Five things learned from City’s win
Manchester City walked to a 3-0 victory against West Brom at the Hawthorns
Manchester City sent a signal of intent to their rivals by easing past The Baggies last night.
City manager Manuel Pellegrini has just signed a new contract and made a brilliant start to the new Premier League season taking all three points against Tony Pulis’ side.
A first-half brace from Yaya Toure and a late header from Vincent Kompany ensured victory for City which leaves them top of the table after the opening round of matches.
City finished eight points behind Chelsea last season and so taking maximum points after the first match was crucial to mounting a serious challenge this year.
What did we learn though from City’s 3-0 victory against West Brom?
SillySeason pick out their five things learnt from the shock defeat.
5) Yaya Toure has still got it
There was a lot of speculation that the Ivorian would leave the Etihad this summer, however last night’s performance shows the 32-year-old still has plenty to offer.
The former Barcelona man showed so much energy in the middle of the park and reminded fans just how important a figure he is.
West Brom were pulled apart by his intricate passing and the pressure was all in the opposition half as Toure only gave the ball away once in the first half.
An excellent performance for City and despite coming off late with an injury last night, he will be integral in their campaign to reclaim the Premier League.
4) Kompany is still world class
Vincent Kompany, once regarded as one of the world’s top centre-backs, seemed to lose his way last season but last night showed signs of him back to his brilliant best.
The Belgium international needs a good season to silence his critics and a clean sheet and a commanding performance against West Brom will go some way in accomplishing that.
A late goal from the 29-year-old also added gloss to an already impressive display and Pellegrini will hope he can replicate last night’s showing throughout the season.
3) Give Sterling time
Raheem Sterling, a £49million signing from Liverpool, made his debut yesterday and proved a constant menace to the West Brom defence.
Although he spurned a glorious goal-scoring opportunity just before the interval, shooting too close to Boaz Myhill, the England international provided a real threat in the wide areas.
Critics will inevitably find fault with the 20-year-old but in reality it will take time to properly assess whether he has justified his arguably over-inflated price tag.
2) Lambert and Berahino didn’t work
West Brom manager Tony Pulis admitted the decision to choose two strikers and leave the midfield too open went against the principles he had “always worked to”.
Both Rickie Lambert and Saido Berahino did have a couple of moments where they nearly scored but largely struggled against City’s dominance in defence and in terms of overall possession.
Pulis vowed he would not make the same mistake against the big teams and could well decide to hand a debut to record signing Salomon Rondon against Watford on Saturday.
1) Where would De Bruyne fit?
City’s summer-long pursuit of Wolfsburg’s Kevin De Bruyne could be drawing to a close as the Belgium international looks set to hand in a transfer request, according to reports.
However, questions remain where De Bruyne would play after an array of attacking stars put in a top performance last night for City.
The 24-year-old prefers to play in an attacking midfield role but City already have Toure, David Silva and Samir Nasri to name but a few who can play that position.
There is no doubt the former Chelsea player has ability and would add another dimension to City’s attack but he would have a lot of competition at the Manchester club.
So there are the five things we learnt from last night’s match at the Hawthorns.
Written by Jack Wynne – @JackRobertWynne