Which means that this is us. Thanks all for your company and comments - enjoy the rest of the weekend. Peace out.
Here’s Jacob Steinberg’s match report:
Looking again at Haaland’s second goal, what I really like about it is how he measures his stride, lengthening it to get clear, then shortening it to get feet sorted for the finish. He knows what to do.
And from earlier today:
Also going on:
That completes our weekend dose of Prem, and it turns out that Man City are good at football. Without playing well, they made West Ham look ordinary, which they absolutely are not, and I’m looking forward to seeing how they incorporate Scamacca, who put himself about when he came on. I was, though, disappointed in Rice and Soucek, who couldn’t really get in the game, but I doubt I’ll be saying that in a couple of weeks.
Full-time: West Ham United 0-2 Manchester City
Erling Haaland has arrived, but the real difference here was his team’s passing. It was just too good for West Ham, who aren’t yet fit enough to compete – especially in the heat – and even at this ludicrously early stage, it’s hard to see how City won’t retain the title.
90+2 min Coventry and Downes, making his debut, replace Fornals and Bowen.
90+1 min Alvarez mugs Rice outside the box, scurries right and pivots into a shot, crunching Zouma in the coupon. He takes a whole to recover his bearings, the Ake heads the corner wide at the back post.
90 min There’ll be three added minutes.
90 min Rice strides through midfield and slides a ball down the right for Scamacca, so Cancelo opens legs, catches up and confiscates possession.
88 min Triple change for City, Phillips, Mahrez and Palmer replacing Foden, De Bruyne and Rodri. Guardiola appears to have options.
86 min “I think a good way of contextualising the idea of a Moyes sweet-spot is to look for the Moyes equivalents,” emails Zack Gomperts-Mitchelson. “That is very good managers who nonetheless lack something either when it comes to tactics, charisma or indeed their vision of the game that means there is a ceiling, in terms of club, for their talents.There is one outstanding example, it’s the Spanish David Moyes himself: Unai Emery. Brilliant manager, great results, real silverware on the shelf and he’s never getting a big job again. In fact, he would be crazy and a club board would be crazy to try. There’s something about him, it works at Villareal, it just did not at Arsenal and PSG.
The same is true for the Scottish Unai Emery, send him to United today, he’s out insix6 months. I think the reason why comes down to imagination. These types of manager produce teams which at their best are mechanically effective but they lack a more holistic vision for the game, there is no big idea and it’s becoming increasingly clear that at the rarefied level at the elite of the elite you maybe need one. Unless you are at Real Madrid in which case you need some other ineffable quality neither of them has. Anyway! Haaland looks good. Quelle Suprise.”
Yes, this sounds reasonable. I don’t think you necessarily need a big idea, but you do need to be brilliant at something – Klopp has force of personality and eye for a player, Guardiola has ciaching and vision and so on.
85 min Benrahma pulls wide down the left, crosses, and Rodri, arriving back into the danger zone, turns away an excellent clearance.
83 min Guardiola football isn’t my favourite football to watch, but it’s the hardest football to beat, by far. How can you win a game with 30% possession, half of that inside your own half? West Ham have had a couple of chances today, but they’ve managed no sustained pressure, which is to say to beat City, you need to be almost perfect.
81 min “Just wanted to chime in in the eternal VAR debate,” chimes in Alexaandre. “I actually agree with your earlier point that laws give a lot of room for interpretation, explaining inconsistencies. The infuriating thing about VAR is that it actually compounds the issue by first making it decide whether or not it should get involved, then having the referee’s interpretation come into play. In other words, where before refereeing inconsistencies were due only to differing referee’s interpretation of similar situations, we now have the double inconsistency of referee interpretation PLUS VAR interpretation. That’s the stupid thing. I get it was done to reduce the number of stoppage due to VAR but it is ridiculous. VAR should get involved as soon as they disagree with the ref’s decision, because that’s the clear sign a review is warranted. Sorry for yet another rant about the topic, and have a good end of game.”
I think we got VAR because players, managers, supporters and rights-holders continually bitched about errors, often chucking in the line “...and with so much money involved”. Personally, I’ve always hated it because correct decisions have nothing to do with why I love the game – whereas the speed of it, along with losing my mind when my team score, are huge parts of what makes it special to me. I’m not happy sacrificing those to go from 96% correct calls to 98% correct calls, which was roughly the intention, if I remember correctly.
