Manchester set to clinch top four spot after routine victory against Stoke

Manchester City took a significant step towards securing Champions League qualification with a routine 4-0 victory over Stoke City at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday. The win lifted City into third place, one point ahead of Arsenal who don’t play until Sunday. It also moves the Blues five points clear of fifth-placed Manchester United. The Reds don’t play their game in hand until the last week of the season.

City boss Manuel Pellegrini opted to start with Kelechi Iheanacho for the day’s early kick-off, a move which pleased supporters who have become enamoured with the young Nigerian during his appearances this season; occasions which have been all-too-rare. The hotshot striker was partnered with Sergio Agüero, fresh from scoring his 100th Premier League goal in the midweek draw with Newcastle United. The Argentine isn’t a bad colleague for Iheanacho to learn from.

Though the scoreline was fairy emphatic, the truth is City never had to get out of second gear. Stoke appear to have accepted a top half finish for the season and mentally switched off; with Pellegrini’s side having finally started to produce a good run of form in recent weeks and still with plenty to play for, the odds were heavily stacked in the Blues favour.

It took 35 minutes for the home side to break the deadlock. That came when Fernando expertly guided in a header from a corner past former City ‘keeper Shay Given. Given that Stoke had offered little in what had been a fairly languid game, the City lead never seemed likely to be threatened.

That said, 1-0 is never a safe scoreline so a superbly taken Agüero penalty two minutes before half time was just what the doctor ordered. There was a clear feeling that the three points were now wrapped up; the only question was just how much the Blues would seek to stretch their advantage.

They were able to add another two goals, both of which were scored the impressive Iheanacho. The youngster’s stats for the season are quite remarkable. This campaign, he has made eight starts. In that time, he has registered seven goals and four assists. He has also scored ten goals from 14 shots on target. One can’t help but wonder just how much better off the team might be if the manager had trusted the young man more often instead of making him play second fiddle to Wilfried Bony.

City deserve credit for focusing on the task at hand in this match and not being distracted by the Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid, the first leg of which will be played in Manchester on Tuesday. That was clearly forced to the back of their mind so that they may dispatch of Stoke in clinical fashion; the ease of which allowed the manager to bring key players off for a timely rest before one of the biggest games Manchester City have ever been involved in.

In Manuel Pellegrini’s penultimate league game at the Etihad Stadium, City gave a glimpse of what could have been, if only they’d been this good all season. It’s not that they were sensational in this match, they just displayed a professional edge and a clinical side to their game that has been missing for large parts of the season. The manager also got his team selection spot on too; that has certainly not been the case throughout the campaign.

With just nine points left to play for, City look set to clinch a top four spot and might yet push for third. Though that is the very least they demand each season, the players deserve credit for hauling themselves out of the bad run that left that European qualification in doubt a month ago. Now they can focus on the enormity of the task ahead of them on Tuesday night when Real Madrid come to Manchester.