Classic Pep. Forced to defend against a talented side who enjoyed hearty backing from a noisy home crowd, Manchester City found their resolve and dug in to earn an ugly win on the road, finding a way to acknowledge Sam Allardyce’s return to Premier League management by battling hard to emerge from a frantic encounter with three crucial points.
It will not go down as one of the great displays from a Guardiola side. While there were moments of class from Kevin De Bruyne, who created Raheem Sterling’s winner, it was more brawn than beauty from City. They rarely left themselves exposed at the back and understood that the result mattered more than the performance, grafting to a victory that lifts them out of the mid-table thicket, eight points off Liverpool at the summit.
