Sheffield United 0-1 Manchester City | 5 Talking Points | EPL 2020/21
In the first game of the weekend in the Premier League, Sheffield United welcomed an underperforming Manchester City side to an empty Bramall Lane. Pep Guardiola’s men took little time to establish their dominance and opened the scoring in the 28th minute through a Kyle Walker daisy cutter. The 25-yard strike would turn out to be the game’s only goal, gifting Manchester City a precious win away from home.
Here are some talking points from Manchester City’s 1-0 win over Sheffield United.
Sheffield United 0-1 Manchester City | 5 Talking Points
#5 Ferran Torres as ST
On paper and according to the books, Manchester City have the most expensively assembled squad in the Premier League. In every department, they are blessed with world-class players. However, like any other team, they are susceptible to injuries. Both Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus are set to be on the sidelines for extended periods, leaving Pep with no out-and-out striker to pick.
Instead, he has played the likes of Raheem Sterling and Phil Foden as false nines, and today was the turn of 20-year-old winger Ferran Torres. Upfront, he showed glimpses of quality but all in all, he had a quiet game which saw him only have 26 touches, attempt 5 shots, make 9 passes and complete 1 dribble.
#4 Aaron Ramsdale puts in a solid display
Manchester City looked closer to their free-flowing best today as they aimed to pen in a short-on-confidence Sheffield United team. Throughout the 90 minutes, the Citizens had 65% of the possession, making 712 passes and attempting 16 shots on goal. This meant that when the Blades’ back five were breached, their keeper was the last line of defence.
In turn, the 22-year-old keeper was kept busy throughout the 90 minutes, making 7 saves – 3 of which came from close proximity while 1 was a 1v1. When Sheffield United lost Dean Henderson back to Man Utd, fans thought they wouldn’t find a worthy replacement, but Ramsdale has filled those shoes very quickly.