Manchester City proved their strength as the defending champions after beating Arsenal 2-0 in the first week of the English Premier League which was played at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday (12/8).
Man City’s winning goal was scored by Raheem Sterling in the first half and Bernardo Silva in the second round. While Arsenal are still looking for identity with the new manager, Unai Emery, failed to score a reply until the game was over.
The defending English Premier League team managed to excel since the first round. Raheem Sterling’s brilliant action in the 14th minute was unable to overcome the Arsenal defender who appeared fragile.
Combing from the right side of Arsenal’s defense, Sterling managed to cut inside before releasing a horizontal kick measured to the left corner of the goal that Cech could not anticipate.
Arsenal actually have a chance to equalize in the 20th minute. Unfortunately, Hector Bellerin’s shot could still be blocked by Ederson who performed brilliantly. Pierre Emerick Aubameyang also had the opportunity to score in the 45th minute, but his shot was deviated slightly on the right side of Ederson’s goal.
The Citizens 1-0 advantage lasted until halftime. The compactness of Pep Guardiola’s direction squad managed to uncover Arsenal’s fragile defense that is still seeking identity with their new manager, Unai Emery.
Alexandre Lacazette, who was only replaced by Aaron Ramsey at the beginning of the second half, was able to spread threats in the 57th minute. Unfortunately his volley was still wide of the target.
City almost doubled the advantage in the 63rd minute through the action of Sergio Aguero who managed to take advantage of Matteo Guendouzi’s mistake in the back line.
Guendouzi’s negligence made Aguero control the ball, who only faced one-on-one with Cech. Unfortunately, the Argentine international striker’s shot could still be blocked by Cech. One minute later, Cech’s goal was conceded for the second time. This time it was Bernardo Silva’s turn to record his name on the scoreboard. The Portuguese midfielder managed to capitalize on Benjamin Mendy’s attractive pass with a hard left-footed shot to beat Cech.
Aubameyang actually managed to break into Man City’s goal in the 80th minute. Receiving Lucas Torreia’s long pass, the striker managed to release a lob to trick Ederson. However, the goal was disallowed because the referee considered Aubameyang to be in an offside position.
De Bruyne almost added to Arsenal’s suffering in injury time by releasing a hard shot from outside the penalty box. Luckily the ball can still be pushed over by Cech.
De Bruyne’s chances are the closing of the match that Man City won 2-0. Three points make City temporarily ranked fifth in the standings and only on goal difference from Chelsea and Liverpool, who are in the top two positions.
Player Composition:
Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Petr Cech (GK); Hector Bellerin, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Shkodran Mustafi, Ainsley Maitland-Niles (Stephan Lichtsteiner, 35 ‘); Matteo Guendouzi, Granit Xhaka (Lucas Torreia, 70 ‘); Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Aaron Ramsey (Alexandre Lacazette, 54 ‘), Mesut Ozil; Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Manchester City (4-3-3): Ederson (GK); Kyle Walker, John Stones, Aymeric Laporte, Benjamin Mendy; Bernardo Silva, Fernandinho, Ilkay Guendogan; Riyad Mahrez (Kevin De Bruyne, 60 ‘), Sergio Aguero, Raheem Sterling (Leroy Sane, 87’).
