(Football news) Even though the hosts’ winning run ended in extraordinary circumstances two weekends ago, Pep Guardiola’s triple winners are only one point ahead of their Merseyside rivals going into the main match of the weekend.
Writing was already done for one of the triumvirate’s roles to be the hero in West London, with Cole Palmer, Raheem Sterling, and Mateo Kovacic all rejoining their former employers at Stamford Bridge two weeks ago after choosing to wear a different shade of blue since the end of the 2021– 22 season.
Palmer was the one who really cut a hole in the hearts of the Citizens supporters, scoring a penalty kick in the fifth minute of second-half injury time to cap off an eight-goal spectacular, even though Sterling did torment his old team with Chelsea’s second goal of the game.
Guardiola’s team lost their winning run of five games in that captivating 4–4 draw, which saw them go into the third break of the season just one point clear at the top, despite scoring four goals with a brace from Erling Haaland, a header from Manuel Akanji, and a deflected shot from Rodri.
The Champions are leading both their upcoming opponents, Liverpool and Arsenal, and Hotspur or Villa, depending on how their exciting match plays out on Sunday. However, the fact that the Citizens scored four goals at Stamford Bridge means that they have scored three goals or more in each of their previous five games.
In addition, since a 1-1 draw with Everton on New Year’s Eve 2022, Man City has amassed an incredible 15 wins from 15 home games in the top flight in 2023; their overall winning streak in front of the home crowd in all tournaments stands at 23. As a result, no English team to visit the Etihad in the Premier League this year has left with their dignity intact.
Man City has the opportunity to create English football history by matching Sunderland’s historic record of 24 straight home victories, which was established between 1890 and 1892. This only makes a revitalized Liverpool even more motivated to make up for their recent mistakes in this match.
Liverpool, who lost out to Arsenal in the previous season for the best-of-the-rest title, will once again travel to the Etihad as Man City’s main rivals for the title. Although they are only one goal ahead of the Gunners in goal differential, Liverpool’s silver medal standing is largely due to Mohamed Salah and Diogo Jota.
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