Manchester City is again the leader after showing the relentlessness needed to regain first place from Liverpool, which had 24 hours at the top after beating Manchester United. The race for the title is already a shot from six matches.
City scored with a squeaky back time, not scoring until the 53rd minute. But then Riyadh Marez went home and the champions were on their way. Before the nerves jingle, fans are counting down every failed attack on a clock ticking to two missed points, at least. Not now. And if City beat Watford here on Saturday, Liverpool will have to suffocate one night in a four-point deficit before the Merseyside derby with Everton at Anfield.
This was Pep Guardiola’s 250th victory in City in 344 matches in all competitions: the fastest in the history of the championship. But the manager’s focus is only on what lies ahead. “We have to win all the matches to be champions,” he said. “I don’t need to tell the players that, they feel it. We are competing with one of the best teams in Liverpool. [Our chances] depends on fatigue and injuries. “
Nathan Ake and John Stones are new fitness carers joining Kyle Walker. Ake twisted his ankle, John felt something muscular. This was important for Ruben [Dias] to get minutes, “Guardiola said of the Portuguese, who replaced Ake at half-time.
After an unused reserve in the FA Cup semi-final loss to Liverpool on Saturday, Kevin De Bruyne started against the guests, who arrived in good shape after consecutive victories against Arsenal and Tottenham. Graham Potter could be proud of these results: they brought his side 15 points out of the relegation zone and made them almost mathematically safe.
However, he would only be disappointed when Robert Sanchez’s chip went through the number one goal straight to lurking Marez as City pressed in numbers. The Algerian pulled his legs back to shoot, but a shot by Moisés Caicedo expertly took the ball, not the man in a situation where it would have been easy to award a penalty.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is happy with his team’s comfortable victory in the end. Photo: Andrew Yates / EPA
Brighton, like many others, hoped to hit City on holiday. And they did when Soli March killed a high delivery, fought Joao Cancello and found Pascal Gross in the inner left channel. When the latter passed, City was in disarray for a moment.
But Stones recovered and his team created their own counter, which, although it failed when the excellent De Bruyne hit Mares in the area, was a warning to Brighton how deadly City is from every position. This was emphasized when Bernardo Silva received from De Bruyne and tried cunning lobbying, which was diverted by Sanchez.
City were in third gear, but they didn’t have a discoverer to show their dominance. Balls hit in the Brighton area by Silva and Cancello have been exaggerated, and Guardiola may have started thinking about a half-time conversation between the team, focusing on the need for ruthlessness.
So far, De Bruyne led the match and his simple punching of the ball in the Brighton area allowed Ilkay Gundogan to hit the ball to the door. Blocking Lewis Dunk saved his team and so at the beginning of the second half Liverpool remained the leader.
The longer Brighton’s resistance lasted, the more City could strain. The crowd felt the same. Three corners came and went, one with a volley from Rodri, and another returned to De Bruyne, who pushed the ball straight.
But suddenly, a rush of relief. De Bruyne – who else? – made an amazing run that brought those back to yellow. The ball reached Marez, who finished with a diversion and City celebrated. Guardiola was now in hand-waving mode, traffic lights Silva and Foden to pull wide and press Aymeric Laport.
Foden’s speculative shot soon bounced off Enoch Mwepu and past Sanchez to double the lead, and City could relax.
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From that moment on, it was a control exercise for City and came up with a sweet third.
De Bruyne’s shot, which scored Silva’s goal, was as sublime as the Portuguese striker’s final. Manchester City refused to blink. It will be determined whether they or Liverpool will be the first in the coming weeks.
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