Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
After their Champions League defeat to Lyon almost a fortnight ago it is fair to say that Manchester City bounced back in the best possible fashion last weekend, with their trip to Cardiff seeing them earn an emphatic victory in South Wales.
Pep Guardiola’s men made incredibly light work of their opposition at the Cardiff Stadium, as they put five unanswered goals past the side that finished runners up in the EFL Championship last season.
To be honest it was a result that didn’t really teach us all that much come full time. It was the kind of performance that showed that City are going to be challenging for the title come the end of the season while Cardiff are more than likely going to be relegated if things don’t improve quickly.
Up next for City is the visit of Brighton who have already managed to claim one Manchester scalp and will be looking to complete an early season double. However, the win they picked up against the Red Devils is one they earned at home and this fixture presents a much tougher task for the Seagulls.
Last weekend they played host to a Tottenham side in apparent crisis after three straight defeats in all competitions, but unfortunately for the South Coast outfit they could not manage to heap further misery on Mauricio Pochettino’s side.
That is because they had to make do with a defeat in the driving autumn rain as Harry Kane once again found his mark from the spot to after a small drought in front of goal, his opener was added to victory by Erik Lamela whose second half goal made sure of all three points.
Brighton were perhaps unfortunate not to have picked up at least a draw though especially in the dying seconds of the game. They had already picked up one injury time goal through winger Anthony Knockeart and the same player had a guilt edge chanced to complete a dramatic comeback.
Unfortunately for all connected to Brighton the Frenchman saw his last second counter attacking effort well saved by Paolo Gazzaniga as Spurs held on to a much needed win to give their own fans some welcome relief.
Brighton are certainly going to have their work cut out if they are to get anything from their trip to Manchester this weekend, especially when you consider the amount of riches that their high-flying opposition have at their disposal.
It could be a matter of just how many goals City rack up against Brighton, especially when they are capable of scoring them from all areas of the pitch. You only need to look at the fact that Riyad Mahrez came off the bench against Cardiff to score his first ever goals for the club.
If you were a betting man you would probably won’t become rich betting on Manchester City to beat Brighton, but at the same time it is where the smart will be going as the champions look likely to romp to another routine victory in front of their own fans.
