Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
WE CAN League crown slipping away but Guardiola is already making plans for getting City back to the top
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A THIRD straight title may be beyond Manchester City this season, but Pep Guardiola is already plotting how to win it back off champions-in-waiting Liverpool next term.
This was Guardiola’s 100th Premier League win and came in 134 games, making him the fastest manager to reach three figures and beating Jose Mourinho’s record by eight matches.
His team have rewritten the record books in the past two campaigns and helped title rivals Liverpool reach new heights in the process.
They may have lost their way recently, five defeats undermining their title defence, but Guardiola is already focused on how to get them back on top.
Here, inspired by the relentless brilliance of Kevin De Bruyne, City broke down a spirited and stubborn Sheffield United, who succumbed to their first away defeat since January 19.
With City trailing Liverpool by 14 points, the remainder of the league campaign is geared towards securing a top-four place and reclaiming the consistency they showed for the past two seasons. The hard-fought manner of this win showed that, even though the title has gone, City will still fight for every point.
As has been the case for much of this term, they lacked fluency and conviction in their play, although that was testimony to the diligence of Chris Wilder’s disciplined team.
There were occasional openings for the home side, Rodri finding Riyad Mahrez early on, the winger cutting inside but having his angled close-range shot blocked by defender John Egan.
The Blades had the ball in the net in the 29th minute, Lys Mousset applying a clinical finish to John Fleck’s perfectly weighted curling pass in behind the defence.
But it was chalked off after a VAR check, with Mousset ruled to have been offside. City remained vulnerable to balls played in behind their backline, never more so than just before the break when Oliver Norwood sent Mousset through on goal.
Eric Garcia gave chase but Mousset outran him, only to prod the ball into the side netting and squander the opportunity.
The opening goal came in the 52nd minute, De Bruyne finding Sergio Aguero, and City’s all-time leading scorer making no mistake with a thumping finish.
Again the goal was shrouded in controversy.
Blades boss Wilder was furious when the ball appeared to bounce off ref Chris Kavanagh to De Bruyne. That now means a drop-ball, but VAR determined the rebound came off Fleck and not the referee.
The goal gave City fresh impetus, although their opponents did not make life easy for them, stretching them on the counterattack and threatening to get back on level terms.
With eight minutes to go, De Bruyne started and finished the move which killed off any hope the Blades had of getting back into the game. Picking the ball up inside his own half, he funnelled it to Mahrez, embarked on a surging run and collected the return, before steering a low finish beyond Dean Henderson.