Back in January, after City had been booed off by some supporters at halftime as they fell 2-0 behind against Tottenham, the manager coated off his players to their faces and then did it in the media. Asked why he was going public as he savaged the "happy flowers team", he said he wanted a reaction.
Yesterday's win over Leicester showed just how emphatically everyone has responded. Two goals inside the opening 13 minutes set up a 3-1 win to close to within three points of Arsenal at the top of the league, yet it was everything that went into the performance that was so impressive.
It started, on a sunny evening that made the horrendous rain on Tuesday seem even more ridiculous, with the fans. The home support had already been singing for John Stones when the centreback lashed in a bouncing ball like he was Erling Haaland to whip up even more noise in the stadium; the Norwegian was straight over to his team-mate to show his appreciation for the strike.
Jack Grealish wanted a penalty soon after for a foul on the edge of the box and while nothing was given but a corner, Leicester's failure to clear their lines allowed Grealish to whip the ball back in where Wilfred Ndidi punched it away.
The referee again was unmoved despite the many City players in his face, only for VAR to tell him to have another look at the monitor.
Even before Darren England had had a chance to change his mind, Haaland took hold of the ball and Bernardo Silva went to the penalty spot to stop Leicester's Victor Kristiansen from scuffing it up. City's No.9 then stroked home his 46th goal of the season and Leicester's game plan was in ruins after just 13 minutes.
This story is from the April 16, 2023 edition of MEN on Sunday.
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This story is from the April 16, 2023 edition of MEN on Sunday.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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