Updated
79 min Haaland’s debut was not unreminiscent of Ruud van Nistelrooy’s for Man United against Fulham – two different goals, linked by the total expertise with which they were taken.
78 min Two changes for City, Bernardo and Alvarez replacing Gundogan and Haaland.
78 min De Bruyne, who’s been quietly superb, finds Grealish, who cuts inside and lamps a low shot that scuds just wide of the near post.
76 min Grealish wanders about with the ball at inside-left and finds Gundogan near the line, but his pull-back fizzes across the face with no one on-hand to stick it in. What City need is a centre-forward, they’d be some team if they had that.
Updated
74 min “Just so you know,” returns JR, “on that Cancelo foul on Bowen (which probably wasn’t even a foul) the yellow card given to Cancelo wasn’t actually for the foul itself. It was because Cancelo looked at the assistant ref and then used his thumb and index finger on each hand to form circles and then put the resulting circles over his eyes to make the universal ‘glasses’ gesture to insinuate that the assistant referee has deficient eyesight.”
Imagine having to write that up in your report, and admit you couldn’t take it.
73 min Coufal curves in a decent cross and this time Scamacca is there, heading down ... but Ederson saves, then the flag goes up. Ake and Dias saw that coming, so stepped up in plenty of time.
72 min “The NFL salary cap has been more about guaranteeing that owners make money than increasing the popularity of the game,” says Scott Wedel. “Meanwhile, the NBA and MLB allow teams to blast through the salary cap and pay a luxury tax. The Dodgers have no less as dominant a roster as City.”
Oh I agree – redistribution is to keep the circle of money going around, not keep things fair. But it is the main reason you rarely see the super bowl retained.
70 min City are opening up now, Grealish slowing up Coufal then dragging down the side of him and standing up a cross for Haaland, who headbutts high at the near post.
69 min “While I agree that referee’s can interpret situations differently,” returns Keith Sanderson, “the particular incident in the Utd v Brighton game could surely not be interpreted as anything other than a foul. There was absolutely no excuse for such a potentially game-changing decision to be ignored. How can it possibly have anything to do with how the laws are drafted? I fell in love with the game over 50 years ago so I’ve seen a lot, but by all means feel free to educate me.”
I can’t tell you about what to care, but I can’t get exercised by refereeing decisions. My guess is Welbeck didn’t get a penalty because from one angle, the contact looked shoulder-to-shoulder and the ball was within playing distance.
67 min The post-match fuss will be about Haaland and fair enough. But what mustn’t be ignored is the perfection of the two assists. Gundogan’s pass was weighted to perfection and so was De Bruyne’s – who also had to guide it between the various defenders between him and his mate.
67 min Drinks. West Ham could do with a stiff one.
GOAL! West Ham United 0-2 Machester City (Haaland 65)
This is so easy, yet so difficult. Grealish finds Rodri who finds De Bruyne ... and he slides a gorgeous ball in behind, Haaland charges onto it, opens body and punches across Areloa and into the far corner. He knows where the goal is, that lad.
Updated
63 min And now here comes West Ham, Bowen slinging over a terrific cross, and Scamacca’s up! But he can’t introduce brow to ball then, beyond the back post, Benrahma can’t guide his shot on target.
62 min Here come City looking for a second, Foden nashing down the right and crossing low ... with Haaland sliding in the like T-1000 on a toboggan. But in so doing, when he misses, he actually gets in Gundogan’s road, and because he sees the ball late, he can only place a shot wide.
62 min Rodri is controlling the pace of this game. I remember the first time I saw him, for Spain against Wales I think, and you could see then that he was useful. But his improvement through the last year has been exceptional.
61 min More City possession.
58 min “With the addition of Haaland there will be few teams who can even compete with City,” says David Keech. “Third straight title a lock even after only one half of football. What money they emulate Bayerm Munich and win 11 straight, with Bayern already a lock to win 12 in a row? European football reduced to a few super-teams and alsorans. Sooner or later fans and TV will start drifting away because if sport is a foregone conclusion it’s not worth watching. The NFL in the USA avoids this with a strict salary cap. Time to think about saving European football with it’s own salary cap? Thoughts?”
