⭐ Merited by The Sceptical Chymist (3)
Manchester city won in a dramatic way on the road against Sheffield and they have again proven their consistency over the last few games. The goal scored by Rodri saved Manchester City from a draw and they are increasingly confident at the top of the standings at this time. I had doubts that Manchester City would win this match but anything can still happen, especially for the reigning EPL champions last season. Throughout 90 minutes, Pep Guardiola only made one substitution and that is sometimes a bit risky if the team is in a draw. But indeed the winning mentality for the Manchester City squad is unquestionable and they are doing well so far.
Manchester United truly show nerve of steel in this game, the penalty miss by Halaand in the first half was actually a bit disappointing and actually affected the team’s confidence in the match. So when Halaand scored in the second half with the nature of how the match was going Pep was scared to make any changes because the game needed markers and that was what was lacking from the bench, if you look at the current Manchester City bench you will see that it is bit weak right now with some departures and also injuries. You can see that it would have been a big gamble should he make changes in that match at first, but when Sheffield United squared the game he brought on Foden to help salvage a goal. This change was also a bit gamble because he needed the win too. So for now with the lack of options on the bench we would rarely see substitutes by Pep except games that they were able to finish off early and then he will introduce the young lads to give them more gaming time.
Newscastle fell back deep in the second half and Liverpool punished them for that. In the first half, Liverpool started poorly and that was reflected in the half time result. After Jota and Elliot (plus Nunez) came on, Liverpool played more better with an improved defending (Gomez, Matip and Allison were all brilliant) closing those gaps that Newcastle exploited in the half time.
In the end, it was Nunez who was made runs at the right time and with the right strike. For someone who always blanks, it was relieving to see him do 2/2 on Nick pope
In the end, it was Nunez who was made runs at the right time and with the right strike. For someone who always blanks, it was relieving to see him do 2/2 on Nick pope
Newcastle didn’t fall back in this game to defend in fact they were on top of their game throughout the match but one thing that cost them against Manchester City also happened in this match too. Liverpool should have been more than a goal down before the hour mark had Newcastle converted their chances. Just like you said Allison was definitely the man of the match after Nunez, man denied almiron with some spectacular finger tip stops. Newcastle should have sealed the game had they been clinical upfront but they were let down by their finishing and final passes. My blame actually goes to Harvey Barnes he should have squared the ball to Callum Wilson on two occasions to extend the league but he decided to go all alone and it ended up costing the team.
Liverpool were hard done on this game but capitalizes on a very good counter attacking football from Darwin Nunez. He certainly proved why many fans have been calling for him to start ahead of Gakpo after his pre season games. This game proved that because Gakpo was totally not in the game and I thought he would have been the one to go out for Gomez instead of Luiz Diaz. Liverpool were definitely lucky thanks to Nunez super strikers, I would love to see him coming and start against Aston Villa next weekend because he certainly deserves it.