Three wins in three days. Manchester City’s flawless run continued this Sunday on the lawn of Sheffield United (1-2), where the Citizens relied on two achievements, Erling Haaland (63rd) and Rodri (88th), to take the lead in the Premier League alone.
So much for the balance sheet. In the game, the formation led by Juanma Lillo – who recently had a back operation, replacing Pep Guardiola – did not exude much confidence, especially at the offensive level, where Kevin De Bruyne’s absence was felt.
Bernardo Silva and his team-mates did well in the debate, but they did not do enough in the first half to counterbalance Sheffield United’s solid outfit. The Citizens had their first clear chance just before the half-hour when Julián Alvarez collided with Wes Fodringham (28th).
Holland missed the penalty
And City quickly missed a penalty after a handball by John Egan at the Argentine centre-back: Haaland overshot his shot and his effort was cleared to the left by the Sheffield goalkeeper (35th).
If the Citizens’ inaccuracy on the restart didn’t deny them, Jack Grealish’s good work in the area eventually allowed the outgoing champions to assert their dominance on the hour mark. English International: Haaland, head scorer (63rd, 0-1), and obviously relieved. The Norwegian had missed a one-on-one encounter with Foderingham two minutes earlier, and was adjudged offside when he thought he had doubled the lead (71st).
Contrary to all expectations, an error by Kyle Walker allowed Jayden Bogle to put Sheffield United back in the game (85th, 1–1). Three minutes later (88th, 1–2) Rodri struck with a volley to save Manchester City from their first poor performance of the season.
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