Manchester City are once again in the lead, snatching the best position from Liverpool, who are enjoying 24 hours at the top, before Pep Guardiola’s men show the relentlessness required in the current six-leg brawl for the title. City made dice with the introduction of a squeaky back time, not scoring a goal until the 53rd minute.
Then Riyad Marez returned and the champions could relax. Before the nerves start to jingle, supporters are counting down every failed attack on a clock that was ticking closer and closer to two missed points, at least. Not now. And if City beat Watford here on Saturday, Liverpool will have to suffocate one night in a four-point deficit before the Merseyside derby with Everton at Anfield.
Mahrez’s shot was fired as City quickly adjusted to their beat rhythms on the pass and move. Soli March knocked down a flying Joao Cancello, and Kevin De Bruyne aimed a free kick at Nathan Ake’s head in the far post, but Brighton escaped.
With an unused reserve in Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final loss to Liverpool, a big plus for City was the inclusion of De Bruyne against the visitors, who arrived in good shape after successive victories over Arsenal and Spurs.
Graham Potter could be proud of these results: they brought his country 15 points out of the relegation zone and made his team almost mathematically safe. He was less in love with the way Mark Kukurela hit the ball at one point, but the manager still offered encouragement to the left of his three central defenders.
However, he would only be disappointed when Robert Sanchez’s chip went through the number one goal straight to lurking Marez as City pressed in numbers. The Algerian pulled his legs back to shoot, but a shot by Moisés Caicedo expertly took the ball, not the man in a situation where it would have been easy to award a penalty. City was warming up: Sanchez then lunged high to repel De Bruyne’s curved menace-ridden parabola.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is happy with his team’s comfortable victory in the end. Photo: Andrew Yates / EPA
Brighton, like many others, hoped to hit City on holiday. And they did when Soli March killed a high delivery, fought Cancello and found Pascal Gross in the inner left channel. When the latter passed, City was in disarray for a moment. But John Stones recovered and his team set up their own counter-attack, which, despite failing when De Bruyne touched Mares in the area, was a warning to Brighton how deadly City were from every position.
This was emphasized when Bernardo Silva this time received from the incomparable De Bruyne and the cunning lobbying of the Portuguese was removed by Sanchez.
City were in third gear, but had no discoverer to show their superiority as they entered the final phase of the first half. The balls hit in the Brighton area by Silva and Cancello were exaggerated, and Guardiola may have begun to think about an interval conversation focused on the need for ruthlessness.
De Bruyne had led the game so far and a simple break from him in the Brighton area allowed Ilkay Gundogan to hit the ball towards the goal, as Lewis Dunk’s block saved his team. It was as close as City got, and so when the second half began, Liverpool remained the leader.
The longer Brighton’s resistance lasted, the more City could strain. The crowd felt the same thing that wouldn’t help. Three corners came and went, one with a volley from Rodri, and another returned to De Bruyne, who pushed the ball straight.
But suddenly, a rush of relief. De Bruyne – who else? – made an amazing run that brought those back to yellow. The ball came to Marez, he finished with a diversion and City celebrated.
Guardiola replaced Ake with Ruben Dias at half-time: an intriguing move given the Portuguese’s seven-week break and high stakes. The manager was already in hand-waving mode, traffic lights Silva and Foden pulling wide and pressing Americk Laport.
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Soon he could deliver his usual lecture after a goal. He was directed to Mahrez after Foden’s speculative shot bounced off Enock Mwepu and past Sánchez. Who knows what Guardiola said to the Algerian, but in the end his people can relax.
From then on, it was a control exercise for City and came up with a sweet third. De Bruyne’s shot, which created Silva’s third, was sublime, the final clear. The home team refused to blink. Which of City and Liverpool will do first will be decisive.
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