Pep Guardiola has revived Barcelona spirit to boost City’s title chances

MManchester City, brilliant but strangely vulnerable; Manchester United, a mess but with a strange spark. In the end it was a Manchester derby that confirmed what we already knew. And the result is that the title race moves on to Anfield next Sunday and, after four straight wins in the league, a potentially seismic clash between City and Liverpool.

At that point, Arsenal could be top, assuming they extend their run of consecutive league games to eight by beating Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on Monday night and then Brentford at the Emirates on Saturday. Two things can be said about this: firstly, that there are still ten games to go after next weekend and that there has not been this close to each other at the top since 2010 (when Chelsea were led by United at this stage after 28 games). . one point with Arsenal two further back). And second, if this is going to be a classic showdown, the top teams need to drop unexpected points so that twists and turns can happen, rather than the kind of string of wins for the top contenders that characterized 2018. 19.

United, meanwhile, are six points behind fifth place and while they may have been ahead at half-time, the gap between them and City is huge. Given their injuries it may not be entirely fair to judge them in this one match, but it is fair to ask more generally why, as they have had more time than Unai Emery at Aston Villa or Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham and a lot spent more money. , Erik ten Hag has been far less successful in forging a side with a coherent structure and identity. Recruitment has historically been poor and he feels sorry for that, but he is also the one who looked at Antony and saw a £90m footballer.

Ten Hag’s lineup was a throwback to the Ole Gunnar Solskjær days of a diamond midfield with split forwards, which made sense: the Norwegian’s record against City, against all the big sides, was relatively good; it was when setting up attacks against teams deep against United that he struggled. Utilizing the pace of Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho against a City defensive line that has leaked more goals to quick counter-attacks this season than any Premier League team other than Crystal Palace was likely United’s way to get to City.

As far as delivering the opening goal – a majestic long pass from André Onana, Bruno Fernandes playing the role of goalkeeper with unexpected aplomb and Rashford firing a shot into the top corner – it worked. But then Rashford was terrible, while United’s unfamiliarity with form was evident in their hesitation. Gradually they were forced deeper and deeper, unable to get out, unable to mount the kind of counterpunch that could have threatened a second or stemmed the City’s tide.

City might not have equalized until the 56th minute or taken the lead in the 80th minute, but there was never really a sense that United would get away with it. It was two moments of brilliance from Phil Foden that decided the match, but with him in exceptional form, plus Erling Haaland, plus Kevin De Bruyne, there is always the feeling that, in addition to being a ruthless machine that overwhelms sides with their pressing and control of possession, City have the individuals who can run games.

In that sense, in spirit at least, they are a little more like Pep Guardiola’s early Barcelona than some of the teams they won the title with at City. There is also a feeling that, due to the growing tendency to play Haaland directly, adding a new dimension to their attacking game, they may not have as much control as previous iterations. Guardiola once said that his side needed 15 passes after regaining possession so they could defend themselves against the counter; that layer of protection has apparently been lost as they have become more threatening during the transition, hence the vulnerability to rapid ruptures.

And that perhaps explains the feeling in recent months, even though City have won 15 of their last 16 games, that they are not quite at their best, that they are not as intimidatingly ruthless as in previous seasons. It has also been acknowledged that the fixture list has been unusually gentle. Sunday was the first time since losing to Villa three months ago that they played a side that started the day in the top eight of the Premier League.

The derby would be the start of a tough month that would define their season. Maybe, but United are really no match for City at the moment. Liverpool, Arsenal and Villa will represent much tougher tests over the next four weeks.