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Manchester City are not playing at their best, as Raheem Sterling and others have admitted, and this result confirms even more than the unexpectedly tepid performance in a dull and disappointing Manchester derby on Saturday.
West Brom deserves immense respect for not providing the anticipated lambs for the slaughterhouse, however, although it was a neat and organized performance by one side at the end of the table, it was the City’s inability to add urgency to the game that it was more surprising. . His best chance of winning came via a free kick by Kevin De Bruyne with five minutes remaining, although Sam Johnstone was up to the task and Ilkay Gündogan had fallen when he had barely been touched anyway.
West Brom produced the first real threat and could and probably should have been ahead of eight minutes. Conor Gallagher initiated the attack that led Karlan Grant to collect a detour from João Cancelo in the City area. Grant calmly caught the ball around a Nathan Aké too eager to improve his shooting angle, only to find Ederson darting athletically to his left to ward off the shot. While Slaven Bilic would no doubt argue that his team is in no position to turn down the few golden opportunities that come their way, part of the credit goes to the goalkeeper for an excellent save from close range.
The remainder of the first half played out more or less as expected, with the home team gradually pushing their opponents back with the quality and invention of their passing, but occasionally overcomplicating things or failing to find the correct final ball. . Cancelo, for example, had several options when he brought the ball to the edge of Albion’s box midway through the first half, but opted for a high pass to the back of the box to take out Benjamin Mendy, who in turn opted for a volley for the first time. time flew miles. While City likely felt a breakthrough would eventually come as long as they maintained the pressure and monopoly of possession, some of Pep Guardiola’s agonizing reactions in the technical area suggested that he would prefer they try the simple and obvious approach from time to time. .
When the first goal came after half an hour, it was pleasantly straightforward, Sterling running behind Albion’s defense on the right, hitting the ball just over the goal line and then coming to his feet covering Kieran Gibbs to drop a pass from. I return for Gündogan to defeat Sam. Johnstone from near the penalty spot. Bilic looked disappointed but resigned. It was the kind of goal that’s hard to stop City from scoring once they have possession and men to spare on the edge of their area.
West Brom’s task now was to get to halftime without slipping back in, and they must have feared the worst when Gallagher was reprimanded for sliding, studs up, towards Gabriel Jesus at the edge of the area, but although De Bruyne immediately took responsibility for the free ones . -kick his delivery was unusually exaggerated. That left time before the break for the most unexpected event, a West Brom draw, something else that caused Gaurdiola visible discomfort.
His side could not clear from a balanced free kick from the left touchline. A punt attempt headed back into the danger zone, and when Rúben Dias had a shot, his header found only Semi Ajayi, whose shot likely went wide until he hit the hapless Dias for a detour big enough to leave Ederson defenseless.
Naturally, City tried to respond in the second half, but at first the result was messy, with snatched chances and hasty attacking moves. After Jesús headed in from the corner from Gündogan, things literally got complicated for the Brazilian, who was elbowed in the face at the next corner and needed treatment for a cut lip. While it was still mostly traffic one way, City’s normal roughness and precision was lacking, and a shot from Matt Phillips coming up shortly after the hour was a reminder that West Brom was still in the game. At that stage, it was beginning to be seen whether City’s 5-0 thrashing of Burnley last month was the aberration, not their weak performance in last week’s soporific Manchester derby.
Inevitably, Guardiola threw Sergio Agüero before the end, also replacing the ineffective Mendy with Kyle Walker, who immediately sent a stinging shot that could have found the top corner, but Dara O’Shea bravely poked his head along the way.
The longer the game dragged on, the more confidence and determination the visitors grew, defending at times with a six-man defense line and reducing City and De Bruyne to long shots from safe distances. It wasn’t a happy night for the locals, but it could have been worse. If the fans had been inside the ground, they would almost certainly have been heard complaining.
