Manchester City continued defending their Premier League title in a strong way this weekend. Following a 0-3 thrashing of newly promoted Burnley at Turf Moor in the opening round, they’ve now beaten fellow Champions League participants Newcastle at the Etihad. The only goal of the game was the work of Julian Alvarez in the 31st minute, a fine shot from just inside the box that went straight into the top corner, leaving Nick Pope powerless to stop it.
City still superb
It’ll be almost impossible to top 2022/23 for Manchester City. Pep Guardiola led his team to the Premier League title, the FA Cup trophy, and eventually Champions League glory, and only the Carabao Cup somehow got away from them.
The summer transfer window saw very important players, like Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez, leave the club, and Kevin De Bruyne suffered a serious injury in the Burnley game which is expected to keep him out of action for the rest of the year. Further more, Bernardo Silva was unavailable for selection through illness, and having three players of such magnitude in the middle of the park miss a game against a Newcastle team on the rise, one would expect a certain degree of downhill slide.
However, City absolutely dominated this game, ending it with 60% of possession coupled with a total of seven shots, four on target, while Newcastle took two and managed to hit within the frame of the goal just once.
In the absence of De Bruyne and Silva, young Phil Foden mostly took on the playmaking duties, while Mateo Kovacic remained further back to help Rodri protect the back line. Foden frequently combined with Erling Haaland and Alvarez in the attacking third, and while the Argentinian World Cup winner scored, it was one of those rare days when the Norwegian sensation simply couldn’t.
Still, Alvarez’s goal was obviously enough.
Newcastle stars pull disappearing act
Going up against such a formidable team, much was expected from Newcastle playmaker Bruno Guimaraes and striker Alexander Isak, but neither came up with any goods this time around. The overall performance of Eddie Howe’s team was a far cry from that which had them beat Aston Villa 6-1 at St. James’ Park on the opening day, and it’s fair to say that whole midfield trio, with Joelinton and former AC Milan player Sandro Tonali alongside Guimaraes, struggled to keep hold of the ball for a majority of the contest. There was a period when they looked like they could get something from the game, but it was only a fleeting period which lasted between five and 10 minutes and ended with nothing to show on the scoreboard.
Isak was consequently cut off upfront, and only Miguel Almiron offered City any food for thought, mostly in the third quarter of the match.
Despite Newcastle’s investments in the team and the undoubted quality in their ranks, this match clearly showed that there’s a long way to go before the Magpies are able to compete against the best in the game.
Botman rises to Haaland challenge
The prospect of trying to stop Haaland from scoring is obviously a nightmare for defenders in the Premier League, perhaps even more so than it was in the Bundesliga while he played for Borussia Dortmund, but Sven Botman did the job very well, all things considered.
Matching Haaland’s 6’4″ frame, the 23-year-old Netherlands international is obviously capable of dealing with the physicality of the City striker, and he didn’t shy away from getting into fierce duels with him. He kept close, ready to fight whenever the ball came their way.
Haaland, arguably the best striker in the world, still managed to get into chances and came very close on a few occasions, but Botman’s breath on his neck made it impossible for him to hit a shot the way he would’ve wanted to, even from close range.
Looking ahead
For Newcastle, it’s Liverpool at St. James’ Park next. Liverpool, who took six points from the two matches against the Magpies last term, and though the Merseysiders eventually failed to finish inside the top four, there is still a lot for Howe’s men to pay them back for. It won’t be easy, though; Liverpool played a 1-1 draw away to Chelsea in the first round and beat Bournemouth 3-1 at Anfield this week, even though they played with 10 men for more than 30 minutes towards the end.
But with Alexis Mac Allister suspended for the red card he received, and with the fact that the Reds have serious issues in midfield anyway, Guimaraes and Co. could have a somewhat better day at the office than they did against Manchester City.
City, meanwhile, travel to face newly promoted Sheffield United, and unless much goes amiss at the Bramall Lane from their point of view, they shouldn’t have too much difficulty in recording a third straight win.
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