Man City 'blew Chelsea away' in statement win
Robbie Earle and Robbie Mustoe reflect on Manchester City's statement performance in a 3-0 win against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge to close the gap on Arsenal at the top of the table.
Video Transcript
Well, shall we start at Chelsea, at Stamford Bridge?
Yeah.
it's the latest game that we, we, we saw this afternoon.
Manchester City going to, to Chelsea knowing that Arsenal had got beaten 2-1 by Bournemouth the day before, knowing that they cut the gap to six points with a win at Chelsea.
It wasn't a given.
They, they go to Stamford Bridge.
We know that Liam Messini and his team of, can have days, can have moments.
but they got the job done in efficient style.
Second half, just put the power on, Rob, and, and, and, and blew, blew Chelsea away.
Clean sheet, three goals, three points.
Pep's purring.
Yeah.
I mean, Rob, it was more than, it was more than got the job done.
It was a emphatic statement of readiness, of- desire, determination, excitement.
I mean, Graeme Le Saux talked about it in the commentary, Rob.
The, the, the, the juxtaposition watching this weekend Arsenal play and Man City play, with the, the free-flowing nature- of Man City, the, the carefree football, the lack of any i- inhibitions at all, it was stunning.
And, and everything seems to be coming together.
I mean, I, I'll be the first to say, Rob, that I think probably, probably a few months ago now, I remember saying on, on the podcast, "City aren't winning this year.
They, they ain't got, they, they haven't got the mentality."
And this is probably back in December.
When you look back, Rob- Yeah, a little while ago.
Yeah they'd lost four games.
Yeah.
They'd lost four games by- Yeah by mid-November, Man City.
And just looking like their, new players weren't, weren't settling very well.
The way that this is coming through now with the, with the new players settling and looking amazing- Yeah Ryen Sherkie and everybody else, and the center-back partnership Rob we saw today of Kusanov and Marc Guhi- Yeah looking- Yeah super comfortable together.
Thru- through, through the midfield of Rodri looking back to his best.
I mean, this was a, this was an outstanding performance from Man City, Rob, and, and, and two of their best players had quiet days, Erling Haaland and- Yeah Antoine Semenyo.
Yeah.
It, it's telling you everything you need to know right now, and maybe you, you I'm, I think you're probably not You're, you're less surprised than I am- how they've turned this around to this point where they look like they're absolutely purring.
I didn't see it a few months ago, and I, and I hold my hands up, because the way that they're playing now- and the way it's looking, the, the fluid nature of the football- Yeah the dominance, the swagger, it's, it's amazing to see.
But when, when you sort of talk about the contrast, 'cause I think that is the starkest thing, and I, and I was saying, you know, I say with, with Arsenal, it's not And we'll get to them.
It's not just, you know, the nerves and the jangle.
I say it's the foot- the football's not good.
Yeah.
They're not playing- Awful good football.
Yeah.
And does that, Rob, come down How much that is, is player-led driven, and how much of that is manager driven and environment and maybe know-how?
Because we see good Arsenal players, but, but there's, there's a inhibition about them.
There, there's a tightness- Absolutely about them.
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
Now, does that, does that come from the manager who's known what it takes to loosen a t- a pl- a, a team up?
Like, it's interesting, Rob, 'cause there was, there was a bit of something, and, and I had the I came and said to Bax this morning, "I'm just a little bit awkward when, when, when Mikel keeps revving these games up.
Have your breakfast, bring your lunch, bring your din-" You know, the, the roll call and, and everybody's like, "Whoa."
Yeah.
Like- Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah I, I know it's a bit Mikel, you don't have to tell me.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I, I've got radio.
I live in the world.
I've got m- Yeah social media.
I know it's a big game, and- Yeah I kinda feel like revving it up i- i- is inhibiting us even, even more.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's a good point, Rob.
You, you sort of asked a question and answered a lot of it there.
I think it does come down to know-how.
I think, and we, and we spoke about this before, I mean, Arteta, bless him, w- you know, he, he, he's so He wants it so badly, Rob, this.
And, and he's, and he's, he's trying to put, sort of put that onto the players.
"Come on, we, we want this so badly."
The f- I mean, it is, there's so They want it so badly.
And, and it, and it, and it has to come, I mean, I'd love to be able to speak from a position of experience, Rob.
And do you want it too much, Rob?
And- Well, that's what I think.
That's what I'm gonna go Yeah.
Yeah.
That's what, that's what I mean, 'cause Pep's done it before- Yeah and he's, he's, he's, he's been in these races so many times.
Rob, how many w- races has he won?
Yeah.
Narrowly at the end.
Yeah.
So he, he knows how to, it, it seems, prepare his players and create, as you said the word earlier, Rob, an environment that's conducive to finishing strongly.
The data, the fact, the data in fact says it, is that Aprils are outstanding.
