In the great game that quite possibly defines the Premier, Manchester City spent tonight at the Etihad over Arsenal and is now the top favorite to defend the title. With their victory, Pep Guardiola's team is two points behind Arsenal, but has two games less. Winning one is enough to reach the lead. It already clearly depends on himself. In addition, he has a somewhat friendlier calendar than the 'gunners' and above all he is in a much better dynamic.
Mikel Arteta still hasn't beaten City. This season Guardiola's team had already beaten Arsenal twice. And the night in Manchester confirmed the cross tendencies of both. City came from seven consecutive victories and Arsenal from three draws, in which a large part of their income had been left.
If anyone was expecting an even duel, they were in for a big disappointment. At City Guardiola he put aside his defense of three and returned to the classic four. The night was a festival of the connection between De Bruyne and Haaland. For once the tables were turned because the scorer was the Belgian who scored twice, a goal at the beginning of each half. The Norwegian only scored one and it was already in 95.
Defending City is usually very difficult and if it weren't for Ramsdale, the Gunners' goalkeeper, the beating could have been historic. In the first half, Ramsdale made three saves to the powerful Norwegian striker.
City already took the lead on the scoreboard in the sixth minute with a right foot from outside the area by De Bruyne that hit the post. Arsenal did not exist offensively in the first half, with all their stars missing or disabled by City's choral play.
When it seemed that Arsenal was going to make it alive at half-time, the skyblues got the second in the added time of the first half with a header from Stones. The goal was given with suspense. Michael Oliver annulled it at the request of a linesman but the VAR confirmed the legal position of the defender.
If Arsenal already had a very complicated mission to start the second half, everything became even more Chinese in minute 53, when a mistake by Odegaard led to the 3-0. Odegaard unloaded the ball backwards in the middle of the field. The ball reached Haaland, who ended up assisting De Bruyne, who, as soon as he stepped into the area, crossed it with his right boot out of Ramsdale's reach.
In 1970 Odegaard left, which passed without pain or glory. and Guardiola withdrew Gundogan for Riad Mahrez, who was coming off a hat trick in his last game; that's how imposing the Manchester City bench is.
Arsenal tried to fix the result in the last quarter of an hour, in which Guardiola withdrew De Bryune from the field. Nelson Nketiah had a good chance, but his shot went wide. In 1986 Holding made it 3-1, the goal of honour. Already in 95 Haaland managed to hunt down the goal that he had sought so much by stealing a ball in the area. He is an insatiable scorer. He already has 33 goals in this Premier. With him and a cast of figures, City is advancing unstoppably towards a new title in this Premier that for so many months it saw as far away.
