Manchester –
The victory over Sheffield United put Manchester City’s performance into question. For Pep Guardiola, Citizens don’t only have to win big.
City face Sheffield at the Etihad Stadium, Saturday (29/1/2021) evening WIB. Considering that the opponent is the caretaker team, City are predicted to win by a landslide score.
Lowering the trio of Gabriel Jesus, Ferran Torres, and Phil Foden, City played aggressively from the early minutes. Jesus had even opened the score 1-0 in the ninth minute.
This is a sign that City looks like it will win big. But after that City even had difficulty making additional goals even though they had played dominantly.
BBC Sport noted that City only had seven attempts throughout 90 minutes, with five aimed at the goal. But, the toughness of Aaron Ramsdale City thwarted all opportunities.
As a result, the 1-0 score lasted until the game ended and confirmed City’s position at the top of the Premier League standings with 44 points from 20 matches. An important victory but questionable considering City had just beaten West Bromwich Albion 5-0 a few days earlier.
For Guardiola, this result shows how competitive the Premier League is and is difficult to predict in the current conditions. The big win in the previous week did not guarantee anything.
“People think if we won 5-0 in the previous match, then we will win 5-0 again. This is the real world, not a fairy tale,” Pep Guardiola was quoted as saying BBC Sport.
“Today when I saw Sheffield in a distended position. You just look at the team and you realize how difficult the Premier League is. We struggle to beat them every season. It’s a great performance. We played extraordinary in all sectors. We did miss several times. We didn’t create many chances, but enough to win, “he continued.
(mrp/nds)
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