Raheem at the double as Hornets are routed
WATFORD fans might want to thank the football gods that Pep Guardiola decided to give Raheem Sterling a rare afternoon off back in September.
Last night, the Blues striker began another cruel hammering of the Hornets with two first half goals as City roared back into form.
And you wonder what extra damage he might have inflicted had he not remained on the bench for the 8-0 home win, way back in September, when the Blues ran riot.
Maybe Guardiola torments his players with Elton John’s Greatest Hits in the dressing room before these fixtures.
Whatever the reason, his City side have developed a ruthlessness against the Londoners which borders on sadistic.
After that record 6-0 walloping in last season’s FA Cup final came the 8-0 demolition at the Etihad Stadium, and then this.
Sterling now has nine goals in his last six appearances against Watford, even though he only watched that Etihad massacre from the bench.
He clearly has one eye on chasing down Jamie Vardy, currently in pole position for the Premier League Golden Boot award, and now just two ahead of Sterling.
And this one-sided thrashing means
City have scored 37 in their last seven meetings with Watford, conceding just three.
It was all looking suspiciously familiar for City, at first.
By the time the 18th minute had come and gone, the Blues had racked up 83 per cent of the possession, and had hijacked the opposition nickname by buzzing around the home side like a swarm of hornets.
But, in stark contrast to the reverse fixture at the Etihad Stadium in September, the Blues had not scored five goals, for all of their dominance.
Watford back then were a different prospect. They were rock bottom of the Premier League and looked doomed.
Nigel Pearson had taken them to the position they were in last night, which was one win away from safety - until the manager became the victim of impetuous owner Gino Pozzo, and was ludicrously sacked. Rodri’s shot, which deflected off Gabriel Jesus’ back and was well saved by Ben Foster, was the only difficult moment for the keeper in that one-sided opening spell.
Pep Guardiola was hailed as a genius by Gabriel Jesus for switching the striker with Phil Foden against Bournemouth last week, a tweak which brought the decisive second goal. Guardiola was at it again, swapping
Foden from right to left, with Sterling going in the opposite direction.
Call it luck, or genius, or just the kind of tactical re-jig which managers have been trying since the ball was a pig’s bladder, it worked for Pep. Again.
Sterling tucked in narrow, leaving plenty of space outside for Kyle Walker, and the right back made use of it.
The muscular cross was either aimed at the melee of players towards the far post, or it was a case of Walker showing more faith in Sterling’s first touch than perhaps his England teammate has in it himself.
But the ball, fired at pace, was instantaneously controlled by Sterling, who then rifled it high into the far corner for a stunning opener.
Sterling was not done yet, and when City were awarded a penalty, he grabbed the ball ahead of Kevin de Bruyne, who is the usual penalty taker these days.
City have scored 37 in their last seven meetings with Watford, conceding just three
The front man had an argument. After all, he had actually won the spot kick in the first place, drawing a foul from Will Hughes after a smart piece of work on halfway from Foden, who dived in to hook the ball away from Tom Cleverley as the Watford man looked to counterattack.
With the game as good as won by half time, City stepped it up.
The curious thing about a bright and constructive first half was that De Bruyne had only played an incidental part.
Since reaching 18 assists, two shy of Thierry Henry’s Premier League record, the Belgian one-man supply line has stalled.
City fans are hoping that his last few performances - he was downright poor at Wembley - have been the calm before the stormer, against Real Madrid in a little over a fortnight.
He was coasting at Vicarage Road, and did not even have the heart to remind Sterling that he should be taking the spot kicks.
To show there were no hard feelings, a reinvigorated De Bruyne teed up Sterling for what was almost his hat-trick goal, early in the second half, with Foster again acrobatically keeping his drive out.
The keeper then denied De Bruyne himself, turning over a beautiful strike from a 25-yard free kick which was steaming into the top corner.
But City were in the mood, as they always seem to be against poor old Watford.
And when De Bruyne teed up Sterling again, his shot was again kept out by the magnificent Foster, only for Foden to snap up the rebound.
De Bruyne had re-discovered his radar and was tormenting the hosts - he scribed an arc of ballistic beauty from a free kick to find the head of Aymeric Laporte, and the Blues were four up.
After the listless win against Bournemouth and a desire-free defeat by Arsenal in the FA Cup semi-final, City found their mojo again.
That bodes ill for Norwich on the final day of the domestic season on Sunday, but is a good omen for the Blues as they sharpen up for Real Madrid 12 days later.