“Would they be able to replace someone of Aguero’s calibre?” “Is Jack Grealish worth the highest ever Premier League signing? “ “Who except Manchester City would spend over 100M for a winger who doesn’t even start for his nation? “ These were the slim pickings of whole lot of questions posed in front of Pep Guardiola prior to the commencement of the EPL. Well, you would wonder how did Pep’s men react to all these statements.
Their season opener was against Spurs, who were without services of their skipper Harry Kane, at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in which they faltered to a 0-1 loss eventually with Son Heung-Min breaching Man City’s defence.
Then the Sky blues faced a dismal Arsenal side in which the latter was absolutely clueless whatsoever and faced a humiliating 0-5 defeat with Ferran Torres scoring a brace and all of Ilkay Gundogan, Gabriel Jesus and Hernandez netting the ball once. Manchester City looked a well-oiled unit and looked like the one to watch out for.
They faced Leicester City next, where Silva’s 62nd minute goal gave breathing space to City which they were able to sustain and managed to grab 3 crucial points but the inevitable couldn’t be delayed further as Manchester City dropped points in their home fixture with Southampton and their mere single shot on target was an embarrassment for everyone to see.
With a potential season determining week ahead of them, having to play both Chelsea and Liverpool at their own backyards could have sent shivers down the spine for many teams but City being City showcased their steel resolve.
At Stamford bridge they played with great authority, keeping the possession for most of the match and creating one opportunity after the other, by far they were the more threatening side and a Gabriel Jesus shot which deflected of Jorginho was over and beyond for Chelsea’s Edouard Mandy.
Anfield witnessed a spectacular face-off between former and defending PL champions where the two heavy weights landed hefty blows one after the other. The final score line was 2-2 draw but u have to give credit to Manchester City for going back with points from Europe’s most heated stadium that too facing an in form Liverpool side.
City thus far has been having a roller coaster ride to the Premier League but with just 2 points behind Table toppers Chelsea and having just an away fixture against Cristiano Ronaldo‘s Manchester United on road in the Top Four conundrum would help their cause and with Manchester City expected to pick even more pace as the tournament progresses, is this Premier League going to be one more feather in Pep’s Cap?