City title is on a Silva platter
DAVID SILVA ensured Manchester City’s progress towards the Premier League title remained unchecked with a double strike against relegation-threatened Stoke last night.
Victory put Pep Guardiola’s side 16 points ahead of Manchester United in second place and kept alive the prospect of sealing the title against their cross-city rivals at the Etihad on April 7.
To do that, City will also need to beat Everton at the end of this month but a perfect season – and this has been one of the best seen in the Premier League ever – demands such a finish.
City were perhaps not at their scintillating best last night, not making full use of possession approaching 80 per cent. Yet they got past Stoke – and on a cold Monday night as well – with a professional and powerful display that contained enough quality.
If Silva took the headlines, there was an excellent performance from Raheem Sterling, who had a hand in both goals and was unlucky not to see his name in lights as well, missing a golden chance to round Jack Butland and stroke home late on.
Paul Lambert’s Stoke side compressed their lines early to the point where their red-andwhite-striped shirts looked like prison bars in the opening exchanges as defence and midfield welded together. Caging Guardiola’s side is no easy business, though, and after 10 minutes the visitors found a way through.
Both Gabriel Jesus and Sterling were on the comeback trail with the former on only his second start back after a knee injury and the latter back from a hamstring injury for a first outing since the middle of last month.
They were instrumental in City’s slick opener, combining down the right flank to carve Stoke open, Sterling’s accurate first-time cross met by Silva, who side-footed home from 12 yards out.
To their credit, the Potters regained their composure and fight as the half wore on.
They could have been level after 21 minutes when Xherdan Shaqiri produced a moment of magic on the right touchline, nutmegging Olexsandr Zinchenko and pulling the ball back to Badou Ndiaye at the edge of the box. The midfielder’s shot was deflected narrowly wide off the heel of Fernandinho’s boot.
City also had chances to double their lead in the opening half. Kevin De Bruyne lost out in a 50-50 challenge with Jack Butland on the edge of the box just after the half-hour mark after a weak backpass from Bruno Martins Indi sold the Stoke keeper short. And moments later Jesus just failed to get his head on the end of an inviting free-kick from the Belgian inside the six-yard box when it looked easier to score.
Kyle Walker came close to putting the ball in his own net after 37 minutes, Butland’s big boot up front lifted goalwards under pressure from Jese and was kept out by Ederson, who back-pedalled athletically and tipped the ball over the bar.
Predictably, City bossed the possession stats in the first half with the ball at their feet for three out of every four minutes but Stoke went in buoyed by the fact that they were one kick away from respectability.
The danger was always that it also left them having to commit more resources forward in a second half against a side who have proved masters at picking their way through gaps. Stoke barely had a chance to get out of their own half before City doubled their lead and it was Silva who scored his second of the night.
If the end was a neat one-two with Silva and Jesus,
dispatched by the Spaniard before booting the ball in celebration high into City’s delighted fans, it owed plenty to some tenacious tackling from Sterling on the right flank and Butland’s uncertain advance, as Silva poked a bouncing ball past him from close range.
If Stoke had been up against it trying to nick another draw on the counter-attack they looked utterly unequipped to break down City twice.
Sterling, who produced a muscular display that has often been lacking from his game, nearly dribbled the ball through a crowded box after 55 minutes as City set up camp on the white lines of Stoke’s box.