing well every week if they are to have any hope of keeping up with Liverpool. and the rest.
City will approach Everton and Chelsea with confidence, and at the end of those matches we should know a lot more about the ability of this team to succeed this season.
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