Manchester City brought the curtain down on the best year in its history as it deserved, with a comfortable victory over a Sheffield United team who, unless things change radically, will be in the Championship in June 2024 (2 -0).
The game started with enthusiasm. On the bench, beyond Pep Guardiola, is a Kevin de Bruyne who has not been seen since the first day, when he was injured, but has now recovered for the important stage of the season. He didn’t come out, although he did get a standing ovation from across the Etihad as he warmed up.
City don’t need the Belgian because, the truth is, their rival didn’t ask for it. Sheffield only have 9 points and are bottom and it’s no coincidence. Chris Wilde’s team played unbelievably and against the reigning champions was tantamount to defeat. This was the case even though he planted an annoying bus in all minutes of the game in a team that was incapable of counterpunching.
The translation of the game is simple. City had so much of the ball that they ended up with 82% possession, holding the all-time Premier League record, and surpassed the number of passes, making over 1,000. Not on too many occasions. Complex against a team that only focused on self defense and didn’t change the plan even despite the goals. Rodri opened the scoring with a great personal move, worthy of a brilliant year for the Spaniard, finishing outside the area (14′) and in the second half Julián Álvarez sent the sentence (61′) .
To highlight, again, Foden. The Englishman knows how to move like a fish in water between the few spaces left by Sheffield, who only came on two separate occasions and bored the Etihad like never before. Fortunately, the fans of the ‘citizen’ enjoyed the antics of the English attacker, who appeared from all sides, grabbed the goal and made it clear, once again, that he is already an indisputable player for Pep. The city is already thinking about improving itself by 2024.
match lineup
31
2
24
16
25
6
twenty
8
19
47
10
18
twenty
14
5
19
2
16
twenty-one
32
25
35
Etihad Stadium
Wes Foderingham18
67′
Jayden Bogletwenty
88′
Luke Thomas14
89′
13′
Austin can be trusted5
Jack Robinson19
George Baldock2
Oliver Norwood16
42′
67′
Vinicius Souzatwenty-one
60′
William Osula32
66′
Anis Ben Slimane25
66′
51′
Andrew Brooks35
79′
Replacements
Adam Davies1
67′
Yasser Larouci27
67′
Rhys Norrington-Davies33
89′
Femi Seriki38
Ben Osborn23
79′
Rhian Brewster7
66′
Oliver McBurnie9
51′
Cameron Archer10
66′
Benie TraoréEleven
coach
Pep Guardiola
Chris Wilder
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
