ETIHAD STADIUM — Much has been made of how Manchester City will struggle to replace the majesty of David Silva as the Spaniard leaves the club after 10 trophy-laden years.
El Mago had his Padawan that he could shape into the Jedi he so desired, with Phil Foden possessing all the ability to step into his master’s shoes. But the apprentice finished the season in City’s comprehensive win over Norwich as he restarted it, on the wing as a wide forward – a position he has assumed in all of his starts since the enforced coronavirus pandemic break.
The future, then, may be less about pausa – the style of play David Silva brought to Manchester, in which you wait that extra moment for the play to develop before making the right pass – and more about dynamism and vigour.
And boy do City have the artillery to add another devastating style of play to Pep Guardiola’s plans, with Kevin De Bruyne – many people’s choice as player of the season – more than ready to spearhead such an assault.
VAR denied Norwich a shock opener at the Etihad yesterday after one of those lengthy, dotted-line-heavy delays before, in typically ruthless fashion, Manchester City went straight down the other end and did find the net, Gabriel Jesus scoring his 22nd goal of the season – his best-ever campaign tally – and the world was normal again.
Chasing the personal accolade of the most assists in a single Premier League season, De Bruyne was the focal point of most attacks as team-mates seemed to be doing their utmost to get him on the ball.
Foden, having switched to the other flank to try to influence the game, as wide forwards are asked to do, then ran at the heart of the Norwich defence – not very David Silva-esque – before firing over.
Unable to claim the assist, De Bruyne then looked non-plussed as he unleashed a humdinger into the top corner to make it 2-0 on the stroke of half time – not the assist he was craving.
As Norwich tired late on, Manchester City carved open the Premier League’s departing bottom side.
De Bruyne set up Raheem Sterling for the third, moving the Belgian level with Thierry Henry on 20 assists for the season, before laying off the final pass for Riyad Mahrez to score the fourth. All the work Mahrez did himself to find the net, though, means the assist column remains empty.
David Silva left the field to as rapturous applause as you can get in an empty stadium before, fittingly, De Bruyne had the final say as he curled in a beauty to make it five and take City’s season goal tally to a remarkable 102. Ederson took home the Golden Glove award for most clean sheets in a season.
“It was a good 90 minutes for us,” De Bruyne said. “It is good to stay in the rhythm. We have two weeks to rest up and play hard.”
De Bruyne was again overlooked for a top award as David Silva was named man of the match, but it is the big prize on which City still have their sights. Whether Foden will start against Real Madrid on 7 August – and, if he does, where he will play – both remain unclear, but one thing is for sure: in this form, Real had better beware of a high-octane De Bruyne, the leader of a potentially different City force altogether.
Follow i sport on Facebook for the latest Premier League news, interviews and features
More on the Premier League
- Transfer window: 8 players who could be on the move this summer
- What the overturned Champions League ban means for Man City’s rivals
- Kevin Garside: Man City’s attention should now turn to Europe… with hope of becoming Liverpool 2019
- Leicester’s Morgan reveals PL plans on taking a knee for rest of the campaign and beyond
- From world-beater at Liverpool to a failure at Barça, Newcastle may be Coutinho’s only hope
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/30NqEli
Post a Comment