Men against boys in the second half as City toy with vastly inferior rivals
AND to think, this is a Manchester City team who were meant to be feeling the heat. Liverpool breathing down their necks as the Premier League title race hits the home straight and all that. Really? If this is City playing under pressure then their rivals have even less chance than we thought. The lead at the top of the table is back up to six points over a Liverpool side who still have a game in hand, although the margin of City’s win at the etihad Stadium yesterday has done their goal difference no harm at all. A Manchester derby that presented a significant obstacle after defeat by Tottenham and a less-thanconvincing victory over everton was navigated with almost casual ease. ‘Ole!’ roared the City fans as the players in blue shirts toyed with those in red during the second half and, no, it wasn’t some twisted tribute to Manchester United’s dear departed manager. This is the Manchester derby in 2022 — as close to a procession as you could get for the second time this season. At least the scoreline in some way reflected what had occurred on the pitch this time, unlike City’s landslide 2-0 win over a desperately submissive United at Old Trafford in November. Still, this was meant to be City’s biggest challenge in what remains of the season, aside from a titanic clash with Liverpool here on April 10 — a game from which Jurgen Klopp’s side will almost certainly have to gain all three points. United put up a fight in the first half and were level for all of six minutes, but was the outcome of the contest ever really in doubt? City didn’t even have to play at their best, they just moved through the gears and accelerated away.
Once again, United were left trailing helplessly in their wake. ‘I don’t think these players feel the pressure, that’s why they’re the players they are,’ said former City defender and Sportsmail columnist Micah Richards on Sky Sports. ‘It was men versus boys in the second half, City took the game to a different level. ‘It will be very difficult for Liverpool to come here and get something. ‘The fixtures do favour City but it will go to the wire. Liverpool will fight all the way to the end.’ There were still seven minutes to go in the first half when harry Maguire barged Phil Foden in the back as
the City man released the ball to a team-mate. It wasn’t nearly as cynical as Maguire’s scything challenge on Kevin De Bruyne in the 63rd minute but it betrayed United’s sense of frustration all the same. It’s what teams resort to when the opposition are simply too good. By the end, Scott McTominay was upending Joao Cancelo and muttering expletives at the City defender as anger got the better of him too. De Bruyne was imperious, more so than his two goals and assist suggest. ‘He is, to an extent, the perfect footballer,’ said another TV pundit, Jamie Redknapp. ‘He’s similar to Paul Scholes in striking the ball but is as quick as Stevie Gerrard. It’s a joy to watch him. ‘He’s phenomenal. United couldn’t get their heads around the City midfield trio.’ Bernardo Silva and Rodri were excellent too but so were Jack Grealish and Foden. Riyad Mahrez, scorer of two of the goals, wasn’t too shabby either. Pep Guardiola said before this game that City need a new striker this summer and he’s probably right. He usually is. But he said it last year as well and they seem to be coping quite well without Harry Kane. Imagine how good they would have been if Tottenham had let Kane go? City would probably be out of sight instead of finding themselves still locked in a title fight with a determined Liverpool side who refuse to give up. Considering they have only won once in the league at the Etihad in 14 years, it still looks like a tall order to beat this City team on their own patch. Even more so if Guardiola’s side find the extra gears they didn’t need here and rise to the challenge again. They certainly don’t look like a team who are about to wobble.