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Even on bad days, Manchester City win convincingly. They did get two penalty kicks converted by Mario Balotelli (with the arrogant “celebration” of the year) and Sergio Aguero while Micah Richards added one in between as the Citizens strengthened their grip on the top of the Premier League with a 3-1 win over Newcastle.
The Magpies lost for the first time this season, and it’s very reasonable to assume that their hold on the third place will be soon a thing of the past. Their incredible start will eventually become a cushion to rely on. A tough team, a strong defense, all that are true. Not enough to compete with too much money and firepower, not enough to compete against Manchester City.
David Silva had an off day as City struggled to find that breakthrough goal while trying to handle Newcastle’s aerial game which almost led to an opening goal for the visitors more than once. Still, Ryan Taylor’s handball cleared the way for the win. His terrible defensive mistake minutes later, setting Richards’ goal, ended their chances. Losing Demba Ba early on didn’t help as well. Everything went wrong and off today for Newcastle.
City? Not brilliant, but their win was never in doubt during the second half. Dan Gosling managed a very late consolation goal. City got rid of another would-be title challenger in disguise. Right now, Manchester United are the only team close to them. By points, not by ability, and not by any other means.
City might not be playing the best football in Europe, but their depth and star power which have taken time to be molded into an actual team, a frightening and destructive one at that, are simply too much right now for anyone in the Premier League.