They've won an amazing percentage of games, and it has to come down to that.
The, the We'll get, again, we'll get to Arsenal- but the way that he brings his team to the boil, and this one g- has to have been harder than others.
This is right into the Champions League, Rob, right?
So it, they're out the Champions League.
Yeah.
I feel like it's not until, like, this last week or two that they've, they've, they've got They've kind of, I don't know, they, they've got above the water.
Yeah.
Like, "Here we are.
This is us now."
They're not the gears, are they?
Yeah.
Because they, they was, they were stumbling.
They weren't quite right.
You know, different players in different spots.
It's all coming together, only these last couple of weeks.
And that's an awful look or sign for Arsenal that right now, Rob, my bottom note on the, on the, on the City game is they look like there's no m- they look like they win every single game.
Every single game.
Well, he, he said that in his presser, Rob, at, I think, on, on Friday, that, "We, we're gonna have to win every game."
He feels they're gonna have to win every game.
Well, it, it, it, the way that they s- I mean, Chelsea are no You know, they're not I know they're on a bit of a bad run- Yeah but they're not a bad side.
And my goodness, the hunger they played with and some of the, the, the, the players' performances from Man City- Yeah they're looking really grooved, Rob, and it's a, it's a word that I've used about City for years now.
I haven't really used that this season much.
No.
I feel, again, these last couple of weeks, they're looking as grooved and as comfortable- Yeah of O- O'Riley that goes from left back into that inside left forward.
Yeah, yeah.
He causes all kinds of problem.
Before he scored a goal, Rob.
Yeah, he was causing- All kinds- Yeah he's a constant threat- on the inside left, getting to the byline, pulling balls back.
If the ball's on the other side, he gets into the box- Yeah as he did with his goal.
He is, he is an, an, an outstanding threat- through, on that left sideOh, w-w-without doubt.
And, and Doku, you know, playing wide on one side, Cherki.
It's interesting, Rob, that we had Gary Neville o- I don't know if you saw he- Yeah, saw it he came on it- Yeah and talked and, and spoke.
Spoke really well about what it takes to winning titles and- Yeah you know, the feelings and gestures, and obviously he's a man, I think he's got eight of them, so he knows as much as, as anybody- Yeah Rob.
But it was interesting 'cause he talked about that knowhow.
When he won his first title, he said, "I was surrounded in the dressing room with people who'd won it, who knew what it takes, with coaches- with managers, with players."
And I thought it was a really strong point, but he also then pointed to, to a point that, that I remember in our podcast earlier, and I know you were, were, were down on, on, on City in early days, just saying it doesn't look like the hunger's- No quite there, and they're not gonna be able- No to have that fire in the belly, and, you know, to go again might take another year or a couple of years.
And it was interesting today 'cause it was the first time I thought to myself, we, we did a little piece on Khusanov who's, who's, as you said- just starting to come really- Yeah to the fore.
and it kinda made me think, Rob, that yes, it's great to have all those winners, but it's also good to have two or three who haven't won it, who are hungrier- Yeah who don't know- Yeah what it takes, who are desperate to, you know, get there for, you know, they've won the League Cup now as, as a group, but, you know, win their first title.
So I think the Semenyas, the Cherkis, the, you know, Khusanov, who's just come into thing, the, the, Reinders, those kind of players also bring something else to that dressing room that, that helps those who've won it- Yeah, yeah for, for all those years.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's a freshness, Rob, isn't it?
Yeah.
There's a freshness- Yeah and excitement- and a, and a, and a desire.
Yeah.
And a why They walk in that dressing room, and they're, and they're wide-eyed about- "God, this is How, how amazing is this to win a Premier League title?"
So that, I think it's an interesting point to mix with those that, that have, have won it a little bit.
I mean, some of the performances, Rob, like when, when you, when you think of Ryan Cherki, right- and this is a good example of what we just, we were talking about the last few minutes, where he came in, remember his first game, he came on- Yeah looked a million bucks- and we're like, "Wow, this player."
And then he wasn't doing the things that Pep liked- Yeah him to do, and, and maybe that's still the case in certain circumstances.
But talk about a player, Rob, that I think he's just turned 22, or he's, he's recently 22.
I mean, he, he had a little 15-minute spell there.
The two assists were, were world-class.
Incredible, yeah.
Yeah.
I mean, what a talent he is, Rob.
What I mean, I would pay money.
He's one of them players.
His, his ability, and he's two f- he, he is so two-footed- Yeah is scary.
I mean, he's an amazing player.
The point to that, Rob, and e- and I think we, we talked about in, in the, in the studio, was there's not one player in Arsenal who could play those passes to a- at this point.
They're not- Yeah in that kind of form.
Do you know what I mean?
Yeah.
Yeah.
There's a- Yeah there's a difference.
