IT was the width Riyad Mahrez kept against Everton which ultimately proved the difference for Manchester City.
What makes the champions so impressive is the different ways they have of playing.
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They started with a 4-3-3 shape at Goodison Park on Saturday — but the beauty of that is how many different ways they can go about it.
Their forwards can play wide, which leads to space created for the midfield runners inside as the full-backs become disjointed.
Or City’s attacking stars can come inside to make things happen, leaving vast gaps out wide for their full-backs to exploit.
They did the latter through wingers Mahrez and Raheem Sterling against the Toffees and it worked a treat, especially for the first goal.
After the Algerian got the better of left-back Lucas Digne with some great skill, Fabian Delph was forced to leave his defensive position.
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But once he moved out wide to challenge Mahrez, space opened up where he came from — which is exactly the position that Kevin De Bruyne loves to pick up.
The Belgian then had all the time in the world to pick out a perfect cross for Brazilian Gabriel Jesus to head home.
This wasn’t a one-off, though, as it happened numerous times throughout the game, regardless of whether Mahrez and Sterling stuck to their wings or swapped.
Most of the threat came down City’s right throughout the match, with the space consistently there for De Bruyne in between Digne and Everton’s left-sided centre-back Yerry Mina.
NO FLASH IN THE PAN
It’s a massive advantage for Pep Guardiola to have wingers who are comfortable hugging the touchline but who also have the ability to cut inside.
Mahrez was exceptional throughout, both on and off the ball.
Both City and Liverpool commit so many bodies forward that they are naturally more likely to get caught on the counter.
Everton, like most teams who come up against City, tried this by sitting deep and looking to hurt them on the transition.
But once they’ve lost the ball they press immediately as a unit — if it’s not a collective effort, they can be picked off and passed through.
It can take time for a player to adjust to the demands City boss Pep Guardiola places on them off the ball.
But it appears Mahrez is now well and truly up to speed.
