Manchester City 2 Cardiff City 0
Manchester City did what they desired, a 26th Premier League win of the season taking the champions ahead of Liverpool by a point with each title challenger having six matches to play.
Pep Guardiola’s team cantered to the victory, though the manager may be unhappy at the slew of chances they spurned. Still with Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final against Brighton in mind the manager can be content at having come through the game while resting several players.
Guardiola retained only Ederson, Kevin De Bruyne, Aymeric Laporte and Oleksandr Zinchenko from Saturday’s win at Fulham, making seven changes which included handing Phil Foden a debut Premier League start.
Neil Warnock went the other way, retaining all but Harry Arter – who was replaced by Joe Ralls – from Sunday’s defeat to Chelsea.
Cardiff had been quoted as the longest of long outsiders at 30-1 to win this game and within six minutes City showed why. De Bruyne had already opened up the visitors when crossing from the right – Gabriel Jesus should have scored – and this time he collected along the left and from the tightest of angles smashed the ball past Neil Etheridge. Cardiff’s goalkeeper may have been disappointed to concede from that position but for De Bruyne there was only joy in what was his first league goal of 2019.
Against the champions this was the nightmare start for Warnock’s men and it would have been 2-0 if Jesus had anticipated Leroy Sané’s clever pass. It took out Etheridge but the Brazilian was left sliding along the turf rather than connecting.
Jesus last started a league game on 14 January and it was showing. With a little extra sharpness the 22-year-old might also have scored when presented a little later with the ball in front of goal: this time he struck over.
By the 18th minute Zinchenko’s evening was over, the left-back appearing to suffer a leg injury which brought Kyle Walker into the fray.
Jesus did better when he broke at the Cardiff defence but when Riyad Mahrez took over he ran into traffic and Guardiola, as he often does, threw his arms in despair. There was a similar gesture from the manager when Jesus – again – missed from close range following De Bruyne’s pull-back from the byline.
City were in firm control but still only one ahead as the half hour came and went. Their lack of ruthlessness continued: both Foden and Sané took aim and found their radar awry, their efforts missing wide and high.
Foden, though, could be pleased with his creative contribution, alongside De Bruyne in central midfield. His was a 45 minutes of clever touches, sharp passing, driving runs and a willingness to look forward first.
And just as Guardiola was preparing one kind of half-time team talk, Sané ensured his manager’s tone and words could shift. Jesus atoned for his profligacy by chesting the ball back to Sané, whose finish was lethal.
When the second half started the question was whether City would pull away from Cardiff as they often can do to visiting teams on their home ground. Laporte was the first man in blue to suggest they might, the centre-back racing along the inside-left channel before finding he lacked support from any teammate. This left Guardiola chuntering at Sané and there was further disappointment when Fernandinho slipped in Foden, although this time Etheridge did have to make a save at least.
As well as Foden another plus for Guardiola was how sharp De Bruyne looked in his second game back since injury. The Belgian was involved in most of the questions City posed Cardiff, on one occasion swinging a ball on to Fernandinho’s head which the midfielder only just failed to finish. Laporte was next to miss with a header, Walker the provider of a diagonal from the right that the unmarked defender could not convert.
If a City man could not find the net maybe a Cardiff one could: when De Bruyne drove a cross from the left Sean Morrison nearly stabbed the ball in at the near post.
Mahrez, Sané and Foden all lined up to take pot-shots at Etheridge’s goal. The keeper made a series of stunning saves and when he was unable to his right post did the business from a Foden attempt that careered off his shin.
Cardiff – briefly – threatened with an Oumar Niasse shot that drew sarcastic cheers from the away fans. Late on the same player raced clear but Ederson saved well. – Guardian
