CITY By Neil Moxley
WHEN Jurgen Klopp said Liverpool had given up on the title race this week, Pep Guardiola’s reply was short and sweet.
The Spaniard simply said he didn’t believe his rival.
Judging by their dominant display at Carrow Road, neither did Manchester City’s players.
Led by Raheem Sterling who claimed a hat-trick, Guardiola’s side set out their stall early, grabbed control of the ball and cruised to an emphatic triumph with the minimum of fuss.
Sterling’s opening strike may have taken half an hour to arrive but once Phil Foden grabbed a
second moments after the restart, it was always a case of damage limitation for the Canaries.
Sterling claimed his second with a close-range header and rounded off his hat-trick in the dying seconds.
Those goals rebuilt the 12-point lead that the reigning champions had previously held over the Merseysiders.
But, more importantly, there were no signs the relentless march towards another crown would suffer a hiccup in Norfolk as it did two seasons ago.
Guardiola hadn’t exactly dumbed down, but he did rest several of the stars who had shouldered a large chunk of the burden for him this season.
Canaries boss Dean Smith wouldn’t have been on his own among the home support not disappointed to see the names Laporte, Rodri, Cancelo and De Bruyne sitting on the bench.
Smith wasn’t even able to renew acquaintance with Jack Grealish, the man who did so much to cement both his reputation as a Premier League manager and Aston Villa’s spot among the elite.
The England international sat this out after picking up a shin injury. He is touch and go for the trip to face Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday.
But the change in personnel didn’t interrupt City’s flow and they were soon into their stride.
Smith had tried to match up his side but Kyle Walker, in particular, was a constant menace down Norwich’s left flank where defender Brandon Williams – on loan from Manchester United – predictably ran the gauntlet from the visiting supporters.
It looked like it might be the Canaries night after they enjoyed a stroke of good fortune inside the opening five minutes.
Bernardo Silva curled a shot onto the post but the ball bounced off the woodwork and then into the arms of keeper Angus Gunn.
There were a couple of near misses before the Canaries hit the woodwork themselves.
Pierre Lees-Melou retrieved a half-cleared corner and his cross was met by Grant Hanley whose header thumped into the foot of the post. That was as close as Norwich were to come.
The breakthrough arrived after a defensive mistake that the hosts have eradicated in recent weeks.
Walker’s cross from the right was miscontrolled by full-back Max Aarons and that was all the encouragement Sterling needed.
The England star stepped inside his man onto his right foot and curled home his seventh league goal of the season.
Three minutes after the break it was two and again Sterling was involved. This time he fed Ilkay Gundogan whose low cross was poked home by Foden – with Ben Gibson failing to dispossess his opponent and a weak finish rolling over the goalline.
The white shirts still poured forward and they received due reward when short corner allowed Foden to swing over a centre that was nodded across goal by Ruben Dias and finished off by Sterling. There was still time for him to ensure he would take home the match ball. Sub Liam Delap was charged into clumsily by Hanley and Andre Marriner pointed to the spot.
Gunn guessed correctly but the ball rebounded straight to Sterling and he wasn’t going to miss from three yards out.
After this dominant show, perhaps there was only one conclusion to draw – Klopp was right after all.