Pep Guardiola predicted the title race would not come down to goal difference, but Man City showed they fancy a bit of extra comfort after putting Newcastle to the sword… it is a small margin, but a key advantage
- Manchester City moved three points clear at the top after thrashing Newcastle
- Pep Guardiola’s side eased into the lead and went on in search of more goals
- Their goal difference tally may be crucial, and City showed they want comfort
- City now stand four goals clear of Liverpool and hold the advantage in first spot
Pep Guardiola is not a man for predictions, so it was unusual to hear him confidently say that this title race would not come down to goal difference a little over a week ago.
Manchester City were trailing by a few at that point – but not anymore. Nine unanswered goals later, they now stand four clear of Liverpool in that regard.
Guardiola will be far more occupied by their three-point advantage, yet the way in which City went about slaughtering Newcastle in the final quarter of this suggests they fancy a bit of extra comfort too.
Pep Guardiola predicted the Premier League title race would not come down to goal difference
But Manchester City showed they wanted extra comfort in their 5-0 thrashing of Newcastle
After the third, scored by Rodri from yet another set piece just after the hour, they poured forward in search of more. A bit like they did before that five-minute catastrophe at the Bernabeu on Wednesday actually, although Guardiola might not want reminding of that.
Phil Foden and Raheem Sterling both added gloss in stoppage time, celebrated with great exuberance by their manager in the dugout. Before all that, the manager wore a look of fear when Newcastle made rare forays forward, on his haunches.
Maybe goal difference matters after all. This is a small margin, and can be wiped out during a single matchday, yet it has been a long time since City’s number is larger than their great rival’s. ‘It’s important now,’ Guardiola said.
‘It wasn’t really spoken about but it’s common sense,’ Jack Grealish said. ‘The main thing was to get the win. You can’t speak about goal difference before you’ve won the game. We’re in the driving seat. We can’t look at what’s going on around us. Fingers crossed.’
Rodri was on target in the rout at the Etihad, with City securing themselves a crucial advantage
Guardiola will be more focused on the three-point gap and pleased with his side wanting more
Grealish offered a perfect response to midweek. Lampooned for missed opportunities at Real Madrid, it was actually his defensive work that truly contributed to the late defeat.
But on Sunday he appeared a man with points to prove, knowing exactly when to slow the game down and how to up the ante off the left. No midfielder had a higher pass completion than Grealish’s 96 per cent at the break.
He played a key role in the extra two-goal buffer manufactured just before Stuart Attwell blew his whistle, leaving with an assist for Sterling’s second and opening the game up in the build-up to Foden’s.
The latter was exactly what is expected of Grealish, gliding past Kieran Trippier on the touchline and just waiting for the runners to catch him up. They did. Whether Liverpool can remains to be seen over the next fortnight.