Maybe Liverpool fans will laugh when thinking about the prospect of Man City being a threat to them. But it’s only January, Man City still has a lot of time and opportunities, especially when the machine has started to get into gear.
Finally, Man City returned to the Top 4. The thrashing against Ipswich (6-0) was more than a victory. 6 goals in a completely outstanding performance, with strong attacking power and sublime individuals, repainted the portrait of the Man City we once knew.
If in the two recent victories against Leicester and West Ham, Man City still had problems, then this time it is different. The class of the Premier League champion is still there. And coach Guardiola and his team sent a message about their return.
Phil Foden can be considered a symbol of Man City’s revival. The English midfielder returned brilliantly with 2 goals and 1 assist against Ipswich. No longer the gloomy star at the beginning of the season, Foden has now regained his inspiration and elegant legs.
It is also possible that the upcoming appearance of Omar Marmoush has put competitive pressure on Foden as well as Man City’s attacking players. But the important thing is that everyone is finding themselves.
It took De Bruyne half an hour to warm up, before exploding in the rest of the match with 2 assists and smart moves. Erling Haaland missed several good opportunities early in the match before celebrating his first goal after signing the historic contract.
Man City’s stars may still have traces from the crisis at the end of 2024. But they all surpassed themselves, reconnecting into a unified block. And that is the destruction Man City that opponents cannot defend against.
Has Man City really returned to the top? That question can be answered within the next two weeks, when Guardiola’s team must continuously face PSG (January 23), Chelsea (January 26) and Arsenal (February 2). That’s the time to test the true capabilities of this team that is on the verge of revival.
Guardiola may be satisfied with the attack’s abundant firepower, but the downline is still a concern with the lack of personnel in defense. That is why Man City is urgently completing targets in January including Abdukodir Khusanov, Andrea Cambiaso and Vitor Reis.
But right now, no one can stop Man City’s rising confidence with impressive results since the beginning of 2025 (4 wins, 1 draw in all competitions). In the Premier League, they are still 12 points behind Liverpool and even played one match more. However, that is not an impossible gap in January. In the past, Man City has made impressive comebacks many times.
Not far away, Liverpool was unbelievably surpassed by Man City in the 2018/19 season. Until the new year of 2019, Man City was still 10 points behind Jurgen Klopp’s team. But since Boxing Day, Guardiola’s team has won 18/19 remaining matches to finish first with 1 point more than Liverpool.
Going back further to the 2013/14 season, Liverpool also led the rankings for most of the season before the “Gerrard slip” in the match against Chelsea ruined everything. Man City overcame spectacularly and was crowned champion in the final round.
Let’s wait and see what Man City’s revival will bring in the rest of the season!