Manchester Metropolis cruised to victory over Sunderland on the Etihad Stadium to maneuver inside two factors of Arsenal on the prime of the Premier League.
Ruben Dias opened the scoring for Metropolis with a outstanding, Vincent Kompany-esque lengthy vary effort into the highest proper nook, earlier than Josko Gvardiol doubled the lead a couple of minutes later with a header from a Phil Foden nook.
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Foden accomplished the scoring within the second half, heading house a pleasant Rayan Cherki rabona cross to present Pep Guardiola’s facet a deserved three factors.
Listed below are three issues we discovered as Metropolis beat the Black Cats:
Cherki is electrical
Loads of Manchester Metropolis gamers carried out effectively in opposition to Regis le Bris’s facet, however none extra so than Cherki.
The French attacking midfielder had huge expectations basically coming in to interchange departing membership legend Kevin de Bruyne, and he has surpassed them up to now being the Premier League’s prime assister with simply 350 minutes performed.
Cherki is extraordinarily artistic and two footed, and at all times appears to progress the ball by exhibiting for it and taking part in ahead.
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Guardiola needs to emphasize that he isn’t the completed article but, and didn’t appear all that impressed together with his rabona cross, deeming it pointless and susceptible to creating him look silly if he misplaces it.
However I feel that’s principally media discuss from the Metropolis boss. He’ll know simply how effectively the 22-year-old performed and what he’s obtained in his locker, and I’d be shocked if he doesn’t begin him on the Bernabeu on Wednesday evening.
Haaland being double marked is benefitting Foden
Simply the one aim in his final 4 video games within the Premier League is poor going by Erling Haaland’s requirements, however elsewhere, gamers are benefitting.
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Every time Metropolis had the ball within the remaining third, two of Sunderland’s three centre backs caught contact tight to Haaland, roughly marking him out of the sport.
However due to that, Foden, Cherki, Bernardo Silva and Jeremy Doku obtained plenty of area in between the strains.
They capitalised on it for the primary aim, with Cherki having the ability to obtain and lay off to Dias, who clearly completed terribly effectively.
For the third aim, Haaland pulled away to the again put up, attracting two with him and permitting Cherki to search out Foden within the field and the 25-year-old headed it past Robin Roefs in aim for Sunderland.
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It would see a brief decline in Haaland’s outstanding scoring numbers, actually in opposition to low block groups, however will permit the remainder of Metropolis’s attackers the possibility to thrive.
Set piece menace is lastly enhancing
It’s 4 – sure 4 – Premier League video games in a row now that Metropolis have scored a aim from a set piece.
Dias scored in opposition to Newcastle United, earlier than Gvardiol obtained Metropolis’s second aim in opposition to Leeds final week.
Foden scored on the stroke of halftime in opposition to Fulham in midweek, with the nook from the left hand facet discovering Metropolis’s quantity 47 on the sting of the field, who curled it into the highest left nook.
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This week, it was an excellent proper sided inswinging supply from Foden that was met by a thumping Gvardiol header to as soon as once more double Metropolis’s lead like at Leeds final weekend.
New set piece coach James French is clearly making his mark at Metropolis, and hopefully it is a signal of issues to come back with groups like Arsenal exhibiting that it’s very doable to depend on set items as an everyday supply of targets.