Is Manchester City’s title bid about to face a winter of discontent?
By Stewart Flaherty, December 24 2011,
soccer news, football news, football articles, football articles
Manchester City have been in phenomenal domestic form so far this season. The blue half of Manchester sit top of the table, and made a statement by beating rivals Manchester United 6-1 at Old Trafford.It is now impossible to argue that City are anything other than a legitimate title contender.A game on a cold, winter night against a big, physical team was one many critics believed that City’s “pampered, foreign millionaires” would struggle to cope with.
However, that theory took a hit last Wednesday when Stoke City came to the Etihad Stadium on…..a cold, winter night. The Stoke team that has been engineered by Tony Pulis is designed to make things physically difficult for opponents, and ask questions of opposing defenses at set pieces.Rather than becoming flustered by Stoke, City simply dominated the game from the outset. Sergio Aguero and Adam Johnson gave City a 2-0 half-time lead, while a second Aguero strike after the interval rounded out a comfortable 3-0 win that means City will celebrate Christmas day on top of the Premier League.For the last two seasons, Chelsea (2009/2010) and Manchester United (2010/2011) have been in first place on Christmas day, and both have went on to win the Premier League title.While recent history serves as a cause for optimism, their own history serves as a warning for City that there is a long way to go in the title race. This year is the first time City have sat top of the English league standings since 1929. That year, they finished 12 points behind eventual champions Sheffield Wednesday.
By Stewart Flaherty, December 24 2011,
soccer news, football news, football articles, football articles
Manchester City have been in phenomenal domestic form so far this season. The blue half of Manchester sit top of the table, and made a statement by beating rivals Manchester United 6-1 at Old Trafford.It is now impossible to argue that City are anything other than a legitimate title contender.A game on a cold, winter night against a big, physical team was one many critics believed that City’s “pampered, foreign millionaires” would struggle to cope with.
However, that theory took a hit last Wednesday when Stoke City came to the Etihad Stadium on…..a cold, winter night. The Stoke team that has been engineered by Tony Pulis is designed to make things physically difficult for opponents, and ask questions of opposing defenses at set pieces.Rather than becoming flustered by Stoke, City simply dominated the game from the outset. Sergio Aguero and Adam Johnson gave City a 2-0 half-time lead, while a second Aguero strike after the interval rounded out a comfortable 3-0 win that means City will celebrate Christmas day on top of the Premier League.For the last two seasons, Chelsea (2009/2010) and Manchester United (2010/2011) have been in first place on Christmas day, and both have went on to win the Premier League title.While recent history serves as a cause for optimism, their own history serves as a warning for City that there is a long way to go in the title race. This year is the first time City have sat top of the English league standings since 1929. That year, they finished 12 points behind eventual champions Sheffield Wednesday.
No comments:
Post a Comment