Man City rise above December chaos
Manchester: Chaos has reigned in the Premier League in December, with COVID-19 outbreaks decimating squads, forcing the postponement of 16 games and fuelling talk of a pause in play that never materialised.
Manchester City has risen above it all.
Seven straight victories. An eight-point lead. A 10-match winning streak.
Such is City's sudden dominance of the league that one of its rivals appears to be waving the white flag.
"We have seven COVID cases, we have five or six players out for six or more weeks," said Thomas Tuchel, the manager of second-place Chelsea.
"How should we compete in a title race?"
While Tuchel was grumbling about his misfortune minutes after seeing Chelsea concede a stoppage-time goal to draw 1-1 with Brighton at Stamford Bridge, City playing just 5 miles (8 kilometers) further west of London was seeing out a 1-0 win at Brentford to complete a perfect month of 21 points.
TV cameras panned to City substitutes Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez, two of the team's in-form players who had been given a rest and were sitting alongside each other in the dugout having clearly been told they wouldn't be coming on. Indeed, City manager Pep Guardiola didn't make a single substitution, having rotated his starting lineup that contained a completely fresh attacking trio of Phil Foden, Jack Grealish and Gabriel Jesus.
What luxury. Especially at a time when some teams have requested postponements because they couldn't call up the minimum number of players required 13 plus a goalkeeper.
And that just might be the difference. The best and most expensively assembled squad in the league managed by possibly the world's top coach has coped best with the most grueling period of the season, when fixtures come thick and fast and English soccer attracts more eyeballs than ever because every other big European league is on a winter break.
It was in December last year that City began a 21-match winning run in all competitions that lifted the team from a mid-table position in the Premier League albeit because the team had some games in hand to first place and a lead of 15 points.
Fast forward a year and City was third, five points behind leader Chelsea, after its 2-0 home loss to Crystal Palace on October 30.
