Man City reverse, re-establish eight-point gap

Guardiola's team beat Huddersfield 2-1 away, after falling behind in first-half stoppage time.

Sterling celebrates his goal against Huddersfield.

Goals: Otamendi (own goal) 45'+1 - Aguero 47', Sterling 84'

Man City continued their dominance in the Premier League with a comprehensive three points against newcomers Huddersfield. They fell behind in first-half stoppage time to a Nicholas Otamendi own goal, but scored twice in the final 45 minutes to secure a win.

Raheem Sterling was the standout performer on the evening of November 26. He won a penalty for Sergio Aguero to equalize, before scoring himself in the 84th minute. This was the former Liverpool player's eighth goal of the season. Sterling is Man City's second-best scorer in the Premier League, behind only Aguero.

The victory over Huddersfield helped Man City re-establish an eight-point gap with second-placed Man Utd, who just beat Brighton 1-0 on the evening of November 25.

Christopher Schindler's header hit Otamendi and flew into the Man City net.

Despite being a rookie, Huddersfield played aggressively, despite facing a strong team. They had defeated Man Utd 2-1 a month ago, also at Kirklees. Against Man City, David Wagner advocated a crowded defense, with a formation of five midfielders in the middle of the field, hoping to keep at least a point.

The leaders struggled against Huddersfield's well-organised and multi-layered defence. Despite having nearly 80% possession and three times as many shots, Man City failed to capitalise on that advantage with goals. The visitors' attack created many chances, but either Huddersfield's defenders cleared them in time, or Man City rushed their shots from unfavourable positions.

The frustration for the blue half of Manchester reached its peak in the first half's injury time. From a corner kick on the right wing, Christopher Schindler headed the ball back towards goal. The ball hit Otamendi's head, changed direction, and flew into the net, much to the astonishment of the Man City defender.

Aguero restored balance from the penalty spot.

Many people thought that Man City would have a bad result when the first half ended. But at the difficult moment, Sterling spoke up. Right at the beginning of the second half, the English player's skillful dribbling caused the home team's defender to commit a foul in the penalty area. Aguero did not miss the opportunity, calmly fooling the home team's goalkeeper on the 11m mark.

Keeping up the momentum, Man City continued to pressure Huddersfield. Leroy Sane hit the crossbar with a free kick, but it was not until Gabriel Jesus was brought in to replace Vincent Kompany that the victory belonged to the stronger team.

The ball was cut down the middle for the Brazilian striker to beat the offside trap. Jesus' close-range shot was blocked by the Huddersfield goalkeeper. The ball bounced right into Sterling's path. The former Liverpool man took a touch in an unprovoked position, but it was enough to make the ball difficult to go into the top corner.

The match was tense, for more than 10 minutes, including extra time, remaining. Rajv Van La Parra of the home team was even sent off when the match entered the final extra minutes. David Silva and Leroy Sane were also given yellow cards for time-wasting, but Pep Guardiola's team still brought all three points back to Manchester.

According to VNE