The difference with the NFL is the college system and the draft – and I’m not sure I like the fact that, if you follow a team long enough, chances are you’ll see them win the super bowl eventually. It’s also worth noting that without oil money, Man United might’ve won every title from 07-13, also not healthy, but that said, I’d totally be behind a salary cap and anything else that took state wealth and similar out of the equation.
57 min Double change for West Ham, Benrahma and Scamacca replacing Lanzini and Antonio.
56 min But here’s the rub: West Ham chase the game, West Ham leave spaces for City to attack. So here they come, De Bruyne driving forward and finding Haaland, who might go on but instead feeds Gundogan to his right. Who might go on, but instead disguises a return square-pass ... which is intercepted, just.
54 min Better from West Ham, who move the ball from left to middle to right, Antonio finding Fornals, and when it’s laid back to Rice, on the edge, back goes the head ... and the shot flies well over the bar. Still, this is more of a contest now.
52 min “I’ve watched enough football in three days – so much so that I’m following this match on MBM only checking scores every 10 minutes,” emails Yash Gupta. “Good point about Moyes and him not being a man for a top job. I have a theory, yes an armchair fan who’s never kicked a ball, that a manager should be judged based on how he improves a team’s defence and connection between defence, midfield and attack. If there are good players in forward line, midfield and in goalkeeping department then they will remain good and perform well. But defence is where a manager should be judged. Moyes did a terrible job at United but United squad was also bad and running on fumes. Ever since he returned to West Ham, Hammers have defended deep well maintaining a solid mid-block and play has been pragmatic yet modern at the same time. He shouldn’t have got the United job but also that job was a forest fire for anyone and has been since.”
Yes, that’s true, but if you think that when Alex Ferguson got the job, he’d won titles and a European trophy with Aberdeen – and United were rubbish – Moyes really hadn’t done anything to earn it.
51 min Rodri to Grealish, who finds Cancelo down the left. His cross is low, but Johnson is well-placed to hump away.
50 min Meantime, West Ham look like they washed the kit on too hot a setting, then put it in the drier.
49 min More City possession. The angles they find and their composure in tight spaces is as exceptional as ever.
47 min “Haaland,” says Mary Waltz. “A cross between a jet and a tank. Imagine what crosses the mind of a defender facing that charging straight at him. The stuff of nightmares.”
46 min But it’s City on the attack to begin with, Haaland flicking off a decent return pass for Grealish, whose crowded out.
46 min West Ham need to play a lot better than they did in the first half – they defended well enough, but lacked their usual intensity elsewhere on the pitch.
46 min We go again!
Great line from Graham Potter on whether a stomach bug might have kept Welbeck out. "No. He would have strapped the toilet on to his backside to play."
— Simon Stone (@sistoney67) August 7, 2022
Half-time email: “That foul by Cancelo on Bowen shows clearly the inconsistency in the refereeing,” says Keith Sanderson. “Tierney (and VAR) saw nothing wrong with such a challenge in the earlier game. We’re only in week 1, have we really got to suffer this nonsense for the rest of the season? What will happen? Nothing. VAR should be taken out of the hands of the PGMOL and there should be a trial with a panel of, say, three ex-pros.”
I don’t know: we can expect consistency in the same game, but the way the laws are drafted, we can’t expect it across different ones because there’s room for differing interpretations – as it goes, I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I’d also not be surprised to learn that the video ref at Old Trafford thought Martínez fouled Welbeck, but decided he didn’t have the scope to recommend the ref take another look. Ultimately, I doubt many fell in love with the game because of it’s foolproof decision-making process, and I’d absolutely not rely on three ex-pros to do a better job then the professional officials we have.
Half-time reading:
Half-time: West Ham United 0-1 Manchester City
Both sides can play much better than this, but City’s bottom level is disgustingly high and that’s why they’re in front.
45+3 min A poor free-kick is headed clear by the nearest man to it.
45+2 min But have a look! West Ham move the ball down the right and a rash challenge from Cancelo on Bowen earns the former a caution and allows the latter to stick a ball into the box...
45 min There’ll be four added minutes.
45 min More City possession. This is excellent stuff from them, effectively excluding West Ham from the game in the knowledge that at some point they’ll create a goal. That said, though, they can play much better than this; it’ll take something very significant to prevent them from winning a third title on the spin.
44 min Marginally better again from West Ham, Fornals progressing down the left before crossing for City to clear.
