The more the weeks pass, the less we imagine how Manchester City could not be crowned, on May 19, champion of England for a fourth time in a row. The Sky Blues, who are undefeated in all competitions since a setback at Aston Villa on December 6 (0-1), scored a seventh success in a row in the Premier League by winning this Saturday at Fulham, as part of the 37th day (0-4). This success allows Pep Guardiola’s players to temporarily regain the lead in the English Championship, at the expense of Arsenal.
The Gunners could return to the lead if they win at Manchester United this Sunday (kick-off at 5:30 p.m.), but without being considered favorites for the title, since City will then play a late match at Tottenham (Tuesday at 9 p.m.). Which means that the Mancunian team has its destiny in its hands: if it wins at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, then against West Ham on May 19, it will be crowned again.
In the meantime, the Citizens delivered, once again, a very high-level collective performance at Craven Cottage, stringing together long sequences of conservation (65% possession) against an opponent who exhausted themselves running into space. , and who only shot once on goal, in the 57th minute. This control was illustrated in the opener, signed by Josko Gvardiol, after a one-two with Kevin de Bruyne, who concluded a whirlwind exchange of passes from City (0-1, 13th).
The Croatian, who scored a second goal, closely following a curled cross from Bernardo Silva (0-3, 71st), is one of the men in form of this team, he who has scored 5 times since the 9 April (4 of which were on his “bad” foot, the right). Phil Foden celebrated his recent title of best player of the season in the Premier League (according to English journalists) by scoring in turn, with a low right shot, following a splendid breakthrough from Bernardo Silva, countered by Palhinha (0-2, 59th).
Goal difference remains in favor of Arsenal
The score, which was concluded by a penalty transformed by Julian Alvarez (0-4, 90 + 7th) following a foul on the Argentinian Issa Diop (excluded at the time), would have could have been much heavier if Manuel Akanji (44th), Bernardo Silva (53rd), Erling Haaland (61st) and Jeremy Doku (81st) had been more skillful in front of goal. The Sky Blues could perhaps regret these missed opportunities, considering that their goal difference remains lower than that of the Gunners (+58 against +60). But, given today’s display against Fulham, it is difficult to see City finishing the Championship with the same number of points as Arsenal.
