JACK GAUGHAN: Man City got their boost attacking their most vocal fans in the derby – after Bruno Fernandes won the coin toss – which may give Pep Guardiola’s side an edge they didn’t know they needed in the title race
Bruno Fernandes might have unwittingly given Manchester City an idea for the rest of the season.
Manchester United’s captain turned them around at the toss before the derby. City almost always kick from left to right in the first half, from north to south, but not on Sunday. Probably a move from United designed to unsettle their hosts.
But by the end, by the time Pep Guardiola was crediting the supporters for sucking in the second and third goal – while the Premier League champions were kicking towards the Etihad Stadium’s more vociferous end – it made you wonder if Fernandes had hit upon something for his opposite number, Kyle Walker.
The really dramatic moments over the past two years have invariably been at that south stand, with the tifo and rail seats.
The Ilkay Gundogan-inspired comeback against Aston Villa on that final day in 2022; the Kevin De Bruyne goal against Arsenal last year; the early blitz of Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-final.
Manchester City attacked the south stand for their second half turnaround on Sunday
By winning the toss and switching sides, Bruno Fernandes may have given Man City an idea
Attacking the more vocal fans offers Man City an edge Pep Guardiola didn’t know they needed
They score plenty at the other end too of course but in the tightest of three-way title races, perhaps facing the more vocal sections at the end of games – especially when results are on the line or one needs chasing – offers City a different edge that Pep Guardiola didn’t even know they needed.
After five titles in six years, all other avenues have long since been exhausted so something new is no bad thing.
‘Phil (Foden) scored one goal and our people the second and the third,’ Guardiola said. ‘The mood and environment helped us to score the next two.’
The home record is astonishingly good – even by their standards. Four draws in the Premier League this season is too many – and Guardiola argues that City should have won at least three of them against Liverpool, Tottenham, Crystal Palace and Chelsea – but they just don’t lose.
Brentford, just before the World Cup last season, were the last team to leave the east side of this city with anything more than a point. It’s 36 matches unbeaten now, equalling Guardiola’s previous best set this time six years ago. The overall club record is 42 games, recorded just after the First World War.
They’ve got five more league games to play at home this term. Another in the FA Cup against Newcastle in under a fortnight and up to three in Europe, depending on their progress.
If Guardiola goes on to surpass 42 then City are very likely to have put themselves in the frame for the whole lot once again.
Guardiola credited the fans for their second and third goals scored in the Manchester derby
Manchester City are on a 36-game unbeaten run – and they could break the club record soon
Over a century has passed since Ernest Mangnall – who left United to take the reins at City and ended up managing them for 12 years – directed his side to that unbeaten run and could be the latest that is cast aside by the club’s greatest ever.
All the other positive streaks had been standing the test of time until the Catalan turned up. He’s only got two more of them to break and it’s a clean sweep. This one could go by early May.
