Following a cagey opening half hour, Manchester City went on to record a relatively comfortable win against Liverpool on Monday night. Now the dust has settled, here's five things we learned from the early heavyweight encounter:
1. Liverpool miss Suarez
Obviously.. Who wouldn't miss a player who scored 31 goals and assisted 12 in 33 Premier League appearances? Whether the official transfer fee was £65 million as FC Barcelona claim, or £75 million as the top brass at Liverpool counter claim, Liverpool have re-invested the income well and have an arguably better all round squad because of it. On the other hand, no amount of depth (Lallana, Lambert), shrewd signings (Balotelli), and upcoming talents (Marković) will be able to replace the world class player that Luis Suarez was last season.
Liverpool, like Manchester United, benefited hugely from the fear factor. Teams from all positions in the league would divert valuable time and attention during midweek preparations focusing on how to stop the goal machine that is Luis Suarez. As we know, most teams not only failed to stop Suarez, but over committed attention to the Uruguayan. This focus on Suarez gave the rest of the Liverpool players more space to operate in which they used to devastating effect; scoring 101 goals. Even the champions, Manchester City, fell into the Suarez trap last season most notably in the match at Anfield: Kompany in particular had a single minded "stop Suarez" approach which succeeded on the small scale, but ultimately failed as Sterling, Skrtel, and Coutinho got on the scoresheet to record a 3-2 win for Brendan Rodgers' side.
This year however, Liverpool have lost the ace in their hand. Manchester City looked a lot more solid against the reds then they were in either game last year (owing partially to the more defensive minded Fernando) and it would be hard to imagine that they would've won as comfortably if Suarez had still been playing. Everyone has seen from Manchester United what can happen when a team looses it's intimidating aura. I have no doubt that Liverpool will not suffer the embarrassing decline currently in process on the red side of Manchester, but Rodgers has work on his hands if he is to keep up the quality of football and results that we witnessed last season.
2. The new forward battle at City.
Last year Pellegrini had a few selection dilemmas on his hands, in particular in the striking positions. It's no secret that one of Pellegrini's first acts as Manchester City manager was to call off their big money hunt of Edinson Cavani and place his trust in Edin Dzeko instead. He allegedly rang Dzeko and told him how important the Bosnian was going to be to his plans for the future. Dzeko repaid Pellegrini's faith with a fine start but by the Manchester derby on the 22nd of September, new signing Alvaro Negredo had ousted him as Aguero's preferred strike partner. Their competition for a starting spot progressed interestingly as the season went on with Dzeko reclaiming his place after Negredo suffered a shoulder injury and a loss in form.
At the start of the 2014/15 season there is another battle beginning amongst the strike force at the Etihad. Stevan Jovetic has recovered from an injury hit debut season to light up pre-season with his flair and finishing. With Aguero being eased back into action after a late showing in the world cup, Jovetic has been given his chance to stake a claim for a place in the much contested starting XI. Although he brought most of his pre-season form with him, Jovetic failed to score in Manchester City's opening fixture against Newcastle United in St. James' Park. No-one can call Jovetic's performance a failure for not scoring but Aguero put even more pressure the striker by scoring a goal in less then 5 minutes after coming on the field. As harsh as it may be, strikers are judged on the goals they score and with that in mind, Aguero was looking likely to be first choice once he regained his fitness.
Fortunately for Jovetic, with Aguero not 100%, Pellegrini gave the Montenegrin another chance on Mondays big game against Liverpool. From start to finish, Jovetic was electric. Always looking to be involved in the build up and always looking to get on the score sheet. From back heels to opportunistic instincts, Jovetic had a brilliant game. Misplaced one twos here and there showed that he was not fully on the same wavelength with Silva and Nasri, but his preformance showed exactly what he is capable of: quick feet, intelligent link up play, penetration, and lethal finishing. Aguero's goal after 23 seconds on the pitch shows that "Jojo" has high standards to maintain to even have a chance of starting regularly but, reminding ourselves of teams like Arsenal with their current striker crises, for City fans it's a win-win situation.
