It’s frightening because they aren’t supposed to be this excellent at this time. Manchester City is accustomed to easing into seasons before threateningly catching up later. not right now.
The fact that it feels more like March than September is probably the highest complement to offer. When Rodri was sent off, this threatened to turn into a contest, and Nottingham Forest could only watch in awe. Even though, City remained steadfast and at ease.
As they fell behind 2-0, one frustrated and rather lubricated away supporter in the upscale seats said, “Come on Forest, work hard.” Graft, or the lack of it, was not a problem for Steve Cooper.
How do you handle an opponent who made 46 passes in total, the most in a Premier League game in 17 years? Phil Foden finished the opening goal by cutting across a deft Kyle Walker pullback. Not at all.
It was the purest goal City has scored in their most recent title defence, a testament to their mastery of a new system that, under Guardiola, is bringing out the best in Foden and depends more than ever before on explosive running.
And the Treble winners have now won six straight matches. That has only happened three times in the club’s history, and it hasn’t happened since Guardiola’s first season in England, when they ultimately finished far behind eventual champions Chelsea.
If City wins at Wolves the following week, this will be their greatest ever start, which is quite an accomplishment for a squad that finished playing football three months ago with all the potential complacency that could entail.
The most recent victory puts City five points ahead of Liverpool and the North London clubs before their games on Sunday. City has already had to work hard for their victories on a few occasions. On a day that at one point appeared to be headed for a terrible thrashing, City persevered against all odds for a while.
Rodri, who was stupidly sent out for aggressive behaviour shortly after the game restarted and put both hands around Morgan Gibbs-White’s throat during an argument, is primarily to blame for this. Despite Gibbs-White’s somewhat dramatic decking, Rodri had no cause for complaint. The manager’s emotions were expressed perfectly by Guardiola’s sharp comment to him and subsequent death glare down the tunnel.
Despite Taiwo Awoniyi’s dink over the bar or Nicolas Dominguez’s wide sweep, it did not cost them here, but it might in the upcoming weeks.
Rodri will be unavailable to Guardiola at Arsenal in two weeks, which is crucial. Without the holding midfielder who effectively holds everything together, it’s not a place you want to be. Given the current injury list, Kalvin Phillips had his most major appearance since joining the team more than a year ago, but there are still problems to solve in that part of the pitch.
For around 15 minutes, the forest shook the city. Following his failed opportunity, Ederson lost his cool and started arguing with Awoniyi, accusing the striker of diving for a penalty. Both were charged for their mistakes. The tension in the room increased a bit, maybe because many were aware of what Forest, helped by a man advantage, can do in transitions, as was demonstrated last month at Old Trafford on the opposite side of the city.
Callum Hudson-Odoi, Anthony Elanga, Chris Wood, and Divock Origi were all put on by Cooper. Manuel Akanji threw himself in front of a potentially dangerous Gibbs-White attempt because Forest believed there was something here for them. Due to a strong stoppage-time save by Ederson, the away team’s comeback faded out. Territories without opportunities, particularly good Josko Gvardiol positional play.
By that moment, there really shouldn’t have been any hope left. Within 14 minutes, City had effectively clinched the next three points. After seven minutes, Foden scored in front of Gareth Southgate, demonstrating once again how skilled he is in the centre of the field. Soon after, Erling Haaland scored. Haaland, who now has eight goals for the season, was too strong for Matt Turner, who was able to head a Matheus Nunes cross back to its original location while gliding between defenders.
Although he skied over from 10 yards later as the hosts broke quickly, it appeared like the Norwegian’s string of wasted opportunities was finally coming to an end at that point. That would have effectively won the match.
Haaland has more league goals than anybody else, even if that was the eighth significant opportunity lost in his past three games, including the saunter against Red Star Belgrade in the middle of the week. Here, one would act as the day’s organiser for a hostile mob.