After the greatest year in Man.City history, coach Pep Guardiola’s players seem to still maintain high desire. Defending champions Man.City ended a trophy-filled 2023 with a 2-0 win over Sheffield United on Saturday.
Man.City moved up to third place, only 2 points behind top team Liverpool. That’s not bad considering Guardiola’s side struggled to reach the heights of last season’s treble-winning campaign, and have been without star playmaker Kevin De Bruyne since August. The Belgian international is on the way back from a hamstring injury and Man.City is finding form after 2 consecutive victories. “We are not top of the league, Liverpool is stronger,” Guardiola said. “We had injuries and some problems. I have to say our level is really good and we are there.”
Man.City added the FIFA Club World Cup last week to the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and European Super Cup titles they have won in the past 12 months, and it was all on display before the match play at the Etihad Stadium, where they have not lost yet this year. Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder said: “When you go out and see five trophies, you know who you are playing against and what they have achieved.”
Goals from Rodri and Julian Alvarez helped Man.City to consecutive wins since returning from the FIFA Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia. De Bruyne is an unused substitute, while Erling Haaland is still absent due to a foot injury that has kept him out of action since the beginning of the month. The return of both players in the new year promises to further strengthen Guardiola’s efforts to make history by winning the Premier League for the fourth consecutive time.
Man.City’s 938 successful passes against Sheffield United is the second most in a Premier League match (since the 2003-04 season), after their own record of 942 against Swansea City in April 2018. . Meanwhile, their 81.8% possession rate is the highest in a Premier League match since May 2021 against Newcastle (82.1%). Man.City remain unbeaten at the Etihad in all competitions in 2023 (28 matches, wins 25 draws 3) – three of the last four instances of a top English team going unbeaten in a calendar year at home are Man.City (both 2011 and 2017) along with Liverpool (2019).
“Even though it was difficult, in the end we completed the match with a victory. Really pleased to have kept a clean sheet,” Guardiola added. “Winning the FIFA World Club Cup helped us a lot in terms of mood, very happy to finish there. We’re not top of the league, but we’re not too far off and we’ve won two titles this season, so this group of players is fantastic. So, the mood is good, so now let’s rest a little, now we have a few days off, that will be good for all and then we will come back.”