43 min Something from West Ham, Lanzini sliding Bowen down the right, but just as it looks like he’s got some space, Ake comes over to dispossess, winning the goalkick too.
41 min This dayglo City kit is not unlike the one they wore when Trevor from Eastenders Paul Dickov changed the face of football at Wembley in 1999.
Updated
40 min We’ve barely seen Rice, Soucek, Bowen or Fornals so far. West Ham have defended the box reasonably well, but that’s about all they’ve done.
Updated
39 min “That sound you hear is five million people logging into their fantasy football account to trade out Harry Kane for Haaland,” reckons JR.
I don’t know – both will score loads of points, though I guess Kane gives you assists as well as goals.
39 min ...which Gundogan slaps into the wall.
38 min City win a free-kick just outside the box, 25 yards out and just right of centre...
37 min On the penalty, City did really well to manufacture it – there’s not much space behind the West Ham centre-backs, so the run, change of pace and weight of pass had to be near-perfect, and they were.
GOAL! West Ham United 0-1 Manchester City (Haaland pen 36)
Haaland opens body, punches a lot left-footer to wards bottom left, and Areola dives in the opposite direction.
Updated
PENALTY MAN CITY!
We’re going to see this a lot. Gundogan slips a reverse-pass down the side, Haaland attacks the space, nicks it away from Areola, and wears the inevitable trip, hands through legs.
Updated
34 min Cancelo gets the ball in midfield and the 7 on his back suddenly looks more normal. I guess it makes more sense than 10 Gallas and 9 Boulharouz, but only marginally.
32 min Further to the Moyes point, you look at how Man United defended against Brighton, versus how West Ham are defending here, and the difference is astounding – especially in terms of focus and toughness.
32 min Antonio returns; he’s touch the ball six times in the first 30 minutes.
30 min Antonio is down after jumping for a header and landing awkwardly,, so the physio comes on.
29 min Grealish is looking decent here, again carrying the ball downfield before, this time, finding Cancelo, whose cross is cleared.
Updated
28 min Fabianski can’t continue, dragging himself off to be replaced by Alphonse Areola.
Updated
27 min More like it from City, Grealish drifting infield and finding Haaland, who touches off beautifully around the corner for Gundogan. He his the line and cuts back for De Bruyne, who slides into the net, but Haaland was fractionally offside from the initial pass.
26 min City are still having all of the ball, and given the temperature – it’s 32 degrees out there – West Ham might need all of their subs.
24 min “I see your point about Moyes and his sweet spot – as an Evertonian, I see it all too well,” returns Eric Peterson. “Ironically, though, I think it might have been a more relevant point in 2012 than in the present day. If we consider a table of ‘biggish clubs who need some organisation and heart’, right now, isn’t Manchester United in first position by a country mile? (Well, there’s Everton, isn’t there?)“
Sure, Moyes has stuff to offer. But we’ve not seen anything that suggests he’s the right bloke for so high-profile a job, nor that he’s got the skills and smarts to lead a team trying to be the best around.
22 min It’s time for drinks. West Ham will chzoz theirs in good heart, though Fabianski is limping.
20 min The first time I saw Foden play, for England at age-group level, I knew he was special, which isn’t me bragging about my eye for talent, I assure to – he just looked as natural on the ball then as he does now. But he does need a regular position – perhaps wide right will be it – and here he is now, swirling a cross towards the near post, to which Haaland can’t quite impart a flick.
19 min Foden drives a luscious switch out to Grealish, but his attempted cross, curled towards the back post, picks out Zouma, who heads clear.
18 min Fabianski plucks Foden’s corner out of the air. West Ham have started well.
17 min We’ve seen almost nothing of West Ham in attack, but we’ve not seen loads of City either.But here comes Foden, pulling down a crossfield pass on his big toe and feeding Cancelo, whose cross is deflected behind for a corner.
16 min West Ham shut down space so well. Their defensive spacing and discipline are both excellent.
14 min Cancelo drives forward and finds De Bruyne, who works space along the face of the box before screwing a shot wide of the far post.
13 min Coufal slides in on Grealish, cleans him out, and avoids a booking – I’ve no idea why.
Updated
12 min “I saw someone tweet ‘Is Haaland made of rock?’ writes Alix Sharkey. “Haaland with ‘a heavy touch that allows the defender to clear’, you say Daniel? Does he have any other kind of touch? I’ve yet to see him control a ball traveling at more than 10 mph. He’s going to be this season’s Lukaku, isn’t he?”