That's the difference right there.
Yeah.
The c- the c- the, the, the, the, it's chalk, it's chalk and cheese, mate, in terms of, you know, creative football- Yeah and progressive playing, and creating opportunities, and penetration.
I mean, Pep's a master at it.
And, again, we keep We'll get to Arsenal in the next chat.
Yeah.
But it's like, i-i-it, bec- you have to talk about them as well because i- it's important.
I mean, it, it's probably important to say as well that they're not strong defensively as Arsenal.
No, no.
And between now and the end of the season- Rob, as you and Tim talked about, there might be a game where they mess up.
Yeah.
And if they mess up- Yeah they let goals in, which they've shown- Yeah us they can do, then they might blow it.
Well, not blow it, but they might- Yeah, might not lose the chance to win it.
so that's their I mean, I'm not saying that, that this is a slam dunk- title for Man City, but it, it is very stark the way that these two teams are doing it so differently.
Let me just go back to your one person, one, one piece o- on, on Cherki there.
I wa- I was listening to a couple of, of Pep pre-match interviews, 'cause I just wanna get the sense of what he said.
He w- you know, Pep's brilliant at playing it down, and, you know, "This is where we are, and l- loads of respect for Mikel," and all that stuff.
And somebody asked him about Ryan Cherki, and said, you know, "How are you with the bit, the showboating?
At times he looks like..." And Pep, I thought, was brilliant.
He answered brilliantly.
He said, "But sometimes you have special talents and special players" who he said, "You have to accept they're gonna be a little bit different."
"As long as they are part of the team, as long as they work in the same way, have the same ethic," he said, "you allow them now and then to be themselves."
I thought it was a really, really interesting way that, you know- Yeah we o- we often think, like, Pep's really hard a- and, and, you know, don't do the He probably doesn't like some bits of it, and is saying to him, you know, the, "I was with Messi, the best player, one of the best players we've ever had, and he didn't do these things, but do this, do this."
And he kinda said, "But you still have to give this guy confidence.
You still have to put your arm round him.
You still have to do thing..." 'Cause he, he And he said that, this is yesterday, he said, "He's a game changer."
And we saw that- today.
And I just thought- Yeah you know, those little man-management bits where I'm sure he doesn't have to do that with Marc Guhi, 'cause Marc Guhi's one of those straight up and down guys who- Great pro.
Yeah, great pro you know, pretty pro.
Yeah.
But Cherki's a different But he's gonna win you titles, mate.
He's gonna win you cups and, and, and Champions Leagues.
I mean, anything I m- we're at the point now with Pep Guardiola, Rob, that anything he says, it's just like, "Yeah.
Yeah."
Yeah.
I m- w- how can anybody question- It's Sir Alex, it's Sir Alex- Hey it's Sir Alex kind of- Same thing, yeah temperature now, yeah.
Anything Sir Alex says- or anything Pep Guardiola says now- Yeah he, he knows a million percent more than anybody else.
Yeah.
He's, he's had the experience, Rob, different personalities- different characters.
He's been doing this a long time now.
He knows what it likes to be He knows what it's like to create and to, to, to nurture a winning champion team.
And he might be doing it again, and he knows it takes different types.
Yeah.
And that, that would make sense, wouldn't it?
Yeah.
Yeah.
That you could, you manage people a little bit differently- given their personalities, and obviously he has a way of getting them I mean, yeah, thr- from, from, from Khusanov, who you said, Rob, look- looked a shambles in his first- Yeah.
Yeah a nervous wreck- in his first game, to now looking the part, and sticking his chest out, and getting involved in the play.
I mean, Marc Guhi, Rob, remember I mean, we could talk about every single player, by the way, but- Yeah I watched him today, Marc Guhi, right?
His position, when City have control- Yeah he pla- he's really, really He's a center-back.
Yeah.
He's really high.
He's almost like in a, in a left- Yeah, in left, pushed in, yeah back position in support.
Pushed in, yeah.
It's like, wow.
A- and, and Rodri's behind the ball.
Khusanov is.
And, Matheus Nunes is, is- Yeah holding back.
So there's a balance there, but it's a d- such a different way of, of possessing the ball.
Guhi was available all the time to keep possession.
Yeah.
I mean, there aren't many teams that do that.
So Pep does all these different things, and again, I don't wanna go overboard because it was such an imp- impressive performance, and their Achilles heel is their defensive side of things.
Yeah.
When you've got Bernardo Silva, you got Ryan Cherki- you got Doku, you got all these attack-minded players, when their game is on, and their passing's crisp, and they dominate, ab- absolutely brilliant, but when it isn't- Yeah these guys they're gonna wanna defend.
Yeah, somebody's gonna have Yeah.
Somebody's gonna- So, so that's still gonna be the thing to watch for them going forward
