23 November 2015
A perfect start
Manuel Pellegrini’s men got their season off to the best possible start with triumphs at West Brom (3-0), Everton (2-0) and Crystal Palace (1-0) featuring in their five-match winning run in August and early September.
In the first of those victories, the tried and tested midfield partnership of Yaya Toure and David Silva ran riot at The Hawthorns.
The Ivorian’s power and energy combined with the Spaniard’s movement and eye for a pass created havoc in West Brom’s ranks, as the deadly duo netted one apiece to build a commanding 2-0 lead after only 24 minutes, to which captain Vincent Kompany added a third just shy of the hour mark.
Next up was a trip to Goodison Park, where goals by Aleksander Kolarov and Samir Nasri wrapped up all three points. Although he did not score, the match witnessed the rise onto the City scene for summer signing Raheem Sterling, who set up Kolarov’s opening strike and posed a constant threat up front with his pace.
The third of this trio of victories would certainly be the hardest-fought, with Crystal Palace also making a strong start to the campaign, and an injury-time winner by teenager Kelechi Iheanacho would be required to make sure of the spoils.
Lesson at the Lane
City got back to their high-scoring ways when they saw off Sunderland 4-1 in the League Cup third round at the Stadium of Light, but their next Premier League encounter on the road would come as somewhat a shock and perhaps a turning point in their domestic away form this term.
The late-September contest with Tottenham appeared to be going well for the visitors. Comfortable in possession, precise in their passing, Kevin de Bruyne gave his new employers a thoroughly deserved lead after 25 minutes. However, Eric Dier’s equaliser on the stroke of half-time triggered an immense comeback by the London club, whose three further goals in the second period saw them romp to an impressive 4-1 win at White Hart Lane.
Since that defeat, City have had to settle for two goalless stalemates on their travels in the Premier League, at Old Trafford in the Manchester derby and against Aston Villa.
The results came in stark contrast to the respective maulings of Newcastle (6-1), Bournemouth (5-1) and Crystal Palace in the League Cup (5-1) all recorded at Etihad Stadium.
Whilst against United, both sides played cautiously in a bid not to lose the contest, the recent 0-0 draw at Villa Park was largely down to the discipline demonstrated by Remi Garde’s men in the Frenchman’s first match in charge and the golden opportunities spurned by Sterling and de Bruyne, with Fernando hitting the crossbar.
European excursions
City’s European trips, however, have been far more fruitful, yielding maximum points and five goals in games against Borussia Monchengladbach (2-1) and Sevilla (3-1).
Gladbach might have counted themselves unfortunate not to have picked up anything from the former of these two fixtures after taking the lead and missing a penalty before succumbing to a spirited fightback by Manuel Pellegrini’s men, as Nicolas Otamendi’s equaliser and Sergio Aguero’s 90th minute spot-kick helped their team pick up a maiden Champions League win of 2015/16.
Vincent Kompany’s return to the starting line-up made for a more convincing defensive display in this month’s success away to Sevilla, while down the other end of the pitch, the visitors netted three times inside the opening 36 minutes.
Strikes by Sterling, Fernandinho and Wilfried Bony, the latter restoring City’s two-goal advantage following Benoit Tremoulinas’ ultimate consolation for the Spaniards, helped City confirm their progress to the knockout stages with two group games to spare – earlier than in all of the club’s previous Champions League campaigns.
Their third and final away day in Group D sees them pitted against a Juventus side looking to confirm their own qualification to the competition’s last 16. The Citizens, however, enter the encounter eager to keep hold of top spot, in a bid to avoid playing any of Europe’s elite outfits in the next round, having lost out to Barcelona at the same stage in two of the previous four seasons.
