Hammer Time!
I'll get the positive/negative out of the way first. We played with the swagger of the Manchester City we know, scored four away, with three different scorers... All without Erling.
Brighton started well, but unlike many times this season, as they stepped up the early pressure, City matched & raised them & they had no answer as we blitzed them. This was the City of old.
Walker was playing more like a wingback & it was his lofted cut back that Super Kev headbutted missile-like into the top right hand corner for the opener.
Phil was fortunate to get the free kick for his first, but to be fair, I think he was fouled before he eventually slipped, so perhaps that's why the ref gave it. His resulting free kick took a wicked deflection for our second, but I ain't complaining. :-)
We continued to bamboozle a flummoxed Brighton, who were in a head spin. Our movement & passing was next level, with Rodri dictating the tempo from the centre, with Kovacic as his able deputy keeping the engine room ticking over.
We continued to pull the Gulls all over the place, & forced the impressive Barco into giving the ball away when trying to play out from the back. Phil latched onto it & curled a firm shot into the far left hand corner to take us into the break 0-3 up.
Brighton came out fired up in the second half & to be fair to them, we probably helped them by being a bit laxed. However, a seventy yard pass from Ederson to Speedy Gone-Walker, put him clear & in on goal.
Walker should've taken the shot, but he hesitated allowing Barco to put in a challenge which made the ball break loose. Walker went for the 50/50 with their keeper, & managed to keep himself just the right side of giving away a foul to put Julian in for a much needed goal for his confidence. 0-4...
It's at this point Baldy declared, & we began to make raft of changes, which made our play a bit disjointed. It mattered little because we did what we needed to do, & in style, & managed to keep a clean sheet.
We're a point behind ArseAnal with a game in hand, so the rest of our season is simple. Win all our remaining games, & we do the double, BUT with Spuds away, Wet Spam as our last PL game & the Rags in the FA Cup Final, our task is easier said than done.
Finally... Is Haaland injured? If he recovers, what do we do if he returns before the season end? I kind of like this more fluid, skillful City where the goals are once again coming from all over the pitch & from throughout the team.
Haaland is the marksman supreme, but if he's not banging em in as he was last season, it's sometimes like we're playing a man down. Right now our focus has to be on winning all our remaining games by any means necessary.
As the match began, it crossed my mind we'd win this game 0-6. We got four, so I'm more than happy to settle for that scoreline which gave us our biggest PL away win for two years. Roll on Forest...
