We are now eight games into the new Premier League season and with last season seeing Manchester City crowned as champions after a record-breaking campaign, the question where do they go from here arose. Of course, there is the Champions League and such but in terms of the Premier League, City have now set themselves a very high standard to maintain. I compare the statistics from the opening eight games of this season to the opening eight of last season, to see if City have been able to keep up their high standards so far.
2017/18
City’s record-breaking season started off with an incredible unbeaten run of eight games; seven wins and one draw. Out of those eight games, they managed to comfortably keep five clean sheets and score a multitude of goals. Their highest scoring matches of the eight games were two 5-0 thrashings of Liverpool and Crystal Palace, a 6-0 win over Watford and a 7-2 win over Stoke City.
This meant that by the end of the eighth game they were sat at the top of the table with 22 points and a solid goal difference. They were two points ahead of Manchester United in second place, five points ahead of Tottenham Hotspur in third place, and seven points ahead of Watford in fourth place, meaning they were already starting to pull away from the pack early on in the season.
2018/19
This season City have had another impressive start, with the team again yet to be beaten in their first eight games. They’ve won six and drawn two, as well as managing to keep another five clean sheets (the same as last season).
Instead of 22 points, City currently have 20 and while they are top of the league, they aren’t as far ahead as they were this time last season. They are currently joint top with Liverpool and Chelsea, with goal difference the only thing separating the three teams. In fact, there is only a five-point difference between first and seventh place, with rivals Manchester United not even making it into the top seven going into the international break.
The competition seems to be a lot stronger this year, with ambitious teams, new managers and strong signings, it appears the quality has been upped. Don’t get me wrong City have started the season incredibly well, it is just that others have started well also, with the top three teams all still yet to be beaten.
City’s highest-scoring matches so far this season have been a 6-1 win over Huddersfield Town and a 5-0 win over Cardiff City, showing that they still know how to put the goals away. It is also fun to note that they have won both of their opening day matches 2-0 (away to Brighton last season and away to Arsenal this season).
Conclusion
City had a slightly better start to last season, with an extra win under their belts and a 5-0 victory over opponents Liverpool, but their start to this season has still been impressive. They are still unbeaten and have continued to play the beautiful kind of football we have grown to expect from them, so I don’t think there is much to worry about.
Sure, their fellow competitors have also started strong, but as long as City focus on themselves and do whatever they can to win every game, they should do just fine. Their next Premier League fixture is this Saturday at home to Burnley, and it is one they’ll be expected to win.
