Football: what is up with Manchester City?
With this victory, Hamilton moves beyond Schumacher “into a sporting stratosphere of his own”, said Oliver Brown in The Daily Telegraph. He has always been someone who has attracted criticism – from judgements about his “playboy lifestyle” to the suggestion that, owing to the superiority of his Mercedes car, he has had it easier than previous champions. But whatever his
It may be a “figment of our imagination” – a product of injuries, exhaustion and “artificial conditions” this season – but “something does not seem right with Manchester City”, said Luke
Edwards in The Sunday Telegraph. By their lofty standards, their Premier League campaign has started abysmally: after five games, they have just two victories, and are 13th in the table. In their latest match, a 1-1 draw away to West Ham last Saturday, City were truly “abominable” in the first half, said Jonathan Liew in The Observer. In the second, they marginally improved, following the introduction of the “sugary” Phil Foden (who scored their equaliser).
Even so, they kept missing chances and West Ham seemed hungrier at the death. Although injuries have blighted City recently – Sergio Agüero and Gabriel Jesus have both been missing – their poor form is not a recent phenomenon: there has been an “inexorable decline” over the past 12 months.
Hamilton can make breaking records seem like rather a cold “numbers game”, said Giles Richards in The Guardian. Yet after his triumph in the Algarve, he displayed uncharacteristic emotion, as if, having achieved something no other driver has ever managed, he was free to revel in the “sheer joy” of the moment. After climbing from his car, he enjoyed a long embrace with his father, Anthony – a “poignant” moment, because Anthony has been a rare sight at his son’s races since their once-close relationship broke down in 2010. They are now reconciled. “My dad’s here, my stepmum Linda, my dog Roscoe,” Hamilton said afterwards. “It’s a blessed day.”
Actually, City’s nose-dive is more recent, said James Gheerbrant in The Times. During the “mini-season” in July that concluded the 2019-20 campaign, City were “absurdly dominant”, racking up 34 goals in ten matches, while conceding only four. Their collapse since then seems largely down to the rather average form of Raheem Sterling, their best player in the “summer surge”. Another problem dogging City is the growing uncertainty surrounding the future of their manager, Pep Guardiola, said Sam Lee on The Athletic. His current contract expires in July, and he still hasn’t confirmed that he is committed to staying. City are known to want to keep him, but a minority of fans are starting to feel differently. Guardiola has “credit in the bank”, having won two Premier League titles in the past three years, but football history tells us that when things go “stale” at a club, “supporters can quickly turn against a manager”.