City Comfortable In Defeating Hull

This is a guest post by Vikki Steel.

After a pair of disappointing results on the road to Arsenal and Chelsea, Manchester City bounced back to winning ways on Saturday afternoon at home to Hull. Pep Guardiola’s side ran out comfortable victors against the visitors thanks to goals from Sergio Aguero, Fabian Delph and an own goal in the first. Hull pulled one back late on, but it was too little too late in their search for a share of the spoils.

City would have been relieved to secure the win following the defeat at Stamford Bridge and the frustrating draw away to Arsenal. Hull were obliging opponents, their recent upturn in form at home not being matched on their travels. In the end, despite not playing at their best, City’s extra class showed and they grabbed valuable points in the race to qualify for the Champions League. Check out the odds at fun88 to put your faith in the Blues to finish in the top four.

Raheem Sterling was singled out by the Match of the Day pundits for his performance. He combined his trademark pace and dribbling skills with a measured end product that meant he was a constant thorn in Hull’s side all afternoon. His ability to turn inside and outside and at such pace, allied with better decision-making, caught the eye of those in attendance.

He was not named as man of the match, however, at the ground – with that award going to Fabian Delph. The former Aston Villa man made just his second start of the season in the Premier League, and after impressing against Chelsea in midweek, he continued to show promising signs as he recovers from a succession of niggling injuries. Delph adds energy and bite to the City midfield, and whilst he lacks the technical quality of David Silva or Kevin De Bruyne, his battling qualities serve to help the side dominate the centre of the park. He is now likely to remain at City during the summer transfer window and will hope to kick on next season.

At the back, there were further question marks over Claudio Bravo. He was largely culpable as Hull scored a consolation in the last ten minutes, allowing a soft shot to squirm out of his hands and roll into the back of the net. Pep Guardiola will surely be in the market for a new goalkeeper in the summer.

Nevertheless, the most important aspect yesterday was to gain the three points and City did just that.