Manchester City took a huge step towards regaining the English Premier League crown with a stunning win over Liverpool at Anfield.
Pep Guardiola’s men visited the home of last season’s champions and put on a show, strolling to a 4-1 victory. That result stretched the Cityzens’ stats for the campaign to 15 wins and five draws against just two defeats. They currently enjoy a five-point cushion over nearest challengers and city rivals Manchester United in second.
That show of strength on Merseyside helped win over any remaining doubters, including traders at the best betting sites for football who moved quickly to slash their odds on Man City to win their seventh English top-flight title and first since 2019.
Persistence pays off
Entering Sunday’s match as the form team of the two, Manchester City were held and frustrated by Liverpool in the opening 45 minutes. But their persistence was to pay off early in the second half. Ilkay Gundogan bagged the opening goal and first of two for the German midfielder when finding the net soon after the restart, making amends for an earlier penalty miss.
Liverpool got themselves level from the penalty spot when star striker Mo Salah kept his cool but a quickfire double from Gundogan and Raheem Sterling put the Cityzens back in control. By the time Stockport 20-year-old Phil Foden slammed home his team’s fourth to cap a man of the match performance the game was over as a contest.
The stats now show Man City remain unbeaten against Liverpool in three games, a run stretching back to November 2019 when the Reds won 3-1 at Anfield on route to banking the Premier League title. With their team sitting proudly atop the table and boasting a strong unbeaten run of form versus the champions, not to mention a winning streak in the league, are we about to see the league trophy packed up and returned to sender?
Man Utd provide a credible challenge
Followers of City dream of seeing their club back at the head of English football but there’s still plenty of football to be played this season. If the Sky Blues are to lift the famous silverware in spring, they must maintain their form to see off an all too familiar opponent.
The resurgence of the team across the city means the title race is likely to go right down to the wire. Manchester United appear to have found their form following years in the wilderness and look every inch a credible challenger at this stage. Under the guidance of former striker and fans favourite Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, United sit second in the list and are showing no signs of letting up.
The Red Devils won 13 and drew six of their opening 23 games to move ahead of Leicester City and Liverpool into the silver medal position. They lack the consistency shown by their derby rivals this winter but are proving difficult to beat and put together a three-match unbeaten run including a jaw-dropping 9-0 home win achieved over a talented and capable Southampton side in February. United found the net a dozen times in their opening two games of the month, ensuring critics gave their challenge the credit it deserves.
All will be clear when the derby returns
Could we see the old rivals of Manchester City and Manchester United going toe-to-toe and slug it out for the Premier League title? The form of both in the early exchanges of 2021 suggests that’s a strong possibility and the race to the line is sure to provide followers of the beautiful game with a gripping grandstand finish.
We’ll know more about the destination of this season’s title at the conclusion of play on Saturday 6 March with the 184th Manchester Derby set to take place. Etihad Stadium plays host to that one and with the clash beamed around the world courtesy of live television coverage, followers are expecting a thrilling 90 minutes of play.
The current head-to-head stats have Man Utd on 75 wins against the 55 of Man City and 53 draws. Will the dominance of red continue or will fans be singing the blues?
Sport
Streamer AngryGinge ‘arrested and banned’ from Silvestone at the British GP
Danny Jones
Popular Manc influencer, ‘AngryGinge’, was arrested, fined and ultimately banned from Silverstone at this year’s British GP.
The Salford-born Twitch streamer, YouTuber and social media personality (real name Morgan Burtwhistle) was detained at the circuit after being arrested on suspicion of criminal damage.
Ginge recently starred in Soccer Aid 2025 and is a well-known face both on the internet and in the sporting world, regularly working in and around football, and is an avid Manchester United – even featuring in the club’s third kit launch video last year.
The 23-year-old and two other fellow streamers, ‘Chazza’ and ‘Samham’, were accused of criminal damage after sitting in an F1 car whilst recording around the Silverstone complex.
AngryGinge returned to streaming after being detained by police for 15 hours
The streamer and several friends were arrested for climbing into a display F1 car at the British Grand Prix pic.twitter.com/WDSYb6MVtj
“On Friday, July 4, NP received a report that a classic Formula 1 car on display at Silverstone Circuit during the British Grand Prix event had sustained several thousands of pounds worth of damage, which was alleged to have been caused by someone accessing the display stand and climbing into the vehicle.
“Officers carried out initial inquiries, and suspects were identified. Three men, aged 23, 25 and 27, were arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage to a vehicle and taken into police custody.
“Following a thorough investigation into the circumstances of the incident, all three men were released with no further action.”
Burtwhistle went into more detail on the incident on socials, explaining that the trio were taken away in handcuffs and “locked up” for several hours – 15 hours, according to SamHam (Samuel Imie).
All three individuals deny causing any damage to the racecar, even despite users sharing clips from the livestream footage captured for the Red Bull online Content on the day that many argue incriminates them, or at least sounds like it – we’ll let you watch and decide for yourselves.
Ginge himself went on to detail that ridculousness of the situation, explaining how he was effectively detained for watching someone else climb into the vehicle.
He’ll be dining out in this one for some time, you can be sure of that.
He’s literally a brands dream isn’t he 😂 so quick and smart with it
Featured Images — Soccer Aid/angryginge13 (screenshot via Twitch)/Samham (via X)
Sport
Boxing legend Ricky Hatton is coming out of retirement after more than a decade
Danny Jones
Mancunian and British boxing legend Ricky Hatton MBE is coming out of retirement after more than a decade for his first competitive fight in 13 long years.
This is sure to be one to watch.
The Stockport-born and Hattersley-raised fighter first retired back in 2011, but did flirt with a comeback a year later in what turned out to be a one-off fight and defeat to 35-year-old Ukrainian welterweight, Vyacheslav Senchenko.
‘Hitman’ Hatton also got back in the ring for an exhibition match against Marco Antonio Barrera in 2022, enduring eight two-minute rounds after a decade away from fighting, but now he’ll be undertaking an official fight over in the United Arab Emirates.
Lacing up his gloves at 46 years old, Hatton will be facing fellow veteran Eisa Al Dah (same age), who was the first professional boxer in the UAE.
The ‘Pride of Hyde’ may have been out of the competitive sporting sphere for a while, but he’s still remained an active figure in the boxing world.
In addition to training his son, Campbell, who has followed in his father’s fighting footsteps, Hatton has continued to coach other young boxing talents from his gym in Tameside, including John Hedges and Chloe Watson.
Campbell, 24, has won 14 of his 16 fights, losing just twice since he began in 2021.
Meanwhile, his dad – who still boasts a record of 45 victories from 48 matches, 32 of which were by knockout – will be once again focusing on getting himself back in fighting shape for the Dubai bout.
The local athlete has done plenty to dispel the old jabs of ‘Ricky Fatton’ in recent times, mind you, having taken his talents as a once-promising young footballer to play in the Manchester Remembers charity match, as well as the aforementioned Barrera exhibition.
Set for this winter, Ricky Hatton will face fellow veteran Eisa Al Dah in a middleweight contest on Friday, 2 December, telling national media via video call in the recent press conference that confirmed he would be coming out of retirement: “What you’re trying to do there for boxing in Dubai is fantastic.”
Meanwhile, Al Dah added: “It will be a true fight, true action. And I will do my best, because everybody in the UAE and the Gulf, they will watch this fight. The place will be sold out, and it will be watched around the world.”
Will those Haymakers still hit like they used to? Well shall see before the end of the year.
The Manc -
11th February 2021 