He’s a much better player than Lukaku, “for me”. He’s no artist, but his one-touch finishing tells us he’s got decent technical ability, I think.
10 min City have made 65 successful passes relative to eight for West Ham. That is both ridiculous and unsurprising – but West Ham are doing well to restrict final-third space.
9 min Grealish is seeing a fair bit of the ball out on the left, and he’ll need that – he’s a player who thrives on involvement, and going from being Villa’s key man to just another bloke at City must’ve affected him.
7 min City knock is about in midfield, then Gundogan finds Grealish, whose cross is cleared. It’s pretty hot in London today, so this might be a slower game than we’d ordinarily expect.
6 min Haaland lanks through the middle towards Zouma, but a heavy touch allows the defender to clear.
5 min “Hello from Pittsburgh!” begins Eric Peterson. “I’m imagining the Manchester United board in their luxury suite at Old Trafford, lingering over the debacle of today’s game and the disaster their club has become, and having their gaze drawn to the TVs and the sight of West Ham, led by their first post-Ferguson manager. I’m imagining them collectively realising, wait a second, this is what happens if you bring in a good manager and just give him what he needs to succeed rather than try to trip him up at every opportunity because he’s not doing it Your Way. I have an overly active imagination.”
I know what you mean, but Moyes doing brilliantly at West Ham doesn’t mean he was the right man for United. His sweet-spot is biggish clubs who need some organisation and heart.
Updated
3 min A near-post brute, under the bar, forces Ederson to flap as his defenders charge him, the Bowen thumps a volley that’s blocked; the ball goes left, Fornals whips in a cross, and Antonio heads over. Good start from West Ham, and there’a a delay because Ederson needs treatment, having been hammered by Haaland.
2 min Excellent from West Ham, winning the ball high and spreading left to Cresswell, whose cross for Antonio is a decent one and his header is blocked behind. Corner, and we know what West Ham can do with them...
1 min And away we go! For those of you watching in black and white, City are in dayglo yellow.
The players take the knee; we’ve yet to solve racism.
Before the game, Maxwell Cornet was introduced to the home fans, making the hammer sign, and goodness me what terrace-ditty potential he has.
Here come the teams!
Yeah, I’m not having this top.
More transfer news:
Everton are set to sign Conor Coady, agreement in principle with Wolves - gonna be a loan with buy clause also included as @_pauljoyce reports 🔵 #EFC
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 7, 2022
Personal terms almost agreed, Coady wants the move. Details discussed while Onana will be announced as new Everton player soon.
This seems a very old-skool move – I bet, when asked, Lampard talks about “character”, “personality” and “leadership” rather than “being good at defending and not making errors”.
Looking at Grealish mucking about with the ball, my guess is that he’s been picked partly because Guardiola needs signing him to work, but also because his ability to improvise and pick holes might help against a team defending deep and properly, as West Ham will. Realistically, he and Riyad Mahrez are probably competing for one position, because I’d expect Foden to start the majority of games this season. Today, that looks like being on the right, and perhaps that’ll become his regular station; he needs one, because though he can play anywhere, consistency of selection will help him become as good as he should be.
Moyes tells Sky Scamacca isn’t fit enough to start and that Craig Dawson got injured against Lens – of course, he pronounces it Lense.
Guardiola says Haaland has settled well and is developing a connection with his new teammates.
Sky reckon it’s Ben Johnson at centre-back for West Ham. That makes some sense because he has recovery pace, but may suffer fro a lack of experience in the position.
There’s also pressure on Pablo Fornals, whose spot in the team is most at threat from the arrival of Maxwel Cornet. Fornals is a tricky mover, but so is Cornet – who’ll also bring dynamism and improvisational skill. He could prove a very canny addition.
Today, I imagine Moyes will want his wingers staying wide, trying to push Walker and Cancelo back. That’d allow Rice, Soucek and Lanzini to scrap with Rodri, Gundogan and De Bruyne for midfield control, and give West Ham a decent chance of turning that into a physical affair. There’s a lot of pressure, though, on Jarrod Bowen, who looks his side’s most likely creator – though they’ll always have their set-pieces.
