In the last three games -one for the FA Cup- of Manchester City, Julian Alvarez went to the bank. He broke the series of 25 consecutive starts that he credited in the Premier League. It is true that he benefited from being out for 30 games of Kevin De Bruyne due to an injury, also for the 53 days that Erling Haaland It happened in the infirmary, but it is no less true that the Spider often shared the initial training with the Norwegian, in the midfielder position, preferably in the central lanes. There is also evidence that Álvarez enjoys a high evaluation by Pep Guardiola, who repeatedly praised his commitment and the solutions he brings to a team that manages multiple offensive records.
With fewer minutes than usual, Álvarez found a way to be influential so that Manchester City, after overcoming a disadvantage, They will win the classic against Manchester United by winning 3-1. The Córdoba player entered 13 minutes into the second half for winger Jeremy Doku. He positioned himself inside, while Bernardo Silva moved to the left wing, where De Bruyne appeared in the last 10 minutes.
With the match at 1-1, and 10 minutes from the end of a match in which City was insistently searching for victory, Álvarez showed up to receive a pass from Phil Foden and return the wall with an assist inside the area that the English striker, the great figure of the afternoon in the Etihad Stadium, defined with a cross shot.
A utility forward by nature, Álvarez adds to this Premier League more assists (9) than goals (8). Against United, OPTA metrics indicated that the Spider gave 17 touches of the ball, with 15 passes, all successful, without shots on goal. His last goal was on January 31, in the 3-1 win over Burnley. In the comparison, Alejandro Garnacho, who, like Álvarez, is among those summoned by Lionel Scaloni For this month’s friendlies, he had a more discontinuous activity in the 82 minutes he was on the field, until he was replaced by Forson. Garnacho touched the ball 27 times, with 15 passes (80 percent success). At United he remains on the sidelines Lisandro Martínez, recovering from a knee injury.
Highlights of Manchester City 3 – Manchester United 1
Manchester United had gone 1-0 in the 8th minute, with a long goal kick from André Onana that Bruno Fernandes controlled and Marcus Rashford He defined it with a tremendous shot into the corner from outside the area. Control of the field and the ball were the exclusive property of City, which overwhelmed United offensively. In the first stage he tallied 18 shots on goal, the most in 45 minutes against United since OPTA began keeping records in 2003/04. Guardiola grabbed his head, he couldn’t believe that Haaland, after the five goals against Luton last Tuesday, missed three meters from the goal.
City responded to the rival goal with one that deserves the same description. It was Foden’s work, with a shot from outside the area. Two goals and a consecrating performance for the 23-year-old English forward. Guardiola gave him his blessing: “When you win important games that’s when you become a world-class player. Everyone plays well, but you have to win games. And he wins them. What more can I say? Foden is the best player in the Premier League right now because of the amount of things he does. He loves football, he lives for football. He is a joy and his work ethic is incredible. He was always a talented footballer, but now he is more mature and understands the game better, especially defensively. He can play in the center, on the right, on the left…”.
Foden has 11 goals in the Premier and 17 in all official competitions, in what is his best season. The 3-1 was signed by Haaland, already in added time. After 27 dates, the fight for the Premier title becomes increasingly exciting. Liverpool, which on Saturday won agonizingly with a goal from Darwin Núñez, after an assist from Alexis Mac Allister, It is a leader, with one unit ahead of Manchester City.
Next Sunday, City will face Liverpool at Anfield Road, in a clash that mathematically will not dictate a sentence, but can leave emotional consequences and set a trend for the final stretch. Liverpool is making a huge effort to remain competitive and not be weakened by a long injury list. In the first round they tied 1-1. City has the precedent of the last Premier League, which it obtained after a tremendous sprint in recent days to leave behind Arsenal, which had been the leader for most of the season.
Guardiola isolated himself from the climate that the press wanted to establish ahead of the match with Liverpool. He said that he only thinks about next Wednesday’s revenge against Copenhagen, for the round of 16 of the Champions League. In the first leg, with Álvarez on the bench for the 90 minutes, City won 3-1 in Denmark.
Guardiola thanked the atmosphere of support in the stadium, the stimulus it represented to overcome the impact of Rashford’s great goal. It is the third time that the Catalan coach has won the two classics of the season (3-0 in the first round); He had previously done it in 2018/19 and 2021/22.
For now, City, which usually governs developments, is forced to overcome adverse results. Against United it was the twelfth time in this Premier that they are down on the scoreboard. He does not lack reaction capacity: of those 26 points in which he had to row from behind, he obtained 21. City is one of the teams that contributes the most to the Premier being considered the most attractive league in the world as a spectacle.
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