City show grit for long haul

NO ONE wins the title in November, but the Premier League would only be prudent if they were to place an order for light blue ribbons well ahead of the Christmas rush.
Stoke on a wet, windy night in winter has long been a litmus test of a potential champions' mettle, but we can now add Huddersfield. And that City succeeded where United failed so miserably so recently only adds to the significance of Sunday's 2-1 win.
Their winning goal was both scruffy and fortunate, but Pep Guardiola was lauding the team's character; Jose Mourinho had accused his players of lacking any when they lost on the same ground just over a month ago.
"I take more satisfaction from this than winning 4-0," the Catalan purred afterwards. "You have to suffer. You have to live that, and in that last period last month, we did not feel that. And that is why it's so important. To live that situation and be able to win the game."
City had been feeling it was all too easy: strolling past opponents as if they were training ground cones and banging in goals like taking candy of children. This was anything but. The stats – 337 passes to 36 in the second half – suggest almost a monopoly of possession but City still had to get the job done.
Mourinho's men had mounted a late rally but it was too little too late, prompting an extraordinary outburst. "Huddersfield played with aggression, desire and sacrifice and we didn't," he raged after United's 2-1 defeat. "We deserved to lose. Our attitude was really poor ... If I was a traditional Man United supporter I would be really disappointed."
United will be neither as supine nor as ragged when they host City a week on Sunday, but the fortuitous win over Brighton indicates they are a long way from their early season form when they, too, were scoring goals for fun.
You could say they got that job done, too, but there was no comparison with City's performance or degree of difficulty faced. United have slipped back from their encouraging autumn and few feel they have it in them to sustain a season-long challenge to their neighbours.
With Spurs, Liverpool and Chelsea all dropping points, it leaves United as the lone member of the chasing pack to be within single figures of the leaders' points total. Eight is certainly not insurmountable but there is more than just neatness about the Huddersfield yardstick.
Possible chinks in City's armour were their defence and their character. They had made a flying start to last season but, by this time a year ago, once the wind howled and the rain became horizontal, City crumpled.
Pep himself slumped back into his dugout like David Moyes had at United, wondering what on earth he was doing in a place like this. Weather like this. Fixtures like this. Referees like this.
As City slid from their early season perch, it didn't look as if the manager had the stomach for it, let alone the players.
They let a lead slip to lose to Chelsea, were thrashed by Leicester and later Everton in notably hostile weather. To all intents and purposes, it looked like the Fancy Dans didn't fancy it.
But a year on all that has changed. Pep no longer pulls the hood over his head or the wool over our eyes. He leaves that big, bald dome to shine under the lights, easy for his players to spot. He still has histrionics but has morphed from huddled and defeatist to downright inspirational.
Yes, defence could still be a liability without the vastly improved John Stones or the dynamic Benjamin Mendy. Vincent Kompany has gone from colossus to sicknote in recent years and has to convince he can ever again be his old commanding self.
But an even bigger question mark was over the team's character. And the most startling stat of all to emerge on Sunday was that this was the first time City had won after being behind at halftime since 1995. And that was deep into "It could only happen to City" history.
For Doubting Thomases, there was also the issue of whether Pep, who had been blessed with only the best Barcelona team of all time and a pretty good Bayern outfit, could actually work his magic with lesser mortals.
Well, he's answering that too. Fortified by £220 million's (1.2 billion) worth of spending, his mortals are not "lesser" any more, but it is the improvement in existing players more than the arrival of stellar ones that has surely answered any lingering doubts about the man's genius.
Besides, there is obviously a great spirit among these high earners too and they seem to have bought into what Garry Cook used to call "the City project". Barring a catastrophe of pre-takeover proportions, they should cruise home.
As Pep keeps saying, they will lose, but they can afford a slight wobble as they are just so damned good and will push over 90% of opponents with their eyes closed. His old nemesis will no doubt will have something in store for them and Chelsea won't give up, but it will take a Biblical meltdown for Pep not to lift the title next spring.
Forget Mourinho, it is City who are the Special Ones now.
Good, Bad & Stupid
GOOD: Man City
Eleven wins in a row and 37 points from 13 games – both EPL records; unbeaten in 26 matches and 7 months. Just the stats – they don't do justice as Pep's men are in a class of their own.
BAD: Everton
When it rains it comes down in buckets. Everton must think so after this latest thrashing (4-1) by Saints hard on the heels of a home humiliation (5-1) by Atalanta. With £150m (RM824 million) wasted, no manager, a player done for "successful deception", the new era has yet to dawn.
STUPID: James Tarkowski
You had played very well, impressed the watching England manager and are heading for a well-earned point. Then, in injury time, you go and gratuitously shove an opponent in your own box. The decision was harsh but you had invited the ref to make one. He awarded a pen which was duly dispatched and all your work was wasted. That was what Tarkowski did for Burnley against Arsenal. Tbh, stupid doesn't do it justice.