I mentioned below that West Ham might play 4-4-2 in some games. That’s because, in Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek, Moyes has the legs in midfield to allow strikers and wingers – and perhaps explains the pursuit of Amadou Onana, who’s now going to Everton. I do, though, wonder if they need a bit more guile.
Updated
Brighton have beaten Man United 2-1 – welcome to “this league” Erik – while Brentford have come from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 at Leicester.
This is a really big season for Jack Grealish. He wouldn’t be the first to need a year to get used to Guardiola’s methods, but there’s a nagging doubt that he’s just not the right kind of player for the system, and that a quick, direct winger makes more sense – especially with Haaland making runs across the front post. That isn’t to say Grealish isn’t a great option to have, he is, but might make more sense as a sub and rotation player than a big-game staple.
Updated
A little bit of West Ham news:
West Ham are keen to improve his options in attacking midfield. They are willing to listen to offers for Saïd Benrahma and Nikola Vlasic. Nottingham Forest have shown an interest in Benrahma following their promotion from the Championship.
Elsewhere, mirth: Brighton lead 2-1 at Old Trafford with three minutes of the 90 left.
As for City, Haaland does indeed start, with Phil Foden and Jack Grealish chosen to flank him. More surprisingly, Nathan Aké starts in the middle of defence alongside Ruben Dias – John Stones is on the bench – and the midfield, the best in the league and perhaps the world, contains Ilkay Gundogan rather than Bernardo Silva, who’s linked with Barcelona and on the bench.
Moyes leaves his new signings on the bench – though I daresay we’ll see Gianluca Scamacca at some point. I wonder if, against less august opposition, we’ll see him play up alongside Michail Antonio in a 4-4-2, but for now it looks like a 4-5-1, a favourite Moyes tactic against better sides because it allows them to compete in midfield while retaining a threat in wide areas. Otherwise, West Ham are short of options in the centre of defence, so either Aaron Creswell or Vladimir Coufal will partner Kurt Zouma.
Teams!
West Ham United (a proactive 4-5-1): Fabianski; Johnson, Coufal, Zouma, Cresswell; Fornals, Soucek, Rice, Lanzini, Bowen; Antonio. Subs: Areola, Randolph, Scamacca, Vlasic, Downes, Benrahma, Coventry, Okoflex, Ashby.
Manchester City (a matter-of-principle 4-3-3): Ederson; Walker, Dias, Ake, Cancelo; Gundogan, Rodri, De Bruyne; Foden, Haaland, Grealish. Subs: Ortega, Phillips, Stones, Alvarez, Silva, Mahrez, Palmer, Lewis, Wilson-Esbrand.
Referee: Michael Oliver (Ashington)
Updated
Preamble
93, 100, 98, 99, 86, 93, 86, 99 – no, not a fiendishly difficult Mensa sequence, nor a pre-snap call from an NFL playbook, but the points obtained by the Premier League champions in the last six seasons. And of those tallies, only one is outside the top five recorded in the Premier-League era, just as only one – the 95 recorded by José Mourinho’s Chelsea in 2004-05 – makes the list from the entirety of the previous 24 years.
There are various reasons for this and – the world being the world – obscene wealth is foremost among them, delivering big squads replete with options and alternatives. But it’s also the case that, like Mourinho before them, Pep Guardiola and Jürgen Klopp have raised the bar – not necessarily of quality, though that can be argued too – of what it takes to win the title, marrying excellent recruitment with epochal force of personality and mentality.
In such context, it’s easy to see why both have invested in strikers: you can play nicely, with “co-ordinated pressing”, “choreographed movements” and all that, but football will forever remain a simple game with getting the round thing into the oblong thing its most important aspect. We saw that yesterday, when Darwin Nuñez, one of four Liverpool subs, came off the bench to save his team a point that – ridiculously – felt like a blow to their title ambitions. And we may well see it again today, because Erling Haaland, the world’s first lab-created goalmonster, will be starting in attack for Manchester City.
But there are far easier beginnings than West Ham away. David Moyes’ side are now established as one of the league’s best: physical, skilful, and an absolute brute to play against. Last season at the London Stadium, they beat Liverpool, almost did the same to City, and have plenty of scope to get better still.
Or, put another way, there are more friendly places to begin a bid for a record-equalling third consecutive title, and not many less so. This is going to be good.
Kick-off: 4.30pm BST
