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)

A Couple of Odd Results

100 years ago today (6 February 1926) and only a week after 74,799 had watched Manchester City defeat reigning League champions Huddersfield Town 4-0 in the FA Cup at Maine Road the two teams met again. This time the visitors to Maine Road gained revenge for their humiliation by defeating City 5-1. This newspaper report explains all and shows how, despite City ultimately reaching the FA Cup final, the two clubs were heading in opposite directions. Huddersfield would retain the title (their third in a row; only one club has ever achieved four in a row) but City would be relegated at the season’s end.

The City scorer in the League game with Huddersfield was Frank Roberts.

If you’d like to know more about this season for Manchester City why not read the following 4,900 word subscriber article on the 1925-26 season. If you subscribe (see below) I hope you enjoy it. If you are not currently a subscriber then why not try it for a month (£3 per month or sign up for a year at a discounted £20 per year)?

Here’s the article:

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Were You There 60 Years Ago Today? Bristol City 1 Manchester City 1

Today (5 February) in 1966 a goal from Neil Young brought City a 1-1 draw at promotion chasing Bristol City. League leaders Manchester City saw this as a point gained rather than one dropped and the wider media coverage talked positively of Manchester’s side. Were you at Bristol that day? If you were please feel free to add your comments.

Here for subscribers are match reports from this game:

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You can find out more on Manchester City during the 1965-66 season by reading the following 4100 word article. As with most of the other features in this series it includes words from interviews I have performed with those who were there. This is a subscriber article (see below).

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Mr Grimsdale!

The entertainer Norman Wisdom was born on this day (4 feb) in 1915 so a good excuse to remember the day when he larked around on the Maine Rd pitch (and some claimed they thought it was Peter Reid). It’s always worth reminding ourselves of the days when he’d come out on to the pitch, fall over while taking a penalty and similar antics. Often supported by musician Rick Wakeman too! On one of the days in the 90many of us stood on the Kippax saw the elderly entertainer take to the field but didn’t recognise him at first. In fact many of us thought it was Peter Reid wearing a flat cap!

There were lots of odd prematch activities over the decades and you can read about them in this 2000 word article on the history of pre-match entertainment at Manchester City. There are mentions of the St Joseph’s Industrial School and Beswick Prize Bands, various DJs, athletic challenges, Norman Wisdom, Frank Sidebottom & more. Enjoy:

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The 1950s: Stanley Matthews’ 250th Blackpool League Game (A MCFC Victory)

Seventy years ago today (4 February 1956) Stanley Matthews made his 250th league appearance for Blackpool on a snow covered Bloomfield Road ground. In treacherous conditions Manchester City defeated the home team 1-0 with a goal from Roy Faulkner. Interestingly Faulkner only ever made 7 first team appearances for City but scored 4 goals. This match report highlights Faulkner’s contribution. Notice also the mention of Joe Mercer’s early managerial career (Sheffield United match report).

You can read more on Manchester City in the 1950s with this 3,900 word article on the 1955-56 season when City won the FA Cup final (nowadays known as the Trautmann Final) and Bert Trautmann was FWA Footballer of the Year (presented in the days before the final). Enjoy!

This is a subscriber article and you can read it by subscribing below.

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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

Manchester City v River Plate at Maine Road

On 2 February 1952 Manchester City were defeated 4-3 by Argentinian football club River Plate in a friendly at Maine Road, watched by a crowd of 34,974. Here are some interesting images from an official record book showing details of entertainment tax paid by City and turnstile records. I’m not certain if anyone has ever researched how much money football clubs paid in entertainment tax over the years but if anyone’s interested then hopefully the following will help.

You can see from the above photo a few match details such as HT/FT scores, weather and referee details. In addition the various admission prices can be seen (not all shown on this image) and the record book also includes details of how many fans attended within these prices per turnstile. A summary of the attendance per price and the amount of tax paid can be seen in the next image:

For the record City’s goals were scored by Don Revie, Jimmy Meadows and Roy Clarke. The two images below show the name of the turnstile operator and the admissions via that turnstile and the second image shows the total attendance and income details.

The series on the 1950s includes some free articles and some subscriber only features. If you’d like to know more on this period then why not subscriber and enjoy the following article on the 1951-52 season.

This is a subscriber article and you can read it by subscribing below.

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Tottenham v City

It’s Tottenham v City today, so an appropriate time to look back at other meetings. The two clubs first met in a FA Cup tie in January 1909 with the first League game coming at White Hart Lane on 27 December 1910. City’s first scorer in a League match with Spurs was John Smith, who netted in that first League game (a 1-1 draw). Smith played in only 18 League games (scoring 6) for City.

There are plenty of articles on my website concerning games between City and Tottenham, and here’s a link to the heatwave game played on 27 September 1913:

Heatwave at Tottenham

There’s also the Ballet on Ice here:

Coleman Goal in the Blue Ballet

Here’s a link to all other features tagged Tottenham:

https://gjfootballarchive.com/tag/tottenham/

60 Years Ago: Blushing Mike Summerbee For England?

This week in 1966 Manchester City manager (and future England boss) Joe Mercer told journalists that he believed that Mike Summerbee was ready to play for England. Mercer felt Summerbee could play in the following summer’s World Cup and urged Alf Ramsey to pick the City star. You can see one of the many articles published about this here. As for Mike Summerbee… Summerbee was flattered and slightly embarrassed about Mercer’s claims but many neutrals believed the City star deserved the opportunity.

You can find out more on Manchester City during the 1965-66 season by reading the following 4100 word article. As with most of the other features in this series it includes words from interviews I have performed with those who were there. This is a subscriber article (see below).

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Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (cancel anytime) or sign up for a year at the discounted price of £20 per year (works out £1.67 per month). Subscribers access the 1000+ articles posted so far and the others scheduled during the life of your subscription.

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How To Subscribe

If you enjoy all the free material on my website and would like to support my research and keep this website going (but don’t want to subscribe) then why not make a one-time donation (or buy me a coffee). All support for my research is valued and welcome. It allows me to keep some free material available for all. Thanks.

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Manchester Corinthians Brazil Film and Article

The latest Corinthian article and video has been produced. This one is aimed at South American audiences and Portuguese speakers. I’ve been working with Luis for some time on this as I knew he could help get the Corinthians‘ story out in South America. Obviously it’s aimed at Brazil rather than Venezuela but this is great coverage. His article was picked up by a national media company and can be read here. Also, there’s a link to the Portuguese language film he’s done here too:

https://www.uol.com.br/esporte/futebol/ultimas-noticias/2026/01/27/terra-de-city-e-united-manchester-ja-teve-um-corinthians-feminino.htm

Luis has also created an English language version here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vzzv-OHp8Wc

Great coverage and already he’s been getting interest from Brazilians who had no idea. Hopefully, the news will spread further in South America. Thanks again to all that have helped with getting the stories out there.