Manchester City battled their way to victory against a well organised and physical Sheffield United team.
There were moments during this game where the palpable fatigue of a number of Manchester City players inhibited their performances. Sterling lacked that extra yard of zing and even Kevin De Bruyne was panting more than normal.
The fact that City gritted their collective teeth and knuckled down to the job at hand was an important achievement. Sometimes the ability to grind out results is a defining characteristic of a winning team.
It was not a neat and pretty performance. The narrow set up of Sheffield United and their targetted running, caused all kinds of problems, particularly in the first half. To compound matters Zinchenko looked to have forgotten everything he had learnt about being a Left Back.
City were exposed time and again, and if Sheffield United had a quality striker then City would have been behind. VAR helped too, seemingly on City’s side now that they had already assisted Liverpool to the League title.
The second half was different as tactical tweaks by Pep Guardiola allowed City to exert some control and find a way through to take two goals and all three points.
Man City Square look at the individual player performances and try to select a Man of the Match. Starting with a look at the defensive unit.