Manchester City won by a huge margin 2-1 over Newcastle at Etihad Stadium to get Arsenal at the top of the premier league table by only two points. It is hardly a comfortable win, but a declaration in the race to the title.
The hero of the night was Nico O Reilly. He was composed beyond his years scoring twice, both in the first half. Newcastle retaliated with a deflected shot by Lewis Hall that caused the match to be tense and rough. City was forced to sink deep into the final phases in order to defend their lead.
At the end the final whistle Pep Guardiola referred to the outcome as a massive one. He applauded that Newcastle was an amazing team and acknowledged that there was no match that they were left playing would be a final. It is all battle in his opinion in the next 11 games. Such an attitude is indicative of the narrowness of the title battle.
Guardiola also moved on to the next challenge against Leeds United very fast. He reminded his players that they did not need to be distracted by the table. There are ten games that can be played and he is sure that there are a lot of twists that are yet to be made. All he said was that we must win this game and never surrender.
It was also the role of the fans. Guardiola referred to the relationship with the fans as the best in the season. Five home games to play, that environment may play a very significant role during the run-in.
O’Reilly had a brace, but that did not make him fret. He emphasized on the fact that winning is more important than ambitions. City are mounting strain, bit by bit. The title race is by no means finished yet and Manchester City have made it clear that they are ready to fight.
