Category Archives: 2020-21

The 2020s: Victory over Borussia Dortmund

After a surprising defeat in the League at home to Leeds (who were down to ten men throughout the second half) Manchester City’s return leg with Borussia Dortmund on this day (14 April) in 2021, ended with the same result as the first – 2-1. Dortmund had scored first on the night via Jude Bellingham, but the tie ended 4-2 on aggregate. This was a truly impressive victory.

City’s goals coming from Riyad Mahrez (penalty) and Foden. After Foden scored a screamer, he raced towards the manager and the two embraced knowing that City were through to the semi-finals. Afterwards Pep Guardiola told journalists what he experienced at that moment: ‘[Foden] found me. He ran [past] everyone and found me. That’s for all the club, all the people that work so hard to achieve what we have achieved so far. I said, “Well done, good shot, we go”.’

Pep highlighted the task now facing City: ‘We need three wins to win the Premier League. We are in the semi-finals of the Champions League. We are in semi-finals of the FA Cup and the final of the Carabao Cup. It is incredible what we have done. I am incredibly happy for this club, for this chairman and for the fans. Everyone.’

This was shaping up to be a great season.

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The 2020s: Victory over Borussia Dortmund

On this day (6 April) in 2021 Manchester City had a tough Champions League first leg at Borussia Dortmund. It ended 2-1 to City with Kevin De Bruyne opening the scoring on 19 minutes. Then in the final minute of normal time the same player sent a great cross in which was touched back by Gundogan for Phil Foden to send past goalkeeper Hirtz.

It had been a tense finish as future Blue Erling Haaland set Marco Reus for the German equaliser only six minutes from time. City’s determination had won through in a tough game.

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The 2020s: Victory over Borussia Mönchengladbach

On this day (16 March) in 2021 City faced Monchengladbach in the second leg of this Champions League round of 16 tie. They had won the first leg 2-0 and went on to match that scoreline in this second leg. Due to Covid restrictions both legs of this tie were played at the Puskas Arena in Budapest and so this game enters the record books as one of the few home games not played in Manchester by the Blues.

City started the game without a recognised centre forward as both Gabriel Jesus and Sergio Aguero were on the bench, but Pep Guardiola’s side were in control from the start. The German team were unable to cope with City’s quality, passing, creativity and movement.

The opening goal came when Kevin De Bruyne scored a wonderful 20 yard left footed strike after only twelve minutes. This was the 100th goal scored by City in all competitions this season. Six minutes later Ilkay Gundogan slotted the ball past the Monchengladbach ‘keeper following a great run and pass from Phil Foden.

Pep Guardiola enjoyed the victory: ‘It was a good performance; we controlled the game from the beginning. Players like Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva have a lot of quality, they help us a lot, but everyone was so committed and we’re delighted to be in the next stage. We now have everybody fit. That’s why we can rotate six or seven players. If you want to compete for competitions, you have to be fresh. The seasons are so long, we haven’t had one long week [off] since October.’

Post match the statisticians enjoyed highlighting a variety of City achievements. These included a couple of odd facts such as: Half of Monchengladbach’s defeats (5 out of 10) in the Champions League have been by City. City were also one of one three teams (AC Milan & Arsenal) to have kept seven consecutive clean sheets in the competition’s history.

Match Stats

16 March 2021

Manchester City 2 (De Bruyne & Gundogan) Borussia Monchengladbach 0

Attendance 0 (Covid restrictions)

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Manchester City v Wolves, 2021

On 2 March 2021 Manchester City defeated Wolves 4-1, extending the Club’s unbeaten run to an outstanding 21 games in all competitions (it was widely reported at this time that no other Premier League team had managed more than four wins in a row so far in 2020-21!). In addition City had extended their unbeaten run to a club record equalling 28th game. Post-match Pep Guardiola rightly told Radio FiveLive: ‘In wintertime in England it’s hell and in that time we did something incredible. It’s more than remarkable.’

Manchester City v West Ham

Manchester City’s 2-1 victory over West Ham on 27 February 2021 saw the Blues take the lead after 30 minutes, when a cross from Kevin De Bruyne was met perfectly by defender Ruben Dias. This was Dias’s first goal for City. 

For a while it seemed like this would be a relatively straightforward win, but West Ham had several chances, and the Hammers were as defensive as you’d expect from a team managed by David Moyes. Just before the break they equalised via Antonio. 

In the 68th minute a City corner led to John Stones netting City’s second and ultimately the winner.

The 2020s: Victory over Swansea

On this day (10 February) in 2021 Manchester City travelled to Swansea for a FA Cup tie. It was another record-breaking day for Pep Guadiola’s team.

City defeated Swansea 3-1 to progress to the quarter-finals but the victory set a record for successive domestic wins by an English top-flight club, surpassing the previous best of 14 achieved by Preston in 1891-92 and Arsenal in 1987-88. Talking about City’s 15th consecutive win Guardiola commented: ‘It shows how special these players are. And we think of the next one. I know we broke a record of all-time. To do what we have done so far is quite remarkable. The record will be broken for sure, because sports is like this, but it means a lot, to do what we have done in the winter time and Christmas time is quite remarkable. It is the toughest time, but what is important is the way we are still playing with our consistency.’

