Man City 4-1 West Ham (Coufal OG 10′, Haaland 42′, 55′, Foden 58′ | Fullkrug 71′)
Bernardo Silva was left dumbfounded. Hands on his head, he had not seen a cross of such delight in a long, long time at the Etihad.
Most had written Savinho off before he had even accepted it rains in Manchester more than it doesn’t. Signing a player who spent last season on loan at one City Football Group club, Girona, from another, Troyes, just seemed like shifting money from one bank account to another.
Yet, in the space of a week, as all else around him has remained disjointed – to put it mildly – the embryonic Brazilian has opened his City account and followed that with another goal to set Manchester City on their way to their joint-highest league win of the season over West Ham, while providing two assists.
One of which left his teammates in a state of awe and sent a message to the naysayers around East Manchester – there may well be a real talent in this move of convenience after all.
The fleet-footed Brazilian had the beleaguered Hammers backline tied in knots in the first half, but other than the Savinho’s forays forward, West Ham were the better team in the early stages in the Manchester big freeze. Some better composure in the final third and yet another catastrophe would be on Pep Guardiola’s hands.
A 4-1 scoreline certainly flattered the hosts, who finished Saturday’s encounter with half the shots the visitors had.
Savinho’s deflected opener certainly settled the nerves, but it was his cross for Erling Haaland’s 20th goal of the season – a supposed below-par campaign – that really grabbed the attention.
With teammates failing to make moves either side, Savinho took it upon himself to beat his man once again, before whipping the kind of cross few are able to conjure – enough to drag the goalkeeper out while giving him no chance whatsoever to get there.
Bernardo, a figure who has seen his fair share of brilliance around these parts, was left open-mouthed.
The pass for City’s game-clinching third was more of a Pep pass – one that was all about the pausa. As Savinho carried the ball towards a backpedalling Hammers defence, he waited that split second longer, for the move to evolve, threading the pass through at the precise moment Haaland made his move. The recent Etihad curse had been lifted.
A stunning match return of three goal contributions was what the effervescent performance merited. Only regular City watchers know just how important a role Riyad Mahrez played in the champions’ domination of English football. Jeremy Doku was supposed to be the heir to the Algerian’s wing throne, but Savinho appears to fit the bill more in Pep’s ideal mould.
Savinho became somewhat the face of a poor City summer transfer window, one which will almost certainly cost them the title.
Other than Ilkay Gundogan’s return on a free transfer, he represented their only major acquisition, leaving City as the Premier League’s lowest spenders, having let £170m worth of talent go.
The champions, out of nowhere, were left with a small squad of aging stars who had won it all – Savinho being the exception.
In such an environment, a teenager at the time of arrival was always going to take time to bed in. Little did he know most of his teammates’ form would fall off a cliff.
With City now three games unbeaten, its seems the worst is over. There are still too many out-of-form stars holding them back, but slowly but surely, Kevin De Bruyne is finding another gear, Phil Foden is showing glimpses of his best, while defensive errors have stopped becoming commonplace.
Savinho’s recent resurgence, however, is the real cause for optimism. Haaland has found his goalscoring boots once more as a result. And that normally means trouble for the rest of the Premier League.
With some crucial fixtures to come, at home and abroad, Pep has no choice but to leave £150m worth of talent – Jack Grealish and Doku – looking on from the sidelines. Savinho represents City’s best hope of salvation.
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