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Manchester City have rarely had a poor run this season. However, they certainly felt the pressure at the start of April after going winless in three games across competitions.
The Cityzens drew 2-2 with Liverpool in the Premier League before narrowly escaping the Wanda Metropolitano with a goalless draw against Atletico Madrid. They were then eliminated from the FA Cup semi-finals by Jurgen Klopp’s side. That winless run put City in a weird position, but they turned things around with a 3-0 battering of Brighton & Hove Albion to return to winning ways.
Once they got their mojo back, it was only a matter of time before Pep Guardiola’s men got back to blowing away their opponents with consummate ease. That happened on Saturday when the Cityzens coasted to a 5-1 win against Watford.
Cityzens blow away hapless Watford
Manchester City can be very ruthless, and when they’re in that mood, there’s literally no opponent that can stand in their way. Watford were just the unfortunate victims this time around, as the relegation-battlers were put to the sword at the Etihad.
It was the Gabriel Jesus show, with the Brazilian involved in all five goals (scoring four and assisting one). His first came in the fourth minute before he doubled his team's lead in the 24th.
Rodri made it 3-1 on the cusp of half-time before Jesus completed his hat-trick four minutes after the start with a well-taken penalty. The Brazilian wrapped up the result with another strike in the 53rd minute as City deservedly ran out big winners.
Manchester City in control of title race
Manchester City and Liverpool have redefined what a title race means in recent years, pushing each other all the way in the last few seasons. None of the two teams will reach 100 points this season, but they could both cross 90 as the title race is set to go down to the wire.
At this stage of the season, all that is important is winning. The Cityzens did just that to ensure they maintained their slim advantage over Liverpool.
“You can see today we can do things better; we have to improve. But you saw from minute one how they want to win the next game and the next one and give us the opportunity to win against Leeds,” Guardiola said after the win against Watford, as quoted by Mancity.com.
The tactician continued:
“I can trust them. We can trust each other, and they can trust each other. You see the desire from everyone; the players are incredible; they made 40 metres at 5-1 to receive the ball.
Lauding his team's desire to play for each other, Guardiola gushed about his star-studded team:
“This is the only secret we have for the success of last seasons. A lot of money to buy the top, top players, but also the desire to run for each other. When we have less than one month of the season, we are going to do it.”
Manchester City are just one point above Liverpool with five games to go, which means any slip-ups at this point could be fatal. As long as the Reds continue to win, it is imperative the Cityzens also maintain their consistency.
