Cityzens beat Blades. After tickling the nerves of their fans in the end of the match, Manchester City still win 1:2 away to Sheffield United and now solely leads the Premier League.
Due to injury, the Blades are missing Max Lowe, whose place in the starting line-up is taken by George Baldock.
Nathan Ake and Bernardo Silva return to the starting line-up. They replace Manuel Akanji and Phil Foden. Newcomer Jérémie Doku is among the substitutes.
City completely dominate their opponents from the start of the match, but they attack rather leisurely, and Sheffield United try to slow the game down as much as possible.
In the 20th minute, Nathan Ake kicks the ball into the goal after a free-kick and a Rodri header. However, due to an offside call on the Spanish midfielder, the goal is not counted.
The first real scoring chance comes in the 27th minute when Erling Haaland put a defender in the box and with the help of a ricochet put Julian Alvarez on the ball, but he shot from the edge of the box into the goalkeeper.
In the 35th minute the hosts concede. John Egan intercepts Alvarez’s shot along the goal with his hand, and the referee awards a penalty. Haaland comes to the 11-metre mark and shoots against the bar!
Haalland’s miss negatively affects the already low enthusiasm of the Premier League champions, who in the rest of the first half can not create serious threats to the opponent’s goal.
At the start of the second half, Haaland makes another blunder. He strikes a shot that bounces off the turf from the penalty spot — close to the bar.
In the 58th minute, Rodri misses when he gets rid of a defender and shoots from outside the box.
In the 61st minute, Holland takes a shot from near the goalkeeper’s area, but can’t beat the goalkeeper.
In the end City outlast Sheffield United. In the 63rd minute, Jack Grealish from the left edge of the penalty area sends a shot to the far post, where Haalland’s header is played effectively — 0:1.
After the goal, the Cityzens hardly change their game, but the Blades have nothing to lose – the score drives them forward.
The hosts’ attacks are rather timid, but in the 85th minute the score becomes equal. It all starts with an attempt by Kyle Walker to play a heel in his own penalty box, as a result of which the ball goes to the opponent, and Jaydon Bogle hit from an acute angle to take Ederson by surprise — 1:1.
However, the balance in the score does not last long. In the 88th minute, substitute Phil Foden makes a technical error. He can not handle the ball in the penalty area, but the ball bounces to Rodri, and he immediately shoots — 1:2.
The hosts have another moment, but Anel Ahmedhodjic fails to put the ball in the goal and leaves the victory to the visitors.
City have a total advantage on all counts, including dangerous chances, and it’s a surprise that Sheffield United manage to briefly regain the intrigue in the end. The Blades can snag a point, but their luck runs out early.