Manchester City winning in ‘Fergie time’ is testament to Pep Guardiola and his team’s mental strength
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THIS Manchester City side are showing all the hallmarks of becoming champions.
And people who say they are not impressed are being pig-headed.
The fact City are no longer beating teams by four or five and are instead relying on late goals is not a sign their form is dipping.
It’s just that their opponents are sitting in deep, digging in and trying to frustrate them.
But they have got players who are sticking to the gameplan, going right to the end and their class eventually comes to the fore.
The teams they are beating late are cracking under City’s quality.
It’s testament to boss Pep Guardiola and his side’s mental strength that it keeps happening.
How many times did we see Manchester United go into ‘Fergie time’ and win games?
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That’s what champions do. And nobody has been more instrumental in City’s recent wins than Raheem Sterling.
He’s been brilliant so far this season — and I have been especially impressed with how Pep has handled him.
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It dates back to Euro 2016, when the incoming City boss called Raheem and told him how important he was going to be in his team.
Plus it can’t have been easy for Raheem with people saying he could be a makeweight in City’s attempt to sign Alexis Sanchez.
But Pep came out and said there was no way he was selling him.
That will have given Raheem confidence, that licence to just go out and play.
I now hope Raheem continues to improve like he has — because he is 22 and is only starting to show what he is capable of.
Fingers crossed his form can continue for England in the World Cup next summer. If he goes to Russia and doesn’t play the way he has been for City, then people are going to come for him because he is a very easy target.
But right now City fans are lapping him up and that’s great to see.
With the way he is going, as well as the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Leroy Sane and Gabriel Jesus, they are playing exciting football.
I’m not sure it is the most exciting I’ve ever seen, because there were times when Arsenal’s Invincibles played some really amazing stuff.
And I’m not just saying that because of my Arsenal allegiance — but they managed it for a whole season, although they did draw a lot of games as well.
It will be difficult for City to go unbeaten, yet nobody in their dressing room will be thinking about that.
They will just be concentrating on each game — and next up in the Premier League is the Manchester derby at Old Trafford.
City’s late wins will have been demoralising for United.
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But it will get even more demoralising if they are still doing that after Christmas.
For now, City have done brilliantly to keep that eight-point cushion.
It means when they play their title rivals, like on Sunday, the teams behind them have to win — while City can afford to draw.
Still, the pressure is going to crank up in the New Year.
And that is when we will really see the true quality and persistence of Pep’s side.
But the way they are going right now, you would back them to deal with anything that is thrown at them.