Manchester City vs West Brom a few quick thoughts
Dan Tracey
May 17, 2017
1,953 Views
- Manchester City may not be quite over the line but they require just a point to secure a place in next seasons Champions League
- Had Arsenal not got maximum points then the race would have been run but as it stands we have two berths looking to be filled by three teams
- Football purists would probably not have been too pleased with the fact that Manchester City did not name a single Englishman in the starting eleven last night
- They may not be the first team to have ever done this but it does not really bode all that well for the long term future of the England side if this to be a regular occurence
- Ultimately though that is not to the concern of Pep Guardiola – his job is to deliver titles and if he cannot deliver that then a place in Europe’s top club competition has to be minimum standard
- By Guardiola’s own standards it must be viewed as something of a disappointing season but at least they are finishing somewhat strongly
- Is it strong enough to ensure a top four finish, well we know the answer to that on Sunday as they travel to Watford and with the form that Walter Mazzari’s side are in as of late then City will go into the game as heavy favourites
- The opposition that they faced last night are also in something of dire form as West Brom have now failed to win any of their last 8 matches
- They have only picked up 2 points from a possible 24, they really are on the beach right now
- So much so that they have finally slipped down to 9th place in the table
- That is by virtue of goal difference after their 3-1 defeat last night
- Although West Brom’s season has no doubt surpassed expectations there must be some cause for concern from Tony Pulis by the way his team have fizzled out in the last couple of months
- They have not won now since March 18th when they beat Arsenal 3-1 on their own turf
- Last night the game was all but over within half an hour
- Gabriel De Jesus scored his second goal in less than a week to give first blood to City
- Then just two minutes later Kevin De Bruyne made it 2-0 and that was as good the points being wrapped up for the home side
- The linkup play of the two goalscorers and Sergio Aguero was a joy to behold and it also showed that Aguero and Jesus are more than capable of playing in the same starting eleven.
- Whether Aguero sees his role diminished next season remains to be seen but they should be both spearheading an attack line for City then it makes dangerous reading for their opposition
- The game was put beyond any reasonable doubt just before the hour as Yaya Toure made it 3-0
- In a night where Pablo Zabaleta played his last game at The Etihad in City colours the question is whether not the same can be said for the Ivorian what with him being out of contract in a few weeks time
- City were cruising and perhaps took their foot off the peddle in the last few minutes as Hal Robson-Kanu scored a scant consolation
- But City were dominant in what was their third straight home win in the space of 10 days
- That win definitely puts them in the box seat for securing at least at a top four spot but you should imagine with the way Watford are playing right now then they should be able to emphatically secure 3rd place
- Sunday awaits
Like this:
Like Loading...
Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
