City Watch: Blues back on track

Following the defeats to Manchester United in the derby and Bodo Glimt in the Champions League, Manchester City were in desperate need of a good bounce back game to get the momentum going again.

City faced Wolves on Saturday, who sat bottom of the league going into the game, accumulating just eight points so far this season. 

The Blues played at Molineux in the first game of the season, a match that ended with a convincing 4-0 win, so a similar result was very much needed.

Marc Guehi, who signed earlier on last week, made his full City debut, starting next to Khusanov. 

I have to say, of all the performances on Saturday, his was one of the best, considering that he’d had less than five days to get into the swing of things. 

He almost scored five minutes into his first game, and just a few minutes later, provided a fantastic ball to Antoine Semenyo who should’ve scored.

Some of the biggest news from the game, however, was that both Erling Haaland and Phil Foden were dropped to the bench, with Omar Marmoush starting up front. 

It’s unclear whether Haaland and Foden were dropped due to performance, but Pep and Erling were both discussing the amount of minutes the players are playing, so it may have had something to do with that.

Regardless, Marmoush took full advantage of his opportunity, scoring just six minutes into the game to give the Blues the lead. 

A relatively flat half of football followed, with Antoine Semenyo scoring just before half time to give the Blues a 2-0 lead at the break. 

Semenyo has had a fantastic start to life in Manchester, and his goal on Saturday reminded me a little of Leroy Sane, cutting in and curling the ball into the corner.

Speaking of Leroy Sane, following City’s 2-0 win against Wolves on the weekend, they will face Galatasaray on Wednesday night in their final Champions League group game. 

By the time this column is released, City will have played the game, so we will know whether they have an automatic place into the round of 16, or whether they will have to go into a play off like last season.

The defeat to Bodo Glimt last week leaves City’s fate slightly in the balance, even a good result against the Turkish side doesn’t guarantee the Blues a top eight finish. 

Both Leroy Sane and Ilkay Gundogan will make their return to the Etihad on Wednesday night, and I’m hoping they don’t play like they did in City shirts!

Man City will face Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday following their final Champions League game, which has been a very successful place to visit in the past… not. Spurs were responsible for our first defeat of the season, but their manager, Thomas Frank, has been under a significant amount of pressure with their lack of form.

Manchester United also did us a favour on Sunday, beating Arsenal at the Emirates to leave the gap at just four points, so a win in London is absolutely crucial.