The Premier League title is continuing, and the suspense continues. With a 4-1 win away at Southampton, Manchester City have struck an eight-game winning streak in all competitions. The Blue Moon are now playing 29 games against Premier League leaders Arsenal and are just five points behind. And after this big win, Pep Guardiola's side once again widened the gap between the Gunners' newly closed goal difference to five (48-43). However, while the pressure on the Arsenal in the Premier League stadium was maintained, the Manchester City boss said after the game: they have little interest in the Gunners' visit to Anfield on Sunday!
Southampton continue to wander at the bottom of the table despite just two draws and two defeats in their last four league matches. However, the Saints' two draws were against Manchester United and Tottenham, so even if they won the game by three goals after the game, Guardiola still called the 4-1 battle a tough battle: "I am here to give my praise to Southampton, their tactical planning in the game is very, very pragmatic, the formation of the whole team is very well organized, the discipline is very strong. We weren't in great form in the first half, and the fact that the team was able to take the lead before half-time was somewhat lucky. In the second half we tried to strengthen our physical confrontation and the second goal came after winning possession in a scramble, and it wasn't until we had a two-goal lead that we really relaxed. But throughout the match, I still have to pay tribute to my opponent! ”
As the boss said, City's first goal was crucial, and it was Haaland, who has been in hot form recently. After receiving a cross from De Bruyne before the end of the first half, and after extending the score to 2-0 in the second half with a follow-up shot in front of Grealish, the Norwegian again staged in front of goal in the 68th minute: Grealish's cross was sent high behind him, only to result in Haaland coming with a direct volley and the ball into the net to the exclamation of the crowd. The Norwegian striker has scored 44 goals in all competitions at the club this season, just one step away from breaking the record!
For Haaland's difficult shot, teammate De Bruyne quipped after the game that it was better not to blindly imitate it, otherwise it could cost a lot, "You will never see me score a similar (barbed) goal." If I tried that shot, you would probably be going to see me in the hospital in Southampton by now! And Guardiola was full of praise for Haaland's inverted goal, "Haaland's second goal is so beautiful, it is quite difficult to complete the barbed shot in that situation. His talent in front of goal was on full display in this goal. Even given his height, it's not too surprising to shoot in that situation, but it's still incredible. ”
Guardiola, who has always been strict with his disciples, also asserted that Haaland is creating an era of his own, "We have lived in an era dominated by Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi for almost 20 years, and now Haaland is proving himself with goals, I am very happy with his form after returning from injury, and today you can say that he helped the team again." I think the reason why the owner threw money at bringing him in was to break the deadlock in this kind of game. The team was not in good form on the pitch and was slow to find the rhythm of the game that he was good at, and he scored at a crucial moment that changed everything. ”
However, it was a little surprising that Southampton did not close the stop when they were 3-0 down, and instead Mara pulled a goal back in the 72nd minute. Manchester City then won a penalty three minutes later, and Julian Alvarez, who had just replaced Haaland, volleyed hard into the middle of the game to seal the final score at 4-1!
In addition to Haaland equalling Salah (2017-18) and Ruud van Nistelrooy (2002-03) for a Premier League player's total goals in a single season (44) and reaching his career milestone of 200 goals (Manchester City 44, Borussia Dortmund 86, Salzburg 29, Molde 20 and Norway 21), De Bruyne also received his 100th Premier League assist.
The Belgian midfielder, who has always kept a low profile, said after the game that he had heard discussions about his assist stats before the game, and he half-jokingly hinted that if his teammates hadn't squandered their chances, he might even have scored an assist hat-trick that day, "I knew similar numbers before the game because a lot of people talk about my 100 assists online, which is the kind of topic that you can hardly ignore." I'm a creative midfielder, so my job is to create as many chances as possible for my team-mates and today I should have two or three more assists. ”
After Manchester City's game, the difference between them and leaders Arsenal narrowed to five points with the same number of games. The latter will visit Liverpool on Sunday afternoon, and with City now playing on multiple fronts, Arsenal will have two more games when the two teams meet at the Etihad Stadium this month, and even if the Gunners extend their lead to double digits, City will still be able to rely on their two make-up games to carry the suspense of the league title race into the end of the season.
However, the Bluemoon boss did not appear to be interested in the Arsenal game after the game, with Kevin De Bruyne saying he would not even watch Sunday's game live: "To be honest, I might focus more on my family tomorrow." They're going out for Easter holidays and I'd rather spend a little more time with them before they leave, so maybe I don't have much time to watch Arsenal tomorrow. And Pep Guardiola's attitude towards his title rivals is the same: "I also want to be in the position that Arsenal are in now, but now we have to focus on Bayern Munich [in the next Champions League knockout game]. ”
Author: Liu Chuan