Man City missed target cannot stop change of mood for Pep Guardiola

The goal for Manchester City in February was simple.

After eight unanswered goals and three consecutive victories since Pep Guardiola tore into everybody at the club about their 'happy flowers' mentality, the next task was to build on that platform and put together the sort of winning run that would see the team recognised as the unstoppable title-winning machine that they had been previously.

That has not happened; defeat to Tottenham at the beginning of the month was deflating and they have only won half of their last six games with just one clean sheet to their name.

Also read: Guardiola lifts lid on half-time chat that changed De Bruyne

And yet there has undeniably been a shift. As the manager said after their 3-0 victory over Bristol City: "The body language is top."

Despite the lack of a string of victories, it has undeniably been one of City's best months of the season. Beating Arsenal at the Emirates was huge for their chances of winning the Premier League, and while the Gunners have bounced back since they will not be favourites until they are more than three points clear at the top with only a handful of games to go.

There was plenty to like from the draws at Nottingham Forest and RB Leipzig too. City put in a terrific performance at Forest, with one home fan calling into a radio station afterwards to say they were the best opposition team he had seen by a long way - it has felt like a good bit of time since something like that could be said.

City's last-16 games in the Champions League are perhaps skewed by the fact they normally batter whoever they are playing and have won every first leg at this stage under Guardiola, yet as much as conceding another equaliser represented a step back from a results