Erling Haaland reaction proves Pep Guardiola point as Man City run ends

Cancel the coronation.

The bunting was being readied for Tuesday night against Brentford, when City had the opportunity to claim a top spot that nobody thought they would ever yield. However, on a day when Liverpool and Arsenal picked up big wins away from home the Blues nearly lost their 15-month unbeaten home record to suggest that maybe the Premier League title race will be more difficult than everyone expects.

"Remember that sentence," said Pep Guardiola on Friday when asked about the latest attempt - this one from Gary Neville - to diminish the achievements of his team. "It looks easy but it isn't."

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City certainly didn't have it easy against yet another Mauricio Pochettino side that proved a thorn in Guardiola's side. There was nothing to match the drama of Tottenham here in the Champions League in 2019, but four points dropped against a side that are catastrophically underperforming their £1bn investment will certainly hurt.

Taking in both Chelsea and City and the longer careers of the managers, there was more bad blood on the pitch than even Taylor Swift could think of, with everything from transfer jibes to choice of matchday music managing to cause a stir in recent years. And with many a preview of this game focusing on Cole Palmer on his first return to the Etihad, it was Raheem Sterling who popped up to remind everyone of his talent.

Sterling hasn't fared badly at Chelsea but still fits into the category of nearly all players who haven't been able to find the same success away from the Etihad. He arrived on Saturday under pressure from some of his own fans and wasted an early one-on-one (that