3. Clichy wont accept second best.
After being almost a mainstay in the City starting lineup for Mancini's reign, Clichy lost out to Kolarov as City's first choice left-back when Pellegrini took over. Again and again the Serb was preferred to the Frenchman for his attacking prowess and his increasing defensive solidity. Clichy gradually returned to the fold in the big games or the tough away games where more pragmatism was in question but the left back seemed a ghost of his former self. Gone was the speed and the front foot defending and instead we saw an increasingly nervous and error prone defender.
Against Liverpool, Pellegrini opted to play Clichy, the more mobile of the two, to defend against the threat of Raheem Sterling on the break. The Engineer takes full credit for his decision as Clichy was outstanding and Liverpool hardly got a sniff down that left side. After showing his versatility at right back throughout pre-season and at Newcastle, Clichy seems has regained his solidity at left back. Credit also to his ability to link up with the midfielders and retain possession. Although the left back role is heavily dependant on the oppositions strenghts and weaknesess, Clichy will be looking to regain the preferred place when it is a 50-50 between the two left backs. Look this space.
4. Mangala get into the team without a fight.
Picture this. Manchester City come up against one of the most devastating attacks in the Premier League from last season. Known for it's lightning speed, fluidity, and relentless efficiency, you know it's going to be a tough fight to keep up with the pace. You're tall, strong, quick, and have a massive leap. You know that your athleticism could be the difference between a goal and a match saving tackle. Your name is Mangala, and you're now the 3rd most expensive defender of all time..
..and Pellegrini picks Demichelis instead.. Fair enough you say, soon I'll be fit and he'll pick me instead. Except, Demichelis had a solid game, he's a decade older than you, he has a years Premier League experience over you and even more Champions League experience, he played in the world cup final, he played a big part in the title run in last season. Who cares if you're one of the most promising centre back prospects in Europe. Who cares if you commanded such a high transfer fee. Who cares that you think you're ready.
Competition for places is the name of the game at Manchester City. It has been at left back, right midfield, and up front, and now also for centre midfield, right back, and centre back. Pellegrini wants two players in every position. Each player will have to be at their best to prove that they are worthy to command the starting spot and Mangala is no different. His fee means nothing to Pellegrini. Txiki Begiristain and company are long term thinkers and will not be putting pressure on Pellegrini to make use of his most expensive summer signing in the short term. This means Mangala will have to fight for his place, a perfect situation for the development of a young player. Knowing City's schedule and squad rotation policy, it wont be long before he gets his first chance to show us what he can do.
5. Pellegrini and the team have improved.
After looking the match against Liverpool it is amazing how much Pellegrini has learned and improved the team since he took over. Early last season the Chilean was gaining plaudits for his all round attacking potency. He also received his fair share of criticism for City's dodgy early season away form. They lacked the pragmatism necessary to close out the games they blew wide open. They often conceded cheap goals while ahead. Things started to change during "squeaky bum time" last season. City started grinding out results. Javi Garcia and James Milner became more prominent as opposition chances became fewer and fewer.
Pellegrini hasn't gotten the credit he deserves for adjusting to the new league so quickly and obviously. The improvement has been there for all to see. Last season, City's games against Liverpool were tense affairs; you never knew what could happen next. This year however, Pellegrini seems to have learned and improved. Anyone looking the game on Monday would have been much more relaxed after the second goal then at any time early in the season last year. Pellegrini has learned to be pragmatic. City now control games; raising and lowering the tempo when needed. It does help that he has one of the most versatile squads in the league, but credit is due to Pellegrini, especially after seeing Van Gaal struggle to implement his new system on a struggling Manchester United team.
No other team in the league can bring on a player of Fernandinho's quality to shore up the middle of the field, or players like Aguero and Navas to provide an outlet to pressure and prevent Liverpool from camping in the City half. Pellegrini and the squad have learned how to win, and they have the players and versatility to do it.