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Manchester City extended their lead at the top of the 2020-21 Premier League to four points with a narrow 1-0 win at home against Sheffield United.
The Blades, who are rooted to the bottom of the division, headed into this fixture in fine fettle after beating Manchester City's fierce rivals Manchester United 2-1 in their previous outing. However, while they did defend very well once again, Pep Guardiola's men did just enough to merit all three points.
Gabriel Jesus opened the scoring inside ten minutes courtesy of a fabulous bit of play by Ferran Torres.
The home side continued to dominate possession although they failed to create many clear-cut chances. Nevertheless, they were hardly troubled by Sheffield's forwards as they saw out the narrow win.
On that note, here are five talking points from the match.
#5 Manchester City's defence continues to be impenetrable
Despite resting regular first-team defenders Joao Cancelo and John Stones, Manchester City racked up yet another clean-sheet, thanks to the excellent Ruben Dias.
The Portuguese has settled in fabulously at Manchester City and has completely rejuvenated their struggling defence.
Sheffield United might not sport the most devastating offence in the league. But they did ask the Manchester City defence some serious questions with speculative lobbed passes. However, Ruben Dias had the answer to all of them, winning his aerial duels while also timing all his grounded tackles perfectly.
There is a real feeling around the club that scoring one goal might be enough to win them games, and the same could prove key in their title charge.
#4 Ferran Torres gives Guardiola selection dilemmas
20-year-old Spanish international Ferran Torres might not have replicated his Champions League heroics for Manchester City in the Premier League just yet. But he capitalised on a rare start in the competition on Saturday afternoon.
The only goal in the game was all his work, as he retained possession against all odds before setting up Gabriel Jesus to smash the ball in from point-blank range.
Although he did go missing at times, he swung in a few delicious crosses into the box. On another day, he could've had a couple of assists. His industrious performance will surely give Pep Guardiola a selection dilemma on who to pick the next time Manchester City take the pitch.
Also Read: 5 players who could still move in the January transfer window.
#3 Sheffield United finding form at the right time
Chris Wilder's Sheffield United might only have eight points after 20 matches, but they defended very well once again and frustrated Manchester City on their own turf.
Despite not picking up any points from the match, they do have a lot of positives to take from it. If they can hold Manchester City to just one goal, they should fancy their chances to keep a clean-sheet against most other offences in the league.
Of course, they would need to find some inspiration at the other end of the field, and soon. If they manage to do that, they might just have a shot at surviving the drop.
#2 Aaron Ramsdale could be Sheffield United's saviour
Sheffield United are in dire need of a hero to save them from relegation, and it could well be their young goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.
The former Bournemouth man was in sensational form against Manchester City, as he thwarted away some goal-bound shots in stunning fashion.
Ramsdale only has one clean-sheet to his name so far. But if the Blades are to have any chance of surviving the drop, that number needs to rise dramatically during the rest of their campaign.
Nevertheless, the 22-year-old his doing his part, to say the least.
#1 Manchester City's experience sets them apart from the rest
On paper, there wasn't much difference between Sheffield United's performance in their win against Manchester United and in this loss against Manchester City.
The Cityzens, much like the Red Devils, were far from their best against Chris Wilder's men, yet they managed to collect all three points. The difference between the two squads is the plethora of experience that City have of being in a similar situation in previous seasons.
It is this experience, exuded by the likes of Fernandinho, Ruben Dias and Ilkay Gundogan among others, that proved crucial in Manchester City not dropping points against Sheffield United.
It is this very factor that could push them over the line as opposed to their rivals Manchester United.
Also Read: Reports: Manchester City closing in on two Brazilian wonderkids from Fluminense.
