What a change it must be for Manchester City fans to wake up on game day wondering how many they will score rather than concede.
Already in the seven games so far in December they have racked up 23 goals with only one match in that run where they scored less than three in a match.
They even score superb own goals.
With Jose Mourinho surprised that City are still challenging for top spot in the table the blue side of Manchester must be savouring the visit of Liverpool on Boxing day.
The Blues have slugged it out with the top sides at the Etihad so far and come out on top but none of them had a striker so in form as Luis Suarez.
The weekend’s game at Fulham showed that the Citizens are still imperious going forward but that their defence showed signs of fragility on the counter attack.
Martin Demichelis wrestled with Adel Taarabt at Craven Cottage while Gael Clichy, a make shift right back for the day, was exposed several times.
The returning Joe Hart was called in to action on a couple of occasions to block shots and the rest of the team needs to stop making the sloppy errors of the kind that Hart was dropped for in the first place.
It was telling that after the game James Milner came out and said that the side wanted to win some ‘boring’ games with the reference not lost on those followers of the ‘Boring James Milner’ twitter account.
While the Blues’ defence has improved with the return of captain Vincent Kompany in recent weeks the question remains as to whether his side is capable of sitting on a 1-0 lead and closing it out.
It is all very well for Manuel Pellegrini to repeat ad nauseum that they have one of the best defences in the league but conceding a two goal lead to a side that sit in 19th place in the table is not exactly an encouraging sign.
It is not the first time that the Chilean’s team have allowed games which once looked finished come back to life either.
Away to West Brom in early December they were leading comfortably three nil up before two late goals, including a Costel Pantilimon own goal, gave City a scare.
There is an element of scrooge about this point because why should fans, especially those who have live for so long in the shadow of Manchester United, not just sit back and enjoy the weekly goal fest that puts them so far ahead of their struggling neighbours.
But with so many games still to be played there will surely come a point when the slick attacking football stalls leaving City to rely on a solid defensive performance to secure their position.
The fear that the injury to Sergio Aguero would temper the Blues’ free scoring form has not yet been realised as David Silva continues in superb form as tormentor-in-chief.
However the nagging doubt (and hope for the other teams in the league) that the Blues will falter at some point remains.
The mantra so far for City seems to have been attack is the best form of defence but it would surely be of comfort for home fans to see their side score a couple of mundane goals and then repel any threat simply to know that their side is capable of doing so.
Pellegrini and Milner were singing from the same hymn sheet on Saturday saying that it is the side as a whole that is making too many errors not the defence or goalkeeper.
City need tighten their play across the park when they do not have the ball and stop any lapses in concentration that could prove costly.
With Suarez leading Liverpool into town on Thursday the Citizens will have to be at their best to keep the Uruguayan from adding to his ever increasing goals tally.
Fernandinho’s performance will be crucial in disrupting the opposition on the break and attempting to deny the former Ajax striker any decent service.
Pellegrini said it is difficult for sides to change the way they play from one year to the next but a relatively minor adjustment to keep his side flying high is surely what most City fans want for Christmas.
Picture courtesy of Blue Moon 505, with thanks.
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