Manchester City get title charge back on track but there are still issues to fix
City’s emphatic win over Tottenham restored momentum after a rare dip, yet questions around control, pressing and defensive vulnerability have not gone away.
After losing on the opening day, Manchester City responded by winning their next 13 games and creating an 11-point buffer at the top of the league, albeit other teams had games in hand at the time. That was subsequently followed up by a 1-0 loss away to Arsenal, a 6-0 win over bottom-of-the-table Leicester City and a surprise draw with Aston Villa, an unexpected dip in results for a team that had been near-perfect all season.
Looking back at the games in which City dropped points, it was not just the results themselves that were concerning. Arsenal have lost only once in the league this season and Villa are a good side. It was the performances that were more worrying.
The data supports that assessment. City have conceded more than 1.0 expected goals in each of their last six games. In the matches they have won, most of that xG has come while they were already ahead. Against Arsenal, they created precious little and conceded plenty. They also started poorly against Villa and did not do enough even after wrestling back some control.
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