Ruthless Manchester City in perfect shape for Manchester derby after Club Brugge blitz
Manchester City recovered superbly from their two-game winless run to put Club Brugge to the sword in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday evening.
Pep Guardiola was beginning to face serious questions over his side’s lethargy. This came following his side's successive defeats to West Ham United in the Carabao Cup and Crystal Palace in the Premier League.
However, the Spanish manager and his side shut out all the critics with a commanding display at the Etihad Stadium against Club Brugge. The Cityzens completely dominated the game and the 4-1 scoreline was perhaps more flattering on their opponents.
Even without a proper centre-forward this season, Manchester City do not lack potency up front and continue to score goals for fun in their matches.
FULL TIME | A good night's work! 🤝
🔵 4-1 ⚫️ #ManCity https://t.co/RAXEgQiF5I
Cityzens make light work of Club Brugge
The interesting thing about Guardiola’s side is that their goals are spread across the pitch. The midfielders and wingers are all good at scoring and are consistent at it.
On Wednesday, the Spaniard opted for a front three of Jack Grealish, Riyad Mahrez and Phil Foden. Mahrez and Foden ended up on the score sheet. Meanwhile Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling also arrived in the second half to also add to the goals.
Club Brugge have caused upsets in the past to some of Europe’s best teams but Manchester City didn’t even give them a sniff. The Cityzens went all out and routed them in both home and away matches.
Currently on nine points in Group A, Manchester City sit at the top of the group. They need one more win from their remaining two matches to guarantee a place in the last 16. That, surely, is not beyond them.
PEP 💬 Every game my focus is the next one and I never think about the second one. I know the game against United is the most important thing, we are going to create a good environment but you cannot imagine how important today was. https://t.co/QFPuUnvetT
Manchester City in perfect shape ahead of derby
With the game against Club Brugge out of the way, Manchester City will now shift their focus to the Manchester derby coming up on Saturday.
The Red Devils may have had a day’s rest over their rivals, but the Cityzens are in better shape. They are in better form too, as compared to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side, who are still yet to convince despite their array of stars.
"The people were taking the p*** for me saying today was more important than United - and it was. But now the most important game ever is Man Utd,” Guardiola declared, as quoted by Sky Sports.
The City manager also talked about the schedule ahead of the derby.
"The schedule is the schedule, sometimes we play Tuesday, sometimes Friday. Sometimes it is 12.30 or sometimes 5.30pm. I am pretty sure at 12.30 on Saturday we will be at Old Trafford."
Only three points separate Manchester City and Manchester United in the Premier League but the former will go into Saturday’s game as huge favorites.
Current form hasn’t always been a deciding factor in the Manchester derby but it’ll be a huge surprise if the Cityzens lose this one. They are stronger and quite honestly the better team among the two.