52 goals in 17 games averages around 3 goals per game. These already impressive stats become even more unusual when you consider the context in which they have been achieved. Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City team has displayed tremendous form since the start of the season and are seemingly looking like the best side not just in England but in Europe at the moment.
One might argue that PSG has had an equally impressive start to their season but scoring an average of 3 goals every game may be a little more difficult in the Premier League than in Ligue 1. Pep’s team has already played the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool in the league and beaten the Serie A leaders Napoli twice in the Champions League.
After seventeen games into the season, Manchester City are yet to lose a game. Their only game where they have dropped points in the fixture against Everton in their second match of the season when they drew 1-1 with the Toffees.
After spending a fortune in the transfer market, Pep finally has a squad of players he likes and is delivering on his promise of providing relentless, attacking football at the Etihad this season. A quick look through the City squad will pop up the names of players like Sergio Aguero, Gabriel Jesus, Raheem Sterling, Leroy Sane, Bernardo Silva, David Silva, Ilkay Gundogan, Kevin De Bruyne and many more. With a manager like Guardiola at the helm of such a talented side, it is not surprising to see City play the way they are.
The have been in flawless form this season, dispatching opponents with absurd ease and with their confidence and team chemistry getting stronger and stronger after each game, the future proposition for City’s opponents look scary.
In 11 games in the league, the Citizens have collected 31 points and have raced far ahead of the chasing pack. They have put a daylight 8-point gap between them and second-placed Manchester United, already.
With the rigorous nature of the premier league, it is not very difficult to lose eight points and the chasing pack will be waiting for City to run into a lean patch but at the same time, given the way Guardiola’s men are playing at the moment, it is impossible to see them dropping 8 points any time soon. Also even if they do drop 8-10 points over the course of the season, it would mean that the others would have to play a perfect season from here onwards and win around 25-26 of their remaining 27 league games, a feat no team is likely to accomplish given the current competitive nature of the league.
Hence it will no longer be a bold prediction but a likely scenario that come May 2018, we might see the trophy head from West London straight into the cabinet at the Etihad unless there is a major drama unfolding in England. However, the drama is what this league has offered consistently over the last two decades, so don’t rule out any possibilities yet.
