So much so, Fabian Delph is outperforming Brazilian legend Dani Alves in the wing-backs Top 10 while Sergio Aguero and Nicolas Otamendi also top the striker and central defender lists respectively – though Otamendi is making a decent stab at the striker list with his recent goal glut.
otball pick up on: “The CIES Football Observatory has ranked the top 10 performers in the Big 5 European leagues so far this season in eight positions. Four leagues have players filling top positions, only the Bundesliga fails to have a position leader.
“Manchester City have 12 players in the top 10 lists with Nicolas Otamendi topping the table for central defenders (John Stones ranks second), and Sergio Aguero heading the centre forwards ranking.
“24 out the 80 players ranked play in the Premier League.”
Well worth a read if you like your stats!
Meanwhile Gabriel Jesus says he is proud of City’s Manchester derby where he felt the Blues remained true to their attacking beliefs throughout the game.
The National quote him as saying: ‘I hope we can keep playing like this to celebrate at the end of the season. It was my first time at Old Trafford against United. It was a big step [to win the title].
‘We had to respect them but also to keep playing the beautiful football we have played so far. We did what the manager asked us to do what he wanted, so our win is with merit.’
The young Brazil star is refusing to get too carried away with suggestions City are strong contenders in the Champions League as well, adding: ‘They are both tough tournaments, with many contenders. We have played well in both of them. We are making history in the Premier League, but we have to keep our eyes open and keep ourselves focused because we still many tough matches left.’
Indeed, there are…
There’s still plenty of reaction to the derby victory floating around this morning and we’ll round off with the comments of Ilkay Gundogan on ESPN who write: “City book ended United’s run with a 2-1 win after enjoying 65 percent possession as they became the first team to win 14 successive English top-flight games in a single season.
‘It’s definitely not easy to come here, to play the way we’ve played and especially to win that game,’ Gundogan told reporters. ‘It was about a lot of mentality, about a lot of heart and bravery to do these kind of things.
‘We just felt like we are the deserved winners of this game and that’s why we were so happy after the final whistle. Obviously, it was a special game as well, it was not just a game.’
‘We know that this is completely the right way and we know if we do it well, we have all chances to win every game,’ the Germany international added.
‘Especially first half, it felt like more domination in the way of having possession. Although we had second half maybe the bigger chances, but, especially after our second goal, United had nothing to lose anymore.
‘Of course, they were pressing high with a lot of players, with a lot of aggression. It was not so easy anymore -- or it was much, much harder to play our game in these kind of situations.
‘But when we were able to do that, we created again some chances and we did it well and. As I said, we didn’t concede much chances against us, so of course we are very happy.’
More news, rumours and gossip tomorrow ahead of our game with Swansea City…
