APPROACHING half-time, with Manchester City finding Watford as frustrating as most days on the M60, Jesus Navas dashed into space. He does that very well. The Spaniard’s acceleration with the ball is almost peerless. What next? Navas was on the edge of the area and in a great position to cross or shoot.
Decisions? Navas is not as reliable with those. Execution? Variable too. And so he battered an extraordinary effort, a whole new species of footballing act, a kick that neither went towards goal nor into the box but sailed out of play on the far side of the pitch. ‘The Clearance from an Attacking Position,’ — is that what he was trying to invent? Jesus wept.
Navas was not in the City side that emerged for the second half. Manuel Pellegrini has a soft spot for his winger, but needed better and sent on Samir Nasri, who played on the left, releasing Raheem Sterling into the middle and pushing David Silva out to the right. It was a great reshuffle. Promptly, Sterling scored, from the kind of cross from the right — by Bacary Sagna — that Navas could not provide. Then Silva set up Fernandinho for game over, 2-0. At a hospital in Cheadle, Kevin De Bruyne was having his medical ahead of a £57m move from Wolfsburg.
City are setting form records — 10 consecutive top-flight wins, beating a mark set in 1912 — but there is always room for improvement. De Bruyne for Navas should be quite an upgrade. City look a lap ahead, already, in the title race.
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There will still be days when Navas is needed but Watford sat too deep and too compact for his greatest strength — sprinting behind defences — to be of use. The tools to break down any opponent, playing in any way, are what very top players have and De Bruyne is expected to be a difference-maker deluxe.
That’s what Silva is. Watford’s three central midfielders crowded him out of the first half but all he needs is a split second and a square yard, and he found them when he regained possession from Valon Behrami in the 47th minute, and put them to use, releasing Sagna. The full-back whipped in an early centre and Sterling, stealing in from his new central position, volleyed past Heurelho Gomes from close range, for his first goal since his £49m transfer from Liverpool. It was a day of firsts. Fabian Delph came on for his home debut and Kelechi Iheanacho made his competitive City appearance after a successful summer tour. Another first was a manager, Pellegrini, dismissing talk of signing a player as a “rumour” after a medical had taken place.
On Friday he did not know Marcos Lopes was being transferred out of his club, yesterday he professed not to know about De Bruyne being transferred in — but he sure knows what he is doing tactically and his switches paid further dividends when City scored again.
Silva, again enjoying the greater freedoms of the flank, took the loose ball when Watford’s wall repelled a Yaya Toure free kick. He fed Fernandinho to his outside, who slammed a shot past Gomes, despite a difficult angle. Watford had one opportunity, when Troy Deeney’s lovely dummy ran to Ikechi Anya, but the substitute’s shot was blocked. But City closed out their victory easily. It is six league games since Pellegrini’s men even conceded a goal.
Watford worked so hard. Quique Sanchez Flores, their manager, coached Getafe to a few successes against big clubs in La Liga and got his spoiling tactics right. Even Deeney operated as an auxiliary defender, providing Allan Nyom double cover against Sterling, then Nasri. Seldom is Sergio Aguero policed as well as Sebastian Prodl and Craig Cathcart managed. But the best tackler on the pitch was Fernandinho, whose consistent ability to dispossess opponents stopped the prospect of Watford counters.
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Fernandinho picked, particularly, on Jurado, and robbed him to release Sterling but the shot was blocked. Fernandinho again stole from Jurado and freed Sterling, who skipped round Nyom to force a fine Gomes save. Then Fernandinho took the ball off Almen Abdi but Aguero shot wide from 20 yards. Yaya Toure could have increased City’s advantage but his shooting was similarly errant.
“I suppose if someone called me and told me I can talk about that player,” Pellegrini shrugged. Jesus wept again. Still, we will hear plenty about De Bruyne in the weeks and months ahead.
Star man: Fernandinho (Manchester City)
Manchester City: Hart 6, Sagna 7, Kompany 7, Mangala 7, Kolarov 6, Toure 7, Ferandinho 8, Navas 4 (Nasri h-t 6), Silva 7 (Delph 75min 5), Sterling 7 (Iheanacho 89min 5), Aguero 5
Watford: Gomes 7, Nyom 6, Prodl 7, Cathcart 7, Holebas 6, Abdi 6 (Anya 63min 6), Behrami 6, Capoue 6 (Watson 76min 5), Jurado 5, Deeney 6, Ighalo 5 (Layun 72min 5)