That was one of our best performances of the season against a well organised & very energetic Newcastle.
The difference today? The physical effort & fight we added to our slick controlled play. During the first half we hunted in packs & pressured Newcastle into all manner of errors.
As early as the 4th minute, Aké, Rodri & Grealish crunched into an advanced Trippier & emerged with the ball. Midway in the first, the ball broke in the centre circle after Haaland disrupted their CB's, & as the ball spun loose, Gundog, Rodri & KDB came crunching in & emerged with the ball. AND when the ball broke loose after an attack in their box, Dias, KDB, Foden & Rodri again crunched in & emerged with the ball.
This fighting mentality is what's been missing in our play most of the season & what a difference it makes. It turns a good Man City into a brilliant Man City. Could it be that Cancelo's attitude had spread to the squad, creating a toxic atmosphere?
We controlled huge swathes of the game & played some beautiful football. Foden was exceptional in the first half & it seems we have him back & on form just as we enter the business end of the season.
KDB was brilliant in the first half, but faded badly in the second. It seems we may have to face the fact that he's past his peak & we'll have to manage his playing time to get the most out of him. As Kev's energy levels dropped, Newcastle took control of the match & Bernardo's timely introduction couldn't have come at a better time & what an inspired change. The build up & execution of Bernardo's goal was simply world class.
Grealish was supreme in the second half & was everywhere controlling possession. The two players who stood out for me though were Rodri & Aké.
Rodri's performance today scared me! Why? Because how the fuck do we rest & rotate him when he plays like he did today? He was the Beethoven-esque conductor of The Etihad today & totally imperious.
HOWEVER, my MoTM has to be Aké. He was absolutely world class today & barely put a foot wrong. We still need a couple of specialist left backs in the summer, but Aké has added a level of solidity & confidence in that position which we've been lacking all season.
It was telling that Guardiola had a smile on his face from the kick off. Pep was smiling, the team were smiling & so were us fans. Something's changed recently. Things are clicking into place & we're hopefully building serious momentum as we enter the final ⅓ of a disrupted, hard slog of a World Cup season. )(
