Manchester City were at their brilliant best against Nottingham Forest, putting the visitors to the sword with a 6-0 thumping at the Etihad Stadium.
Erling Haaland scored his second hat-trick in succession, with Julian Alvarez also making the headlines with a stellar brace and Joao Cancelo putting the icing on the cake with arguably the goal of the evening.
While Steve Cooper’s side were tipped to be a potential banana skin, the hosts emphasised their superiority from the get-go to maintain their flawless record at home so far this season.
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On a night to remember for the Premier League champions, here’s the five things that we learned from Manchester City’s fourth league win of the season-
Haaland is the most efficient footballer in the world
Aside from the running joke around Erling Haaland being a robot, it is impossible to deny that his game is borderline machine-esque. The 22-year-old seems almost programmed not to stray outside his task list of making the right runs, staying inside the box and scoring goals.
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Twelve minutes into the contest, the Norwegian had not touched the ball even once. While any other player in world football would drop deep to get involved in proceedings, Haaland never veers away from the plan in place.
The all-encompassing striker did what he does best by peeling away from his marker, sticking his left peg out and opening the scoring for City. One touch, one goal.
In the build up to his second too, the youngster seemingly does not even consider taking a pot shot or trying his hand at an unnecessary skill.
Instead, the ex-Dortmund goalscorer perfectly timed his pass to Phil Foden, before the ball kindly landed into his path for him to register a much-deserved brace.
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And this theme of meticulousness continues as the game progresses, with Erling Haaland picking his moments to drop deeper, for the sole purpose of attracting the opposition press and creating space for his teammates.
Sticking to his usual remit of being predatory in the box at other times, Manchester City’s number nine bagged his hat-trick from close quarters, and once again, operated at a measure of efficiency that doesn’t seem human.
Alvarez announces himself in style
For a 22-year-old making a leap as sizable as from the Argentine Primera Division to the Premier League, a culture shock from a footballing sense would be expected at the least. Especially in his first ever start in indisputably the best league in the world.
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However, such rules do not apply to Julian Alvarez, who looked surprisingly comfortable under the bright lights at the Etihad Stadium against a tricky Forest side.
Operating as a second striker behind Erling Haaland, the youngster was constantly involved in proceedings, occupying every spec of grass on the pitch to stitch play together with aplomb.
Impressively, the Argentine also exhibited a tendency to get shots off out of nothing, as he first came close to scoring with an improvised attempt that was parried away by Dean Henderson.
Late into the first half as well, Alvarez jinked past his man and struck a venomous weak-footed strike that agonisingly struck the post.
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Off the ball, the former River Plate forward is the ideal successor to Gabriel Jesus, as he is a pressing monster, much like his predecessor.
As Julian Alvarez left no stone unturned with his all-round display, his efforts were duly rewarded as he got off the mark in the Premier League with a low-drilled finish in the 65th minute.
The Copa America champion was only getting started, as he capped off one hell of an outing with a sublime left-footed volley past a hapless Dean Henderson.
Cancelo Culture is back in full effect
After a relatively muted start to the new season for Joao Cancelo, he was seemingly on a mission to put in a typically all-conquering showing on Wednesday night.
The Portuguese full-back operated in a wider role than usual, but looked right at home. A prime factor behind this remains that the 28-year old is deceptively two-footed, which allowed him to ghost past his man and deliver pinpoint crosses with his unnatural left peg without breaking a sweat on a number of occasions.
When shifting to a more inverted role, Cancelo was a constant test for the Nottingham Forest backline, due to his habit of picking out the runs beyond the backline of Phil Foden and Erling Haaland.
In the build up to Haaland’s third strike of the night, it was the elegant technician’s signature trivela pass from that very half-space, which found Foden, whose header across to Stones was the pre-assist for the eventual goal.
Joao Cancelo was only getting into the swing of things and in the 50th minute, he backed up a supreme showing with a ferocious strike from outside the box, which may well have been the goal of the night.
The former Juventus defender is simply one of the purest footballers around, which gives him the licence to manipulate the ball by toying with pressers or scoring a postage stamp with an enviable level of effortlessness.
City’s best performance of the season
Considering the Premier League champions have had to dig deep to pull out two successive comebacks out of the bag, questions have been asked about whether City’s early-season defensive frailties are a worry.
Such questions were resoundingly answered as Pep Guardiola’s side showcased that control ultimately equates to clean sheets.
Keeping the handsome scoreline aside, the Sky Blues were in sync to the extent that on the ball, every action was slick enough to be deemed choreographed.
With Phil Foden eventually vacating his left wing spot to drift inwards, a sextet of him, Joao Cancelo, Rodri, Ilkay Gundogan, Julian Alvarez and Bernardo Silva meant Manchester City exacted ultimate control across the pitch.
The efficiency in possession translated into ruthlessness in the sequences that led to the goals, as the Sky Blues scored six out of a total nine shots on target.
While Forest have already showcased that they are a more than capable side, a near-perfect display both on and off the ball meant a rude awakening was in store for the newly-promoted outfit against the best side in the country at their very best.
Stones and Dias look the part once again
Admittedly, it may seem absurd that the centre-backs of the side that annihilated the opposition 6-0 are a talking point after the clash.
However, it is worth discussing how John Stones and Ruben Dias, who were Europe’s finest defensive pairing during the 2020/21 season, are showing signs of returning to their harmonic best in tandem.
Stones’ claim to be one of the best ball-playing centre halves in world football was for all to witness on the night, as he picked out a peach of a through ball in particular to Cancelo, who made a meal of a pass worth watching on repeat for hours on end.
While Dias returned to displaying his excellent ball-carrying abilities, and looked a lot more at home as a whole in a left-sided centre-back role, where he first made a serious impression at City in his debut campaign.
The pair mopped everything up that came their way, both aerially and in ground duels and overall, the dynamic of Stones as the front-foot defender and Dias as the last man worked to a tee once again.
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: Manchester City, Premier League, Nottingham Forest, Erling Haaland, Julian Alvarez, Joao Cancelo, Pep Guardiola, John Stones, Ruben Dias
