In Manchester City’s opening match of the 2016-17 Barclays Premier League season, they were able to defeat Sunderland 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium for Pep Guardiola’s first victory.
It may not have been the prettiest victory for Manchester City in front of their home fans, but they were able to earn their sixth straight opening day victory.
Willy Caballero got the nod over Joe Hart in-goal, which raised some eyebrows at BBC. John Stones got his City debut next to Aleksandar Kolarov. Gael Clichy and Bacary Sagna started as the full-backs. Fernandinho started with David Silva slightly above the back-line. Kevin De Bruyne got the surprising start with Raheem Sterling and Nolito as the attacking midfielders, while Sergio Aguero started at striker.
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Four minutes in, City had the perfect start as Aguero slotted home from the penalty spot to make it 1-0. Raheem Sterling was tripped by Sunderland full-back Patrick Van Aanholt inside the box which gave City the spot-kick opportunity.
As the first half rolled on, City was able to limit Sunderland’s offensive chances, while trying to find a second goal themselves. They owned the bulk of the possession in the first half, passing the ball around at will.
After the teams rested up at halftime, the second half showed a lot of the first. City continued to press even harder for a second goal, while refreshing the squad with subs. Fabian Delph and Jesus Navas were brought on for David Silva and Nolito respectively.
However, with their first real attack on goal, Sunderland pulled a 71st equalizer from striker Jermain Defoe. Defoe, was left alone just outside of the box and proceeded to slot home past Caballero.
Kelechi Iheanacho was then brought on by Guardiola for Clichy, in order to try and get a late winner. In the 87th minute, City’s pressure on goal payed off as Jesus Navas’ cross was headed in by Sunderland substitute center-back Patty McNair for an own-goal.
The goal proceeded to be the winning goal for City as the final score stood at 2-1. City dominated in possession 77% to 23%, while forcing two saves from Sunderland keeper Vito Mannone. Caballero made two saves of his own.
Even though it may not have been the most dominating performance, City earned all three points in their first league game of the new campaign. While watching the game, I did learn three things from the action at the Etihad.
1.) John Stones and Nolito looked impressive.
After signing for City on Tuesday, new defender John Stones looked very comfortable on his debut. The 22-year-old was never really pressured by Sunderland, and seemed to have a nice partnership with Aleksandar Kolarov at the back. I think Stones will become even better if he has a consistent partner at the back. Nolito, who joined from Celta Vigo earlier this summer, looked very enthusiastic down the left-wing. He almost had his first goal for City, after just missing a curling effort in the first half. In three seasons, the Spaniard tallied 39 goals in three seasons in La Liga.
2.) City have to put chances away though against better teams.
It may have been Sunderland, but City need to do better if they want to beat tougher competition. Out of 16 total shots, only four ended up on target. The team will need to practice hard this week on shooting as they prepare for their Champions League first leg in Bucharest on Tuesday. They showed brilliant skill and possession throughout today’s match, but it easily could’ve been 4-1, 5-1. I think against better defenses such as Tottenham, Arsenal, Manchester United, City will need to be able to put chances away when needed.
3.) Raheem Sterling looked solid in victory.
After hearing much criticism about his play with England at the Euro’s, Sterling put in a good performance today. He won the penalty chance early in the match which gave City the 1-0 advantage. His pace always is a factor down the wing, and he was able to become another option to swing crosses into the box. Sterling still needs work on his finishing, but overall I feel he did a splendid job for Pep today.
Next: EPL 16/17 Season - Bookies Odds for Champions
After today’s victory, Manchester City will travel to Bucharest for their first leg playoff round match against Steaua Bucharest in the UEFA Champions League. Following that, City will travel to Stoke City next Saturday. Sunderland will host Middlesbrough next Sunday.