After an underwhelming first season at Manchester City, Pep Guardiola seems to have got himself sorted out in the second.
And it would be a major surprise if Guardiola failed to guide them to another – minor – first tomorrow.
City take on Ukraine side Shakhtar Donetsk at the Etihad Stadium knowing if they win, it will be the first time in seven attempts they have opened their Champions League campaign with two successive victories.
The 5-0 thumping of Palace means Pep Guardiola’s side are the first team to have scored five or more goals in three consecutive top-flight matches for almost 60 years following a 5-0 defeat of Liverpool and a 6-0 win against Watford.
Blackburn were the last team to achieve the feat in the 1958-59 season.
City have now scored 21 goals after just six games, but does a big-scoring start to the season usually lead to winning the Premier League?
It is only the fifth time in Premier League history that the team top of the table after six games has scored 21 or more goals and on those previous four occasions, none of the sides have gone on to win the title.
Against West Brom in the League Cup on Wednesday, a move involving an incredible 52 passes and all 11 City players led to Leroy Sane scoring his first goal in a 2-1 victory.
Pep Guardiola’s side followed that up with another outstanding collective effort against Crystal Palace on Saturday. A total of 31 passes were played by City’s 10 outfield players in the build-up to Fabian Delph scoring his side’s fifth in the 5-0 win at Etihad Stadium.
