Manchester City 8-0 Watford: 5 players who were brilliant for Pep Guardiola

Manchester City were dominant, to say the least
Manchester City were dominant, to say the least

Last weekend, Manchester City endured a tough time at Carrow Road, when Norwich City’s direct approach caught Pep Guardiola’s men off guard. City did get back to winning ways in midweek, defeating Shakhtar Donetsk 3-0, but their Spanish manager was still be hurt from that unexpected defeat at the hands of the Canaries. As such, Watford was in danger of stepping into the eye of the storm when they visited the Etihad on Saturday and their worst nightmares were about to come true.

Ahead of the game, City was already trailing Liverpool by 5 points and Pep Guardiola knew that he could not afford any more hiccups. Watford, bottom of the table with two points after five games, was the ideal opponents for City at the moment. It was an opportunity for the Spaniard to get the confidence and swagger back into his team and he named a very strong first eleven for the game.

Manchester City Starting XI – Ederson; Kyle Walker, Nicolas Otamendi, Fernandinho, Benjamin Mendy; Kevin De Bruyne, Rodrigo, David Silva; Riyad Mahrez, Sergio Aguero, Bernardo Silva.

Pep Guardiola’s team showed their intent right at the start of the game, taking the lead in the very first minute through David Silva. City went 5-0 up in the 18th minute, as Sergio Aguero, Riyad Mahrez, Bernardo Silva and Nicolas Otamendi all found the back of the net. After the break, Bernardo Silva completed his hat-trick, while Kevin De Bruyne got on the score sheet as the game ended 8-0 in City’s favour. Here are the 5 men who were brilliant for Pep Guardiola on the night.


#5 David Silva

David Silva
David Silva

David Silva started in the midfield that also comprised of Kevin de Bruyne and Rodrigo. The Spaniard’s presence allowed Kevin De Bruyne to flourish, while the man also helped Rodrigo clean up whenever City lost the ball. After a disappointing show against Norwich City, he had a point to prove against Watford and he did so in style.

David Silva started the party for City when he made a clever run into the far post and got to the end of Kevin De Bruyne’s cross to give his team the lead. It was a sign of things to come, as Silva helped his team dominate the proceedings and capped up a comfortable return to winning ways for his team.

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#4 Rodrigo

Rodrigo
Rodrigo

Rodrigo had his task cut out on the day because the City defence had a major injury issue to deal with. John Stones had picked up a muscle injury and was out for a month. In midweek, Pep Guardiola had opted to use Fernandinho as Nicolas Otamendi’s partner in the heart of the City defence and the Spaniard continued with the same centre back pairing against Watford. This meant that Rodrigo had to be vigil and provide extra cover to his backline. And the Spaniard did that very well.

Rodrigo’s dominance allowed City to throw the men forward, while the Spaniard was at the right place at the right time to thwart the opposition attacks. Rodrigo dropped down to help out his backline and dictated the tempo of the game from deep. Unlike last weekend, Rodrigo could not get into the scoresheet, however, his contribution to the game was equally important.

#3 Sergio Aguero

Sergio Aguero
Sergio Aguero

Sergio Aguero has enjoyed an excellent start to the new season and was also leading the Premier League Golden Boot race ahead of this weekend’s game. After scoring 7 goals in the first 5 games, the Argentinean continued his fine form on Saturday, after Riyad Mahrez won a penalty in the 7th minute. Aguero stepped up and sent the ball into the back of the net to double City’s lead, scoring his 100th Premier League goal in the process.

It kick-started City’s onslaught on the visitors, as the home side tore the visitors apart in style. The Argentinean had quite a few chances to double his tally and impressed with his movement and runs down the channel. He also picked up an assist when he squared for Nicolas Otamendi to score City’s fifth of the game. He was also crucial in setting up Bernardo Silva’s first goal of the day. Aguero also hit the upright and was a constant threat for the away defence.

#2 Kevin De Bruyne

Kevin De Bruyne
Kevin De Bruyne

Kevin De Bruyne has been in fine form this season and after missing out on the action due to injury last term, he seems to be desperate to make up for the lost time. The Belgian was already leading the assist charts before the game and Watford knew that to stop City, they had to stop the Belgian. However, it was easier said than done.

While De Bruyne’s passing is exquisite, his crossing ability is also world-class. And it was his crosses that regularly opened up the opposition defence on the day. The Belgian combined very well with Bernardo Silva and Mahrez and kept the Watford defence on their toes. The visitors could not deal with his passing and vision at all.

The Belgian picked up his first assist of the game when he set up David Silva to score in the 1st minute. From there on, De Bruyne continuously sent a series of glorious balls into the box that left the Watford defence clueless. He finally set up Bernardo Silva for the Portuguese’s third goal, before scoring City’s 8th goal himself.

#1 Bernardo Silva

Bernardo Silva
Bernardo Silva

Bernardo Silva scored the first hat-trick of his career and inspired his team to a record 8-0 win on the day. The Portuguese has continued where he left off last season and showed his versatility once again against Watford. Pep Guardiola opted to give Raheem Sterling a deserved rest and stationed Riyad Mahrez on his favoured right. This meant that Bernardo Silva was pushed on to a left forward role, and it is safe to say that the Portuguese adapted pretty well to the new position.

Bernardo Silva did not stick to a single area, but floated around across the front line, popping up at different positions. And Watford could neither follow his movements nor track his runs, which allowed the Portuguese to flourish. And Silva started with a stooping header in the 15th minute to get his team 4-0 up. After the break, the Portuguese scored his second of the game and City’s 6th, in the 48th minute, before completing his hat-trick 12 minutes later. This assured display ultimately helped City win the game and set a marker for the rest of the league.

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Edited by Amar Anand