Football Features

    “Moving in the right direction”: Ten incredible stats from Man City’s 8-0 thrashing of Watford

    By Harry Edwards

    Published: 19:01, 21 September 2019

    Following Manchester City’s 3-2 defeat at the hands of Norwich City last weekend, everybody expected Pep Guardiola’s side to bounce back.

    A 3-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League was their immediate reply, but Saturday would be when the Premier League felt City’s wrath.

    Not many expected Watford to put up much of a fight at the Etihad, after their poor start to the season, but hardly anyone would have predicted the mauling that ensued.

    City put an incredibly eight unanswered goals past the Hornets on Saturday afternoon, to move them two points behind league leaders Liverpool.

    David Silva, Sergio Aguero, Riyad Mahrez, Nicolas Otamendi, Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva all found the net for Guardiola’s side, with the latter grabbing a hat-trick.

    And we at Squawka have picked out nine incredible stats from the win.

    1. Sergio Aguero’s scoring run

    After David Silva gave Man City the lead inside the opening minute, it was expected to be a long afternoon for Watford, and things got worse when the home side were awarded a penalty six minutes later.

    Sergio Aguero stepped up to take the penalty and emphatically finished past Ben Foster, for his eighth Premier League goal of the season.

    Those goals have been spread across each of the opening six games of the new season, with Aguero becoming the first player in Premier League history to achieve that feat.

    2. Aguero x Etihad

    Not only did Aguero’s goal move him clear of Tammy Abraham as the Premier League’s top scorer this season, it also saw the Argentinian join an elite list.

    Aguero is now just the third player to have scored 100 Premier League goals at a single ground, after Thierry Henry at Highbury and Wayne Rooney at Old Trafford. And if the striker continues the kind of goalscoring form he’s in, you wouldn’t put it past him breaking that record this season.

    3. Man City record fastest 5-0 lead

    Two goals up after seven minutes, Man City went on to score another three in the following 11, with Mahrez, Bernardo Silva and Nicolas Otamendi finding the net.

    Over the years, the Premier League has seen a lot of 5-0 scorelines, but this was the fastest a team has ever gone 5-0 up in the history of the competition. At this point, many expected double figures.

    4. “Can we play you every week?”

    If you’re a Watford fan, you must be starting to get sick of the sight of Man City.

    The Hornets dream FA Cup final turned into a nightmare when City put six past them at Wembley in May, and Guardiola’s side weren’t feeling very generous this time around.

    The 8-0 scoreline, saw Man City become the first top-flight side to score six or more goals against the same opponent in back-to-back games across all competitions since Chelsea did so vs Wigan in 2010 – another 8-0 and 6-0.

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    5. Bernardo is golden

    Saturday was all about Bernardo Silva. The Portuguese midfielder has been in fine form for Man City over the past year, really coming into his own at Man City.

    And Saturday was the culmination of it all, as he scored his first ever top-flight hat-trick. Remarkably, it was also the first time Silva had scored in back to back home Premier League games for City.

    6. De Bruyne eclipses Ozil

    Bernardo Silva aside, Kevin De Bruyne also had a game to remember against Watford, returning to his 2017/18 form after an injury-hit season.

    The Belgian already went into the game as the Premier League’s top assister for the season, having created five in the opening five games. De Bruyne would go on to add another two on Saturday, providing for David Silva and Bernardo Silva.

    The double took De Bruyne’s total Premier League assist tally up to 53, overtaking Arsenal creator Mesut Ozil, joining the likes of Emile Heskey, Leighton Baines and Robin van Persie. Though he will soon move far away from that trio.

    7. Man City outscore 10

    In giving Ben Foster an afternoon to remember, Man City became the first Premier League side to score eight since Southampton beat Sunderland 8-0 in October 2014.

    It takes City’s tally up to 24 for the season, nine more than any other side. But remarkably, the eight goals City scored against Watford is more than 10 sides have managed so far in the Premier League season.

    Crystal Palace are the lowest scorers managing just three – with City outscoring them after 15 minutes. Three teams, including Watford, sit on four, two have managed five, three are on six and Sheffield United seven.

    In fact, only five sides have scored more than City managed against Watford (not including themselves), with Arsenal, Manchester United, Burnley and Leicester City all tied on eight.

    8. A record top-flight win

    Although Man City did not break the Premier League record for highest ever win, which remains Manchester United’s 9-0 thumping of Ipswich Town in 1995, the Citizens did break a club record.

    The 8-0 win over Watford was Man City’s biggest ever in a top-flight game, beating their 7-0 victory over Norwich City in 2013.

    9. Poor Deulofeu

    It wasn’t just a positive result for Manchester City, there were opposition players who will be stuck with the memory of the defeat for a long time.

    Poor Gerard Deulofeu had the chance to equalise for Watford before Aguero scored from the penalty spot, and that was about as good as his afternoon got.

    The Spaniard managed to complete just 13 passes across 90 minutes at the Etihad, eight of which game from kick-offs.

    10. Moving in the right direction

    As many Man City fans will attest to, life hasn’t always been bright for the Citizens. Still a source of embarrassment, opposition supporters like to remind City of what they were like before their takeover, most notably an 8-1 defeat to Middlesbrough on the final day of the 2007/08.

    But in putting eight past Watford, City are the first team in the Premier League area to both score and concede eight goals in a single game.

    As the club themselves put it, at least they’re moving in the right direction.

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