LONDON — Manchester City know exactly when to be ruthless in a Premier League title race. If there was any doubt about that, they proved it during the eight minutes of stoppage time at the end of their 3-0 win against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
It was a passage of play that will only strike more fear into the hearts and minds of Mikel Arteta and his nerve-shredded Arsenal players as they prepare for what has become a potential title decider against City at the Etihad Stadium next Sunday.
If Arsenal win, they will move nine points clear at the top and banish the jitters that have seen them lose three of their past four games in all competitions — including last month’s Carabao Cup final against City — and take a huge stride toward a first title since 2004. But a City win would move them to within three points of the Gunners, knowing that winning their game in hand will almost certainly take them top on goal difference.
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It is the goal difference that made their final eight minutes against Chelsea so compelling and instructive as to the mood within Guardiola’s squad.
City started this weekend seven goals behind Arsenal in the goal differential column, but after Bournemouth’s shock 2-1 win at the Emirates on Saturday and City’s win at Stamford Bridge, the goal difference has been reduced to just three in Arsenal’s favor. That lead would be wiped out by a City win against Arteta’s side and a victory in their game in hand against Crystal Palace, though it will still be close.
So despite being three goals up as they entered stoppage time, City’s ruthlessness clicked in. The game was already won, and angry Chelsea fans were streaming out of the stadium, but the moment that the fourth official raised the board to signal the additional eight minutes seemed to kick Guardiola’s players into an extra gear. They peppered the Chelsea goal like a team chasing a late equalizer or winner, Erling Haaland desperately tried to score his first goal of the game.
The home side found itself penned in by a City team knowing the significance of every additional goal it could score. In the end, City were unable to add to their winning margin, but the message was clear every goal counts and they will not waste the chance to score them.
“I have not given the players the message before the game about goal difference, but I like it that they are 3-0 up and still trying to score more,” Guardiola said. “I like it when Savinho is making four crosses and the players are trying to score, but I don’t know if [goal difference] will make difference.”
Arsenal are not showing the same ruthlessness. They are finding the title pressure to be suffocating because a possible quadruple could now become a big fat nothing, and three goals in their last four games highlights how everything is beginning to tighten up for Arteta’s players.
City have scored nine goals without conceding in three games since their UEFA Champions League defeat against Real Madrid last month. They have been energized by the tension, while Arsenal have allowed it to paralyze them.
Even though this game was uneventful during the first half, City always looked to be in control against a Chelsea side low on confidence and without their vice-captain Enzo Fernández, who was serving the second game of a club suspension for voicing a desire to live in Madrid.
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But City pulled clear by simply stepping up the intensity at the start of the second half. They went in for the kill, and Rayan Cherki was the instigator, creating two goals in the space of six minutes for Nico O’Reilly and Marc Guéhi. One was a pinpoint cross for O’Reilly, the other a perfectly weighted pass for Guéhi, with both deliveries epitomizing Cherki’s quality and impact since his £35 million summer transfer from Lyon. His assists against Chelsea took him to 10 this season.
Cherki, Guéhi and Antoine Semenyo have all arrived at City since last summer, and all were proven performers — players with a track record in Europe or the Premier League. Chelsea, by contrast, have generally signed project players such as Jamie Gittens, Liam Delap and Alejandro Garnacho, who are nowhere near the finished article.
This was a win for pedigree over potential — the same could be said of Guardiola vs. Chelsea coach Liam Rosenior. It is difficult to see Chelsea’s approach ever bearing fruit as consistently as that of City, who sealed a 3-0 win when Jérémy Doku scored after dispossessing Moisés Caicedo at the edge of the penalty area.
It could have been more for City, but their momentum is such that Arsenal will be fearing the worst at the Etihad. The Gunners can, of course, change the narrative by beating Guardiola’s side next week. But until they develop the same kind of ruthlessness and desire that typifies this City team, it seems that the title race is only going to end in City’s favor.
