The huge shadow of Manchester City looms large in the rear-view mirror of their rivals as they mount a familiar charge that heightens psychological pressure and always ends in success.
It's that season again. It's time for Josep Guardiola's reigning champions to rally for a home run and ask tough questions of teams such as Liverpool and Arsenal who hope to beat them and claim the big prize.
And it was that feeling again when City won 3-1 at Brentford to record their ninth successive win in all competitions. Despite being caught up by Neal Maupay's come-from-behind goal until the end of the first half, they comfortably won the game.
After losing to Arsenal on Sunday, City are currently second in the table, two points behind leaders Liverpool. One of the subplots of this outcome is to take City's Premier League destiny back into their own hands, and that's their preference.
Liverpool would go top of the table for at least a few hours if they beat struggling Everton at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday lunchtime before taking on Burnley at Anfield. And City still have a game left.
Liverpool and Arsenal are both top-flight teams who have had outstanding campaigns and will have a huge say in the final months of this season, but many have seen this film before. You'll feel like you've seen it before, and for the most part, there's a happy ending for the City before the credits roll. .
If this scoreline looks like a close game, forget it.
Unsurprisingly, City were far ahead of Brentford, with the reigning champions having 17 shots on goal, 10 of which were on target, keeping the Bees at bay in a mostly kept first half. It took a great performance from Bees keeper Mark Frecken. Beautifully taken out by the defiant Dutchman.
This was when Phil Foden broke through with essentially the last kick of the first half and the England star earned his well-deserved reward with a masterful hat-trick for the second time in his senior career. .
Pre-match talk featured Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland starting together for the first time since the season-opening Friday night at Burnley on August 11, but it was Foden who stole the show. was.
Foden has been the catalyst for all of City's best work, handling the ball creatively and providing three smooth finishes, with their main marksman working towards a return to full strength following a foot injury. That more than made up for Haaland not getting on the scoresheet.
In a broader sense, Foden's performance adds to the growing body of evidence arguing that Foden should start for England at Euro 2024, especially given Marcus Rashford's on- and off-field issues this season. I'm strengthening it. If you choose it now, you have no choice.
There's always been a pattern to City's seasons and it's here too, with this run of wins confirming a return to familiar territory at the top of the table.
You could say there have been some periods this season where we haven't been at our best, but here we are again.
Last season, they finished level on points with Arsenal at the top of the table with 48 points from 22 games, but they brutally crushed the Gunners to take the title. This time, they are one point ahead of that score at the same stage.
Under Guardiola's guidance, City are now moving to another level, like a thoroughbred timing its run towards perfection. It seems the same thing is happening again.
City, like all great teams, have strength of character as well as quality, and this was the fourth consecutive Premier League game in which they came from behind to win on the road.
If there is any cause for concern for Guardiola and City, it is that they have kept just one clean sheet in their last 12 Premier League matches, and their record of just five clean sheets in 22 games is the lowest since the 2016-17 season. It is to be.
This is not ideal, but it is a problem that could be more easily solved if Guardiola had a wealth of creativity at his disposal.
In the Premier League, there is a long way to go before the title is decided.
Liverpool and Arsenal have done enough to suggest they can go all the way to the end and push Guardiola's side to the limit – but City's growing confidence, authority and track record. This course and distance, which has been successful in recent years, means that they will face the huge task of denying teams that have exceeded their limits.
