September 20th 2023.
Julian Alvarez helped Manchester City continue their 100% start to the new season with a 3-1 victory over Crvena Zvezda last night. The in-form forward scored a second half brace, while midfield linchpin Rodri put in another impressive performance to seal the victory for the reigning champions.
Pep Guardiola's side have shown no signs of surrendering any of the trophies they won during their treble season, and Paul Merson now believes only Arsenal and Liverpool are capable of challenging the relentless winning machine.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Merson commented: "Liverpool and Arsenal are the only contenders for Manchester City this season. Liverpool were poor against Wolves first half, but they came out in the second half and blew Wolves away. The problem is you can't be doing that against the better teams. You don't want to be going to the Emirates or the Etihad and playing like that, the game would be all over in the first half.
"You've just got to stick with Man City for as long as you can. Every game that goes by, you have to make sure you’re three points away from them, tops. For example, Manchester United are already nine points behind. They’re finished. Done. They can’t win the league – because it’s Man City. If it’s any other team you can go, ‘oh, if you put a run together, you never know.’ But City are not losing four or five games."
Merson added: "The title race used to start in December and January – and it was about who had the best run after that. Now Man City have blown it out of the water. You can’t fall behind."
It looks like Guardiola's side are set to continue their impressive form, with the manager recently praising Rodri as the best midfielder in Europe. On the injury front, Guardiola has also given an update on Manchester City trio ahead of the Champions League opener.
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