Manchester City 5-0 Huddersfield Town - The Talking Points

Image courtesy of eurosport.com

It was an all-round performance from Pep Guardiola's team as they thrashed Huddersfield Town 5-0. Top performances from Phil Foden, Julian Alvarez, Mateo Kovacic and Kevin de Bruyne saw the defending champions kick off the new year with a big win in the FA cup. Let's delve into some of the key talking points. 

1. Oh Kevin De Bruyne! Every City fan is delighted that Kevin De Bruyne is back. The undisputed assist king is back after a long absence due to injury. It took him just 17 minutes to make an assist taking his tally to 30 assists in all competitions since the start of last season. The club captain now has the most assists by any player in Europe's big five leagues, with six above second placed Mo Salah, despite having made only three appearances this season. It will be interesting to see what he has to offer for the rest of the season as the Citizens continue chasing the historic four-peat. 

2. Injuries! Kevin De Bruyne was not the only player returning from injury on Sunday. He was subbed on together with compatriot Jeremy Doku who scored a sensational goal assisted by the assist king himself. Club top scorer Erling Haaland was also cheering the team behind the bench as he continues his recovery from injury. 

Manuel Akanji was subbed off early in the first half due to injury for Matheus Nunes who also returned to action after being absent to illness in the previous game. Akanji joins John Stones whose return date has not yet been confirmed. 

City's form has been affected by injuries this season but with such few matches in January, we should see many of the players returning to full fitness soon.

 3. City won without Rodri! Mateo Kovacic played holding midfield and kept the tempo of the game seamlessly flowing without the metronome Rodri, who was rested. It is not a feat to take lightly, since every game City have lost this season has been without the Spaniard in the lineup. Kovacic stepped up and showed courage to pass the ball around and even win it back in seemingly dangerous transitions. I guess this provokes the conversation of whether City should buy another holding midfielder in case Kalvin Phillips leaves. 

4. Phil Foden, Rico Lewis, and CFA academy graduates. City's player of the month for December scored a brace taking his tally to four goals in the last four games. The Stockport-born superstar continues to stake his claim to be a regular starter in the attacking midfield role, even after the return of Kevin De Bruyne. 

Other City Football Academy graduates Rico Lewis, Micah Hamilton, Oscar Bobb and Jacob Wright featured in the game. Oscar Bobb scored his second goal of the season while Wright had a cameo in midfield in the dying minutes of the game. The latter signed for City's Academy at the Under 8 level and made his debut during the cup game.

It is delightful to see the young lads utilising the few minutes they get and it will be interesting to see who plays again in the next cup game at the end of the month. 

5. What's next for the Treble Winners? Manchester City will play Newcastle next weekend at St James’ Park before travelling for a winter break in Abu Dhabi. On Monday evening, they’ll also find out who they play in the next round of the FA Cup, with that fixture set to be played over the weekend of the 27th/28th January.

Full match report to follow