Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City remain perfect domestically and internationally after 10 games. Despite breaking many records, attention still seems to be focused primarily on their rivals.
I think, of all the superlatives used to describe sporting events, “record breaking” has to be the most abused. Perhaps you could make a case for “world class”, particularly in a division the English Premier League where a majority of the players could legitimately wear the moniker, but aside from that “record breaking” takes the crown. It’s a meaningless statement, often going sans clarification, that appeals to statistics nerds and Guinness World Book collectors but to managers and players, very little.
After Liverpool put Hull to the sword on Saturday last, to the tune of a 5-1 thrashing, I read an interesting match report that described a rampant team taking the next step in what looks set to be a “record breaking” year. I still cannot work out what record exactly Liverpool look set to win this year.
Most number of times a manager’s glasses have fallen off in a single football game and, the follow-up, most number of times a manager’s glasses have fallen off in a season? Maybe?
Meanwhile, over in the Etihad, actual records are being broken and set, but you’d potentially never know. Manchester City have played 10 games in all competitions this year and won 10. For a new manager to a club, that’s a league record. His 6 Premier League wins out of 6 has matched Carlo Ancelotti and the record he set with Chelsea, another win would pen Pep’s name in the books for that particular piece of history too. Then, should City win again (and who would bet against it) they would have smashed a record of never having won 12 consecutive games in club history.
Even those who care little for records, can’t help but be somewhat impressed. Of course, Guardiola has downplayed these achievements at every stage, as one would expect, but why is there not more of a fuss being made in the media?
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Perhaps the media themselves are catching on to what we mentioned earlier and what Pep has maintained all along: records are meaningless, results are what matter, but can you see the same relative silence over said success holding were to Liverpool or United in Manchester City’s shoes?
Leaving aside the speculation, it’s truly baffling to me why the Blues remain so low-key when they sit untouched atop the Premier League with the closest competition four points and 6 goals adrift. Ostensibly, City are playing better than they ever have, on an individual and collective level.
Sergio Aguero may have served a three match ban but is already in double digits for goals scored, for example. If you accept the argument that City haven’t been tested against tough opposition, then you are admitting that category includes teams such as United and Borussia Monchengladbach, who would contest that.
In the end though, while City almost certainly is deserving of the headline coverage, they will all but inevitably find themselves back in line when a resurgent Liverpool or Mourinho-led United are causing waves. These are the teams with the big fan bases and of course the history to boot. It’s unrealistic to expect any level of fairness from a media who exist on sales and clicks. Just ask Leicester City.
No, in the end, Guardiola is right. He’s the best manager in the league and, with the near-unlimited resources available to him, has crafted arguably the best team in the league as well. Yet despite all this, and the records said manager and team are breaking, it will never be more prominent than Liverpool beating Hull 5-1.
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And that’s ok. Record breaking on its own ultimately means nothing, but points mean everything. If Manchester City can continue unabated then the ultimate prize will be theirs for the taking. And then everyone will pay attention.