Manchester City faced Sheffield in what is called a difficult test for the champions as they seek to end again in the first place and defend the title this season.
The Champions started without their coach Josep Guardiola, who is recuperating from back surgery. The assistant Juanma Lillo led the squad in this transfer. City were dominant in possession with Kovacic and Rodri. Silva acted as an attacking midfielder with Haaland attacking in the last line of the defence.
Sheffield was defensive and did not want to risk conceding in the first half with City eager to find the early lead. Another big advantage for the home side is their physicality and compactness. This helped Sheffield play at the same level as Manchester City.
One of the reasons that Haaland was ineffective in the first half in several attempts is that he was surrounded by defenders in tight spaces. Ahmedhodzic, Egan, and Robinson had clear instructions to mark Haaland.
However, Sheffield was forced to intervene in the 17th minute substituting Osborn with Yasser Larouci due to injury.
Second 20 minutes…
But the game remained unchanged with Ake scoring from the events of a corner, but he was offside. Sheffield understood that they needed to keep possession and the same rhythm with Manchester City if they wanted to get points from this match. Sheffield played in a 5-3-2 shape becoming a 3-3-4 in the attack with both Larouci and Baldock advancing while in possession.
But this happened on a few occasions as City had more chances in the first half. Kovacic’s shot was blocked in the 26th minute as City were searching the goal.
The Citizens had another chance with Alvarez in the 27th minute, but the shot was saved by Foderingham. Manchester City had to change something as they advanced with Kylie Walker and Jack Grealish in both flanks.
Gvardiol and Ruben Diaz tried to create from the back and they found support from Grealish and Silva. City had a free kick at the edge of the zone in the 31st, with Alvarez not being able to find the target.
Coach Heckingbottom gave instructions for the team, with Sheffield that were suffering in the first half. The team reacted as they started to keep the ball and be more dangerous in City’s half.
The penalty…
City responded and after a good action in the 35th, they won a penalty. The referee awarded the penalty after Egan’s handball. Haaland misses from 12 yards as he finds the left post in the 37th.
But the game was far from over as Manchester City was dominating the game and for Sheffield some tactics were not as productive as they would have hoped. They should have changed behavior and Manchester City seemed to profit from these situations. Sheffield risked in the 41th with Benie Traore.
Rodri on the other hand delivered a powerful shot, but Foderingham saved easily. Both teams were balancing each other’s game as they did not want to concede and at the same time be dangerous in the attack. But we saw on numerous occasions that Sheffield parked the bus. This made City intensify their attacks later on. So the first half ended goalless, with Haaland being a constant danger for Sheffield despite his penalty miss.
He claimed another pen at the end of the first half with Egan tackling him. Julian Alvarez had his chance but his shot was deflected by Sheffield’s defence.
The second half started with Sheffield in possession as City needed to change their tactics in the third part of the pitch. All the team was in Sheffield’s half at the beginning of the second half. This is reflected in the morale of each team.
But the ball possession was not enough as pressing and the tactical way of defending was not as strong in the second half. Manchester City knew that and the action Walker-Haaland proved that they can hurt Sheffield. The Norwegian lost another chance in the 51st minute.
Meanwhile, Walker insisted on the right side, but his game was on another track of speed. Grealish on the other side tried to give more intensity, but Sheffield closed the spaces. Alvarez and Kovacic combined in the 56th as Baldock closed the spaces on the left side. Ruben Diaz tried from a distance in the 57th, but his shot was deflected.
The game was under the control of Manchester City, which missed chance after chance. On the other end, Sheffield was creating nothing to risk City’s target. Luck is a component that can’t be predicted and City needed a bit more luck in order to break the deadlock. Alvarez risks twice in the 61st and 62nd minutes but without being able to find the goal.
The First Goal
Haaland scored in the 63rd after a good header with Grealish crossing inside the 18-yard box. Once again the Norwegian is the saver as he finally finds the opener. City was on fire and their level of the game is impressive. The brilliance of Grealish and the power of Haaland made City find a deserved lead.
But Manchester City found not only the goal but also inspiration as their team continued to push on both sides with Walker and Grealish. The numerous attacks made Sheffield lose their temper and not respond to Manchester City, which dictated the game in the second half.
Haaland failed to do the wall with Alvarez in the 68th minute as City needed more clearance in front of Sheffield’s zone. Erling Haaland scores in an offside position in the 70th minute.
Paul Heckingbottom understood that he could not handle anymore the intensity of the game and decided to substitute Osula with McBurnie and Baldock with Bogle in the 72nd.
The game changed immediately for Sheffield as Gustavo Hamer risked with a shot outside the zone. Oliver McBurnie has a good chance in the 77th, but his header goes in the outer of the left post. These were some positive moments for Sheffield as City returned to dominate the game.
Alvarez hits a beautiful free kick in the 79th, but the shot is saved by Foderingham. Sheffield makes another substitution in the 81st with Chris Basham who comes on and Olivier Norwood who is benched.
The last five minutes…
The game did not change for the better as City has more chances and at the same time controls the game easily. Minute 85 saw City in possession and Sheffield trying to not concede. Kovacic shot was saved and this started a dangerous action in the other half. Jayden Bogle shoots inside the box with an amazing diagonal that defeats Ederson.
Immediately afterwards Lillo replaces Foden with Kovacic to give the attack more options. Bernardo Silva crosses for Haaland who misses a shot in the 88th. In the next action, Walker passes in the box with Rodri who smashes the ball in the right triangle.
Sheffield had another chance to equalize in the 90th minute with Anel Ahmedhodzic who misses in the six-yard box. Sheffield has another chance with Larouci but he shoots wide. Seven minutes were added on and City were all in to close the game. They wanted these three points because of the effort and the energy they put into this game.
So the final minutes saw City in possession as they won three precious points in this difficult transfer.
