PEP’S GOT CITY PURRING AGAIN
Palace pummelled as Guardiola’s men hit top gear and race for the title hots up
TSweet strike: Gundogan curls in his long-range pearler he first proper title race between Manchester United and Liverpool to have occurred in years rightly whetted appetites over the weekend. Yet, after it, the most successful Premier League team of the past decade now have this season in their own hands.
Manchester City are two points off the top with a game in hand, a situation negotiated on the quiet as eyes fixed elsewhere. They will sit first, for a couple of hours at least, should Aston Villa be dealt with here on Wednesday.
The climb to this campaign’s peak has been methodical rather than lung-busting. Like plenty before them, Palace were in the game for long spells. In the game, but never really affecting it — and there is a skill to the way City are managing their tasks one by one.
Teams are not leaving the etihad having been slapped for five or six every week like a few years ago, but Pep Guardiola has moulded a very different side now.
One that does not concede many, if any. More robust, although still owning that final-third flair to unlock stubborn defences.
There is a reassuring normality to City, who stroll in possession a little more these days, playing games at their own pace and then injecting energy where required.
It is a change that has made their manager start believing he could be lifting a third league title in May.
Recent history suggests he might well be on to something. City are on their longest unbeaten run for three years in all competitions — it is now 15 games since the defeat at Tottenham. This is the first time in two years City have won eight consecutive matches, too.
With four relatively comfortable league fixtures in succession now, the resurgence could go on.
Particularly when their main protagonist is in this sort of mood. There is not a great deal left to be said of Kevin de Bruyne.
Guardiola has referenced how exhausted the entire division is at the moment yet when a mind whirrs with the Belgian’s electricity, all of that tiredness is rendered largely insignificant.
Sitting inside this stadium is to be welcomed into De Bruyne’s clinic — watching him work, remedying City. he is being allowed more freedom than ever this season, a spare man to run games such as these.
The assist was outrageously spectacular, the sort of cross that tens of top-flight players may perfect at the end of a training session when they muck about, but not many try — let alone execute — when the lights are on and points need to be won.
John Stones stood eight yards from Vicente Guaita’s goal, nestled between defenders, to head home his first league goal for the club. Another would follow.
That is a century of assists in all competitions for De Bruyne since making his debut here in September 2015 — a frankly astonishing figure. Nobody in the Premier League is within 30 of that number over the same period, which further signifies his enduring
ability. Palace — without six first-teamers, including the injured Wilfried Zaha — had been solid until their defence was breached in 26 minutes.
They occasionally broke, the exciting Eberechi Eze attempting an audacious 40-yard lob and causing Kyle Walker some difficulty.
The pattern of play remained as expected, however. The night would always be defined by the frequency with which the hosts could pick a way through Palace’s midfield bank of five. Ilkay Gundogan and Raheem Sterling floated, while Aleks Zinchenko provided impetus from left-back.
City operate a little differently with Zinchenko’s inclusion, able to overload midfield with more conviction as his positional play aided those in front of him.
Obvious chances were relatively sparse, owing to Palace’s defensive effort. Three of Roy Hodgson’s men threw themselves in front of efforts in one sequence, while Gabriel Jesus might have added a second goal at the end of a sharp move involving Gundogan. The German, whose ingenuity of movement in the half-spaces has been a hallmark of the City upturn, would not be outdone by De Bruyne (below). His goal, 11 minutes into the second half, was just as fabulous as the Belgian’s assist. Winning possession back just outside the box, Gundogan shaped his body to curl the ball far into Guaita’s left-hand corner. In these strange times, the quality of an effort is often determined by the yelp of the benches and this prompted plenty of involuntary squealing. Similar can be said of Sterling’s perfect free-kick, beautifully placed into the exact same spot for City’s fourth of the night near the end.
Between those strikes was Stones again. Not content with one goal, he claimed a second after 68 minutes. De Bruyne’s corner was perfect, straight on to the head of Ruben Dias. Guaita could only push the ball out into his area. Stones rattled it back past the goalkeeper with the confidence of a man whose career has been reborn, at the heart of a team with the confidence to remind their Premier League rivals they actually fancy this title, too.
MANCHESTER CITY (4-1-4-1): Ederson 6; Walker 6, Dias 8, Stones 8, Zinchenko 7; Fernandinho 6; Silva 7 (Foden 60), Gundogan 8 (Torres 71), De Bruyne 9 (Cancelo 71), Sterling 8; Jesus 6. Subs not used: Steffen, Rodrigo, Mendy, Mahrez, Delap, Doyle. Booked: None. CRYSTAL PALACE (4-5-1): Guaita 5; Ward 6, Tomkins 5, Cahill 5, Mitchell 6; Townsend 6 (Batshuayi 79), McCarthy 6, Milivojevic 5 (Riedewald 68, 6), McArthur 6, Eze 6.5; Ayew 6.5. Subs not used: Butland, Clyne, Van Aanholt, Dann, Benteke. Booked: None. Man of the match: Kevin De Bruyne. Referee: Lee Mason.