Journalists and pundits alike have been falling over themselves in order to praise City’s performance, in which braces from Sergio Aguero and Ilkay Gundogan sealed a 4-0 victory.
Goal.com chose to focus on City’s supremacy throughout the afternoon and the effect their control of the ball had on the hosts.
Sam Lee writes: “Manchester City’s dominance of their game at West Brom is best summed up by home fans’ amazed chants of “we’ve got the ball” as Pep Guardiola’s galvanised side cantered towards the half-time interval.
“Such was City’s stranglehold on the game by that point - thanks in no small part to Sergio Aguero’s fine double - the Baggies support were merely left to celebrate the fact that they were afforded brief spells of possession.
“Guardiola expected a rough ride from Tony Pulis’ side, but it did not turn out that way. City dominated from the start and went ahead after 19 minutes when Ilkay Gundogan found space and picked out Aguero, who made no mistake.”
Aguero’s first half double was particularly lethal and Ciaran Kelly of the Manchester Evening News believes he could be back to his best.
He writes: “The relief was etched all over Sergio Aguero‘s face after he grabbed his first goal in eight games for club and country - ending his longest drought for Man City with a trademark cool finish.
“Barely 10 minutes later, he won back possession on the edge of the box, took Jonas Olsson out of it with the faintest of touches and let rip into the top corner with startling ease.
“With 149 goals to his name, Aguero has now moved into sixth place in Man City’s all-time leading scorers list. He’s still only 28.”
Elsewhere, Academy Director Mark Allen has had his say on the influence of Pep Guardiola on his work and the enthusiasm for youth development at the club.
Speaking to the Telegraph, Allen said: “He wants to know about the youngsters and he studies their clips. He’s fantastic in that respect and it’s a big lift for the players when they see him watching them.
“He’s got an enthusiasm, a passion and a track record of coming from a youth development environment, so for academy staff, players, personnel, it’s the perfect fit.”
Finally, the Sunday Express believes City will be looking to sign a new striker in January and have one particular target in mind.
Neil Fissler writes: “Manchester City will have to smash their transfer record with Borussia Dortmund demanding £75 million for star striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
“Aubameyang, 27, the current Bundesliga Player of the Year has also emerged as a target for Paris St Germain and Real Madrid.”
That’s all for today’s round-up, we’ll have more this time tomorrow on mancity.com!
