FA HOLD RUSSIA CRISIS TALKS
Spain star’s double puts Pep on brink
THE Football Association’s top brass have held crisis talks as the prospect of boycotting the World Cup in Russia escalates, Sportsmail can reveal. The FA do not believe the Government are considering a boycott but officials in Wembley and Westminster have discussed the growing political crisis. On the day Prime Minister Theresa May said it was ‘highly likely’ that Russia was responsible for a spy attack in Salisbury — which she described as ‘an unlawful use of force’ — Sportsmail understands discussions on the situation have been held by the FA. The view at Wembley is that it remains a matter for the Government and not the FA and, based on the fact that a possible boycott is not currently on the table, there are no thoughts about aborting their plans for this
SO now Manchester City know exactly how close they are. Two more wins and they will be Premier League champions. First they go to Everton and then they play Manchester United at home. So City could seal the title with their neighbours in attendance. Pep Guardiola could lift the trophy while Jose Mourinho watches.
Even by the dramatic standards of English football, that would be quite something.
Watching City at Stoke, it was hard not to think that is exactly how this will work out. At the moment it is just too much of a stretch to imagine City losing.
Nights like this are supposed to be difficult. Stoke City have long since been tricky opponents at home, especially when their supporters get going as they did last night.
But here City made their night’s work look incredibly straight forward.
They scored two goals — David Silva on target early in each half — but there were at least half a dozen other good chances. So two could have been three, four, five, or six, or whatever.
Had they really needed to score more, they surely would have done.
It is rare to see a team exhibit such control in a Premier League game.
This is a league that prides itself on its competiveness but at times this season City have changed that outlook a little.
Ahead of their game at Everton on March 31, the home team are currently in the region of 12/1 to win. This, remember, is against a team that beat City 4-0 at Goodison last season.
It says everything about what has happened on Guardiola’s watch since then.
After last night’s game Guardiola would not talk too much about what could happen when City host United on April 7.
As he lands with his players for warm weather training in Abu Dhabi today, however, he will be very aware of the opportunity awaiting him.
At Stoke, his players spoke for him anyway. They were not at their exhilarating best throughout.
We have seen them play better. But it was the way they played within themselves while still managing to control just about every segment of the game that was impressive.
Stoke need points in their own battle against gravity but manager Paul Lambert set his team out to contain in the early stages. Many teams have tried this and failed.
On this occasion, the pages of Stoke’s game plan were fluttering in the Staffordshire breeze within 10 minutes.
It was a lovely City goal, too, even if it had an unusually poor touch from Gabriel Jesus at its conception.
Receiving the ball with his back to goal 40 yards out, the Brazilian did not control it as he would have liked.
But that helped to make his mind up about what to do next and his second touch was superb as he swivelled and played the ball inside the full back to the advancing Raheem Sterling in one movement.
Once Sterling was away, Stoke were in trouble and when the England forward looked to his left he could see David Silva arriving between defenders.
His low cross needed to be pretty much perfect to pick the Spaniard out and it was.
Silva buried the ball with his left foot past Jack Butland in the Stoke goal without breaking stride.
So early in the game, things looked ominous for Stoke.
Briefly Lambert’s team did rally and there seems to be some spirit remaining ahead of eight games that will decide the home team’s destiny.
Xherdan Shaqiri embarrassed young Oleksandr Zinchenko to set up Badou Ndiaye for a shot that was deflected wide and then City
defender Kyle Walker looped the ball back towards the top corner of his own goal as Stoke forward Jese ran on to a long clearance from Butland.
So at half time Stoke had hope and a foothold in the game — only for City to take both from them in the 50th minute.
Goalkeeper Butland could have been more decisive when trying to close down Silva for his second goal but the interplay between Sterling, Fernandinho and Jesus that preceded the finish was still incisive.
After that it was a procession and only Butland prevented his team from taking a bigger hit to their goal difference as he saved from Sterling, Zinchenko and Leroy Sane.
Stoke do need to worry about their numbers.
They are only a point behind managerless Southampton in 17th but their goal difference is the worst in the division and that may yet be important.
City do not worry about such things but the stats do tell a story as compelling as their football.
Their own goal difference, for example, is superior to United in second by the small matter of 30.
If Mourinho and his team think that sounds bad, things may be about to get worse.