Premier League: The top five finishers since the re-start

3. Phil Foden, and 2. Raheem Sterling, Manchester City

Somewhere on the east side of Manchester, I imagine that Pep Guardiola turned off the TV’s showing wild celebrations of Liverpool’s title coronation, rubbed his bald head, and told his team: “We have a bigger prize ahead. Bigger.”

City lost their title when they lost to Chelsea on June 25th, had to give the Reds a guard of honor on July 2nd at the Etihad, and then aside from a weird 1-0 loss to the Saints punished LFC and everyone in their path.

The 4-0 against the new champions, 5-0 versus a usually stout Newcastle, and 5-0 over a decent Burnley side showed the world that at their best Manchester City can be a machine.

Pep’s machine is preparing for the next trophies on the list: the FA Cup and the Champions League.

One player not on the transfer list at MCFC is Phil Foden. Supporters have been clamoring for him to get more playing time throughout the season.

The re-start has provided that chance for the phenom as he has notched his first four league goals of the season, including a brace against the Clarets. His finishing rate since the re-start has been a stellar +2.32.

Raheem Sterling had struggled in the first part of the season, finishing off goal-scoring chances. He had 11 goals before the break, but a reduced finishing rate of -2.03. Since the re-start, he has led the league in goals scored with six and his finishing rate has been an incredible +2.77.

A cliche in sports is “peaking at the right time”, but it seems Sterling and Foden are defining what that means. City’s opponents should be doubly worried.