In their latest match against Southampton, Manchester City sealed it 2-1 in the last portion of the game thanks to the combined efforts of Sergio Agüero and Kyle Walker. After their dreadful loss to Leicester in the League at home, a competitive game like this sure feels long overdue and quite welcome to say the least even though it was still a loss for the Saints.
Attack versus defense
This match felt like measuring muscles between establishing a powerful attack pattern and mounting an impenetrable defence. Indeed – when the match was still in its infancy, naturally Southampton assumed the role of the defender as their players were successfully shutting down every early attempt that City made.
The second half was characterized by a change of pace
When the 45’th minute struck the clock, Silva came on as a replacement for Jesus. Manchester City simply had to push forward relentlessly, while at the same time, not leaving their defence vulnerable to risking falling further behind either.
The last quarter was particularly action-packed
All in all, the game had not been going in Manchester City’s favor until the 67’th minute came along. An opportunity presented itself and that man Agüero seized it. His shot hit the mark and resulted in an equalizer which the Manchester City fans were eagerly waiting for.
Kyle Walker, without a shred of doubt, was the star of the show. What appeared to be an undecided game was sealed when the shot he took hit the back of the net.
Injury caused some problems
David Silva was held down by injury. In concrete terms, he was showing visible signs of a muscular problem in the second half of the game. Due to this, his appearance at Atalanta this week is questionable at best. The timing is awful, too… since they will be facing Liverpool in the coming week, they’ll need all the help they can get.
Pep Guardiola shared some insights of his own
Pep Guardiola was still feeling the effects of Southampton’s defeat at the hands of Leicester. Without a doubt, pride was shattered that day – lots of it. Due to this, the Saints managed by Ralph Hasenhüttl rebounded from that loss showing a great deal more pride as they performed much more like they did last season when Hasenhüttl took over but they still went down to City 3-1 in the Carabao Cup at the Etihad before facing them again at the Etihad 4 days later in the Premier League.
Unsurprisingly enough, Pep believes that aggression is the way forward. Indeed, as the old saying goes, offense is the best defense. To further expand on the point, he thanked the team’s persistent attacking for being able to score the 2 goals that were crucial for winning Saturday’s League game against Southampton. Despite their overwhelming aggression, as he noted, they were still able to remain patient. This allowed for intelligent in-game decisions as the City players never looked like they were panicking.
Manchester City have the belief and the ability to win many games even in the very last minutes of play or injury time.
What lies ahead for the team?
Manchester City will resume their Champions League adventures come Wednesday night. The action is set to unfold at Atalanta. If they can snatch another victory, their progress to Round 16 is guaranteed.
On the 10th of November, the epic showdown against Liverpool awaits. Will David Silva be able to persevere despite his apparent injuries that won’t be graced with a generous amount of time to heal properly? Will he appear at all? Time will tell.
Don’t forget to stay tuned for more Manchester City news!
All of this and more will be answered when City return to action and no-one will be surprised if Pep’s side turn in enough of a performance to beat Atalanta but their real focus will surely be on the first game of the season against title rivals Liverpool this Sunday at Anfield. It’s an exciting part of the season, so be sure not to miss out on the nail-biting games that are still ahead of us. You can keep up with previews and analysis by following the latest news about ManCity and read more updates as they become available!