James McAtee moment gives Man City a Premier League bonus at Norwich

McAtee minutes a bonus

It was already an immensely enjoyable evening for the Manchester City fans at Carrow Road as the game entered the final 20 minutes.

They had seen their team score three good goals and had cycled through a catalogue of songs including the Poznan and odes to Yaya Toure and Vincent Kompany, when the fourth official lifted the board above his head that signalled that James McAtee was coming on.

Bringing on promising young talent when the scoreline is comfortable is something every supporter loves to see - especially when they are local prospects - but equally they have been around long enough to know that Pep Guardiola does not just do this because it is popular; many times he has refused to do the same in similar circumstances.

That this change was made was a win-win-win: McAtee wins because he gets minutes that he craves in the biggest competition, Guardiola wins because the player has earned the opportunity in his mind, and the fans win because they get to see the future of their club to top off what had already been a good night.

City on the front foot

Guardiola was jokingly asked recently if City are a defensive team, given his teams nearly always have the best defensive record in the division.

They are not, but they are too often characterised as the boring robotic drones in contrast to the helter-skelter Liverpool side.

The reality is that City are a chameleon, capable of adapting their game to any opposition tactics they face, but if they are given the space their instinct is always to play exciting football on the front.

This was in evidence again at Carrow Road where they pummelled the Norwich box right from the first whistle looking to attack at every opportunity, as they had at Watford