Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
THREE IS THE MAGIC NUMBER
When 5ft 7in Sterling soars to head home the winner, you don’t play well but still ease to 18 victories in a row, then you MUST believe the title will be yours soon
Gerrard two wins and a draw from title STEVEN GERRARD finally enjoyed a stress-free day after the white-knuckle Euro ride in Belgium to leave Rangers just three steps from football heaven.
Admittedly the opening half hour would have done little to slow down his heart rate following the drama of the victory over Royal Antwerp.
The Light Blues boss again had Allan Mcgregor to thank for a couple of vital saves – one to deny Lawrence Shankland who was clean through early on – at important times before they clicked through the gears.
Laid-back Joe Aribo looks like a man who never gets flustered and it was the twinkle-toed star who was instrumental in getting Gers motoring.
Ianis Hagi diverted Aribo’s strike into the net on 35 minutes and Ryan Kent’s volley doubled the lead as they hit United with a one-two inside three minutes before the break.
Aribo then netted a stunner early in the second half to cap a man of the match performance and Alfredo Morelos (inset) made up for missing a first half sitter as he got in on the scoring act thanks to a Benjamin Siegrist howler. It was a 12th for the season for Morelos and his first at Ibrox in the league since August to put Gers in control.
They could even afford a Borna Barisic penalty miss as Siegrist atoned for his blunder with a fine save.
Gerrard had the luxury too of making changes to give players a much-needed rest and Jack Simpson was handed his debut but former the Bournemouth man won’t be happy at his part in the consolation goal Gers conceded three minutes from time. United substitute Marc Mcnulty passed the ball into the bottom corner beyond Mcgregor after Shankland’s layoff for only the second goal scored by an opposition player in a domestic game at Ibrox this season.
Despite failing to keep a clean sheet, it was a win that moved Gers a step closer to the title and victories in their next three games will end that decade-long wait.
One downside for the Ibrox men was a first half injury suffered by Ryan Jack.
And Gerrard admitted he was upset with his midfielder for trying to play on before he was eventually replaced by Glen Kamara.
The Gers boss said: “Ryan felt tightness after 10 minutes and I’m a little bit upset he didn’t report it and played on longer so we’ll scan it and see what the damage is.
“We’ll check him out in the next 24 hours. We’re hoping he has reported the injury before it’s become a bigger problem.
“He’s felt some tightness in the calf but until we get a scan on it we won’t know the extent of it. I’m disappointed to see him go off because he’s come back from the previous injury really bright.
“Everyone knows how important he is to us. Fingers crossed the outcome of that scan is positive rather than negative.”
With regular penalty taker James Tavernier off the pitch, Barisic kept his cool to net a couple of spot kicks in the win over Antwerp but saw his effort yesterday saved by Siegrist.
Asked if the Croatian will remain on duty, Gerrard said: “I am sure he will put his hand up. It shows he is human missing the penalty. If not, there will be a queue because everyone wants to take penalties and it is a great opportunity to score.”
THE writing was on the wall when the smallest player on the pitch scored with a header after only 80 seconds.
Raheem Sterling, who stands just 5ft 7in, was given the freedom of Arsenal’s six-yard box to score what turned out to be the winner and set the tone for another Manchester City clean sweep at the Emirates.
Let’s get things straight. City are the best team in Europe right now.
They extended their winning record to 18 games in all competitions and the scoreline makes it look far closer than it actually was.
The harsh truth is that City were much the better side and guilty of taking their foot off the gas.
Even though the Gunners battled, they never remotely looked like scoring and managed a single shot on target.
For far too long, Arsenal looked as if they were prepared to stand off, watch and admire Pep Guardiola’s champions-elect, without ever getting close enough to put in a tackle.
Sterling was given so much space to nod home the only goal that it was hard to work out who was supposed to pick him up. It looked like it should have been Hector Bellerin.
City have turned visits to the Emirates into exhibition matches in recent seasons.
Such is their hold over Arsenal, it seems as if City have got into their heads like no other team has managed.
And to prove it, Arsenal have now failed to score in a fourth consecutive league match at home against the same opponents for the first time in their history.
That is obviously partly down to City’s brilliance, as they pass and move their way through most teams.
But to show such little resistance in the first half-hour was, quite frankly, embarrassing.
Embarrassing because it shows how far City are ahead of the rest.
Embarrassing because Mikel Arteta looks to be intimidated by his old boss.