City’s goals were scored by Kyle Walker (30 mins), Raheem Sterling (47) and Gabriel Jesus (50), with Morgan Whittaker (77) scoring a late consolation goal for Swansea at the Liberty Stadium.

City have highlights here:

https://www.mancity.com/citytv/mens/swansea-city-v-manchester-city-63748586

Liverpool v Manchester City

Today’s the latest in a long line of meetings between Manchester’s Blues and Liverpool’s Reds. The first competitive meeting was on 16/9/1893 (as Ardwick)) with the first meeting as Manchester City coming on New Year’s Day 1896.

In total there have been 180 League games and many of these have been featured on this site over the years, such as this meeting at Anfield:

The 1920s: Liverpool 1 Manchester City 6

Here’s one from more recent times:

The 2020s: Victory at Anfield

Here’s a link to every other post on this site tagged Liverpool. Enjoy!

https://gjfootballarchive.com/tag/liverpool/

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The 2020s: Victory at Anfield

Manchester City’s meeting with Liverpool on this day (7 February) in 2021 was considered by some as the day the Blues’ run of great results would end. Playing at Anfield against the reigning champions was expected to be tough and, indeed, the first half was tight with little between the sides. In the 37th minute a great opportunity to take the lead was missed when a penalty, given for a foul on Sterling, was fired over by Gundogan. City fans watching at home due to Covid restrictions felt fate was working against them.

However, the second half started positively when, in the 49th minute, Gundogan lashed in a rebound after Liverpool ‘keeper Alisson had parried a Phil Foden shot. The lead didn’t last though as Mo Salah scored from the penalty spot in the 63rd minute. Ten minutes later Gundogan was played in by Foden to convert from close range after a defensive mix-up to make it 2-1. Three minutes later (76th minute) Sterling’s diving header from a clever cross by Bernardo Silva made the score 3-1.

Man of the match Phil Foden completed the scoring in style with a sizzling strike (83rd minute). It was thoroughly deserved as Foden had been outstanding throughout the game. 

The 4-1 victory lifted City five points clear of second-placed United and with a game in hand. This was also Pep Guardiola’s first win as a manager at Anfield. He summed up the game well: ‘I have a lot of emotions, many things happening in the game. Gundogan missed a penalty – it’s like a routine against them – but we started really, really well, doing what we want to do. In the second half, the way we reacted to the goal, the way we played with quality, made the difference.’

When asked about the destination of the League title he responded: ‘It is an important win, but it is February. Of course, the gap to fifth is big right now and [qualifying] for the Champions League next season is important – but 10 [League] wins in a row in this period is something exceptional.’

Match Stats 

7 February 2021

Liverpool 1 (Salah) City 4 (Gundogan 2, Sterling & Foden)

Attendance 0 (Covid restrictions)

The 2020s: City’s Winning Streak

Manchester City’s winning streak was extended to 13 games following a comfortable victory at Burnley on this day (3 February) in 2021. Not only that but the win placed Pep Guardiola’s side top of the League, three points ahead of rivals Manchester United, and this was City’s sixth consecutive clean sheet. Here’s a Mini-report and highlights of the game…

The game started wonderfully for City when a stinging shot by Bernardo Silva was parried straight to Gabriel Jesus by Burnley ‘keeper Nick Pope. Jesus headed in from a couple of yards out after only three minutes.

In the 38th minute the lead was doubled when an Ilkay Gundogan pass found its way to Raheem Sterling who scored his tenth goal of the season to date. There were other chances and City were always in control, but the game ended 2-0. Afterwards Burnley boss Sean Dyche admitted: ‘City were very good. They’re on a good run of form. They are really sharp in transition and attack… They play with three and a half [at the back]. The right-back or left-back goes into midfield when they have the ball.’

An odd stat was highlighted after this game recording that City had become the first team ever to win 12 consecutive Premier League games played on a Wednesday. By this time of Pep’s reign so many longstanding records had been broken that the statisticians began looking for something new to highlight!

City have highlights here:

https://www.mancity.com/citytv/mens/burnley-man-city-exended-highlights-63747986

Five Years Ago: MCFC V Cheltenham For The First Time

A break from the Premier League saw Manchester City face League Two’s Cheltenham Town in the FA Cup on 23 January 2021. It was the first time the teams had met competitively, and it was a real shame that Covid restrictions meant that fans could not attend this away game for the Blues.

Cheltenham took a 1-0 lead in the 59th minute through Alfie May. A long throw in was followed by Cheltenham’s Charlie Ragland and Will Boyle helping the ball on, before May reacted and poked it home. It was a bit of a jolt to the system, especially as there had been several opportunities for City to take the lead, but the Blues remained resolute. Tactical changes followed and then Joao Cancelo laid the ball on for Phil Foden, who levelled after 81 minutes. Three minutes later Gabriel Jesus scored after a pass from Fernandinho and City were in total control.

Four minutes into added time Ferran Torres made it 3-1, setting the Blues up with a fifth-round trip to Swansea.

Pep Guardiola felt City were always going to win through and when questioned about team selections and formations post-match he commented: ‘I didn’t have regrets even when we were 1-0 down, we had clear chances from the first minute… When they take advantage it gets complicated, but we got it to 1-1 and it was tight. We came here with humility and had the quality to make the difference.’