The Manchester City victory last Sunday, December 29, was ensured by youngsters as the English champions came back to winning ways by beating Leicester City 2-0 in a Premier League match at the King Power Stadium. Savinho and Erling Haaland scored for the Cityzens to take them to the fifth position with 31 points from 19 matches.
However, Liverpool registered a win over West Ham United later in the day to open up a 14-point lead over Manchester City. Still, the Cityzens’ improved showing must have satisfied their supporters to a large extent. It was only their second win in their last 14 matches across all competitions.
Young players made their mark in Manchester City victory
Considering the fact that both Haaland and Phil Foden, whose shot from outside the penalty box paved the way for Manchester City’s first goal, are still quite young, both the goals scored by Manchester City had the young players contributing to them.
Savinho scored his first goal in a Manchester City shirt and James McAtee, the young substitute used in the second half, played his part in the Cityzens’ second goal.
Kevin de Bruyne started for the English champions after a long while and exerted his influence with his passing and astute off-the-ball movement. De Bruyne kept the opposition defenders busy, thereby creating more space in the final third for other midfield operators like Foden and Bernardo Silva.
Mateo Kovacic, playing as a holding midfielder alongside hybrid full-back Rico Lewis, also retained possession a number of times in the middle third and made some runs down the middle, too.
The Leicester City attackers, led by striker Jamie Vardy, threatened to break through a number of times, but could not beat Stefan Ortega in Manchester City’s goal.
In Ruben Dias’ absence, Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake did a decent job to keep Manchester City’s defence secure. When Haaland scored from Savinho’s cross from the left in the second half, the Cityzens’ win was virtually assured.
The Cityzens have a few easier matches coming up
Pep Guardiola’s men will take on West Ham, Brentford and Ipswich Town in their next three league matches. Each of them should be an easier opposition for the Cityzens and might help the latter to restore their form.
However, Liverpool seem to have taken a vice-like grip on the title race at this point in time. They are relentlessly dominating their rivals and winning their matches at a canter. In such a scenario, it seems pretty impossible that the Reds will surrender a 14-point leader during the remainder of the season.
However, the task in front of Manchester City at the moment is to ensure a top-four finish for qualification in the UEFA Champions League next season. That is the bare minimum the Cityzens should aim for and they should be able to achieve it even considering the fact that Arsenal and Chelsea are the other two genuine contenders for the top four spots.
It is very important for Manchester City to restore their command over their opponents that has distinguished them under the tutelage of Guardiola.
It remains to be seen whether de Bruyne’s return to the starting XI continues to boost the Cityzens in the upcoming matches as well.