Premier League 2017/18: Manchester City 7-2 Stoke City, 5 talking points

Manchester City v Stoke City - Premier League
Manchester City v Stoke City - Premier League

With an exciting international break coming to an end, the Premier League returned with Gameweek 8 and a host of goals for the fans to savour. Manchester United against Liverpool was the match people had been eagerly waited for.

However, a 0-0 draw at Anfield left the fans bored and disappointed before noisy neighbours Manchester City gifted the Premier League fans an afternoon to remember. Pep Guardiola's men were on fire at home as they humiliated Stoke City with a landslide 7-2 victory.

Here are five talking points from the exciting game as Manchester City moved two points clear of rivals Manchester United at the top of the table.


#5 A helpless Stoke City

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It was a day to forget for former City boss Mark Hughes

On a fine afternoon at the Etihad, Mark Hughes travelled to his former clubs with an expectation to put up a tough test for his former Barcelona teammate Pep Guardiola. Considering their last visit to Manchester in March, the 0-0 draw might have been a faint glimmer of hope for the Potters to achieve firm ground against the heavyweights.

With no love lost for Mark Hughes at the Etihad, Guardiola's men were quick to inflict the pain on the former City boss with 3 goals inside the half-hour mark.

Diouf looked like the saviour after pulling one back in the dying minutes of the first half and another at the start of the second, but that was all the Potters would witness from their attackers.

City ran riot after Diouf's scare, netting an incredible four goals as Guardiola and team left the stadium with wide smiles on their faces.

Stoke failed to keep possession of the ball, appearing helpless against City's aggressive pressing gameplay. Add a couple of individual errors to that and the result is a humongous 7-goal humiliation. A lack of healthy midfield performance was responsible for Shaqiri, Rodriguez and Choupo-Moting remaining largely ineffective in the game.

#4 No Aguero, no problem

Manchester City v Newcastle United - Premier League
Aguero's absence wasn't much of a difference for City against Stoke

With Argentine goal-machine Sergio Aguero making the bench for the fixture, Guardiola opted for an unchanged line-up that defeated Chelsea at the Bridge. Nevertheless, his decision reaped handsome benefits as the midfield giants equalled a record that was more than a century ago.

With Aguero still one goal shy of equalling Erick Brook's 177-goal haul to become City's all-time top-scorer, the Argentine must wait for another weekend to cherish his moment of glory. His absence against Chelsea saw the Citizens scrap a 1-0 victory with De Bruyne finding the back of the net.

However, after today's game, it is crystal-clear that City have a midfield that offers a worthy competition to the likes of PSG and Real Madrid. Needless to say, today's game starkly underlined the fact that the English champions can do equally well even without their star striker.

There were total nine players involved in the seven goals scored against Stoke City. With forward Gabriel Jesus netting twice, both the Silvas, Leroy Sane, Raheem Sterling and Fernandinho were on the scoresheet for the Citizens. Surely if this continues, Sergio Aguero might as well have to fight for a starting berth!

#3 The worst debut

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Edwards endured a nightmare at the Etihad on his debut

On a thrilling afternoon for the Manchester City fans, 18-year-old defender Tom Edwards replaced Bruno Martins Indi due to the latter being affected by a groin injury. A surprise addition to the starting XI, the day was nothing short of a cruel nightmare for the youngster.

Edwards marked his debut with a decisive cross that led to an own goal by City defender Kyle Walker. As Stoke looked to claw back after reducing the deficit, the youngster was stretchered off in the 53rd minute, as he mopped up a disappointing debut for the Potters. He was substituted by Ramadan Sobhi.

The scene that met his Thomas Edwards' eyes after coming out was nonetheless a chilling sight to watch.

#2 The De Bruyne fairytale continues

Image result for Kevin De Bruyne 7-2 Stoke
De Bruyne produced a masterstroke in the 7-2 thrashing of Stoke City

In an exciting nine-goal thriller at the Etihad, Belgian attacker Kevin De Bruyne was the perfect gentleman while his teammates made it to the scoresheet. Of the six midfielders and forwards in the line-up, only De Bruyne failed to score as he sat behind pulling the strings in the midfield.

After inflicting a 1-0 defeat on Chelsea at the Bridge, the Belgian was at the height of his powers against Stoke, being the creative lynchpin behind City's famous win. He was a silent leader who orchestrated City's attacks and bagged two assists for himself.

In so many ways, Kevin De Bruyne proved that he was the main man in City's line-up. His exquisite through-ball to Leroy Sane in the 62nd minute was an example of sheer brilliance. The midfielder has continued his red-hot form for the Citizens in the Premier League with another masterclass of a performance to his credit.

De Bruyne's two assists versus Stoke have placed him on a level with Leo Messi for most assists (68) since 2012-13.

With a passing accuracy of 88.5%, he worked relentlessly as City went two points clear of rivals Manchester United.Apparently, injured teammate caused quite a stir after tweeting his homage to the dynamic Belgian enforcer!

With that sparkling execution of a fluid performance, De Bruyne was undoubtedly the man-of-the-match after being substituted by Ilkay Gundogan.

#1 The most feared fortress

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Etihad is the most feared fortress in England

City's masterstroke is one of those rare performances where each player was at his ultimate best on the football pitch.

Captain David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne were excellent in creating chances for teammates while the likes of Leroy Sane, Raheem Sterling, and Gabriel Jesus all produced an immaculate display of team-play goals. Dominating from the first minute of the match, the Citizens were 3-0 up by the half-hour mark and added four more to complete an amazing victory. In doing so, they equalled their previous 7-goal haul against Norwich City in 2013.

In the goals galore that followed, Fernandinho's canon was the best of all. The Brazilian smashed the shot straight to the roof of the net from 45 yards. Leroy Sane was made Kevin De Bruyne happier after giving justice to his intelligent through ball in the 62nd minute.

Apart from equalling a century-old record of Everton, the Citizens have helped Etihad build a reputation as the most feared place in England followed by Old Trafford.

With Napoli visiting the fortress for a Champions League fixture in the mid-week, Italian tactician Maurizio Sarri needs to make sure he has enough armour to shore up his walls against City's devastating ammunition.

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Edited by Amit Mishra