Manchester City have started the season in free-scoring style... but will the impressive stats lead to Premier League glory for Pep Guardiola?

  • Manchester City thrashed Crystal Palace 5-0 on Saturday to remain top of table
  • It is the third straight game Pep Guardiola's side have scored five or more goals
  • Blackburn Rovers were the last side to accomplish this feat back in August 1958
  • City's embarrassment of riches in attack has started to click for Guardiola
  • But a bright start in the Premier League doesn't necessarily guarantee the title 

Blackburn Rovers were the last English top-flight side to score five or more goals in three consecutive matches, way back in August 1958.

Continuing the momentum of a promotion-winning campaign in Division Two under the management of former Manchester United favourite Johnny Carey, they thrashed Newcastle United 5-1 on the opening day, then recorded consecutive 5-0 home wins over Leicester City and Tottenham.

It proved a false dawn, however. A few days later, Rovers were spanked 6-1 at Old Trafford and didn't win again until October, by which time Carey had been spirited away by Everton. They eventually finished a respectable 10th.


Somehow you sense that Pep Guardiola's Manchester City - who equalled that 59-year-old record over the weekend - won't crumble in quite the same way.

Manchester City turned in another free-scoring display as they thrashed Crystal Palace 5-0

Manchester City turned in another free-scoring display as they thrashed Crystal Palace 5-0

It's all clicked for Pep Guardiola's team, though the City boss still looked annoyed on Saturday

It's all clicked for Pep Guardiola's team, though the City boss still looked annoyed on Saturday

Leroy Sane celebrates opening the scoring for Manchester City in their rout of Palace

Leroy Sane celebrates opening the scoring for Manchester City in their rout of Palace

City's free-scoring run 

September 9

City 5-0 Liverpool

(Aguero, Jesus 2, Sane 2)

September 16

Watford 0-6 City

(Aguero 3, Jesus, Otamendi, Sterling)

September 23

City 5-0 Crystal Palace

(Sane, Sterling 2, Aguero, Delph) 

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The intensity of City's performances and the regularity of their goal-scoring this season is quite breath-taking. Everything seems to have clicked at once for Guardiola, his rampant forward line blazing a trail at the top of the table.

They needed a last-minute Raheem Sterling goal to win at Bournemouth back on August 26, but since then City have been absolutely unstoppable.

Guardiola's team stuffed five past Liverpool, aided by Sadio Mane's red card at only 1-0, then smacked Watford for six before sticking five past Crystal Palace at the weekend.

The free-scoring spell also included a 4-0 away win at Feyenoord in the Champions League and a rather narrower 2-1 EFL Cup win at West Bromwich Albion.

But in a stunning September, City have scored 22 times and conceded just the once. They still have Shakhtar Donetsk and Chelsea to come.

Gabriel Jesus scores from Sergio Aguero's unselfish pass in the 5-0 rout of Liverpool

Gabriel Jesus scores from Sergio Aguero's unselfish pass in the 5-0 rout of Liverpool

Aguero finds the net in the 4-0 Champions League thrashing of Feyenoord this month

Aguero finds the net in the 4-0 Champions League thrashing of Feyenoord this month

Aguero, who has scored seven goals this season, completes his hat-trick in the 6-0 at Watford

Aguero, who has scored seven goals this season, completes his hat-trick in the 6-0 at Watford

In the Premier League table, where City lead their neighbours United by a superior goal difference of four, they've scored 21 times.

Remarkably, this is already one more goal than Derby County managed in the entirety of their disastrous Premier League cameo in the 2007-08 campaign. And it's only late September.

Given the embarrassment of attacking riches at Guardiola's disposal and his penchant for free-flowing football seen at Barcelona and Bayern Munich, we perhaps shouldn't be surprised by the goal glut.

City's squad has cost around £650million to assemble and you only have to look at the substitutions Guardiola made on Saturday to see the outrageous depth of talent at his disposal.

When £52m defender Benjamin Mendy was injured in the first half, City called for £26.5m Danilo from the bench. When Sterling, a £49m buy two years ago, earned a rest, on came £43m signing Bernardo Silva.

Raheem Sterling bundles home City's third goal in the comfortable victory over Palace

Raheem Sterling bundles home City's third goal in the comfortable victory over Palace

Fabian Delph rounds off a 31-pass move to score City's fifth goal against Crystal Palace

Fabian Delph rounds off a 31-pass move to score City's fifth goal against Crystal Palace

Japes and high spirits at the final whistle as City cemented their place at the top of the table

Japes and high spirits at the final whistle as City cemented their place at the top of the table

City lead their neighbours Manchester United by virtue of their superior goal difference

City lead their neighbours Manchester United by virtue of their superior goal difference

Ominously for City's opponents, most of their attacking guns have been firing. Sergio Aguero scored on Saturday to make it seven for the season in all competitions and he is now just two away from overtaking record scorer Eric Brook's return of 177 goals for the club.

Gabriel Jesus has scored five, the same as Leroy Sane and Sterling. The England man's five in his last four Premier League games are as many as in his previous 31. Sane's five goals have come from just seven shots.

Elsewhere on the field, John Stones has two and Nicolas Otamendi and Fabian Delph one apiece. Delph's goal was City's fifth on Saturday and the perfect tiki-taka way to round off the afternoon - the ball was touched at least once by all 10 of City's outfield players in a flurry of 31 passes.

The intricate passing move that led to Delph scoring City's fifth on Saturday

The intricate passing move that led to Delph scoring City's fifth on Saturday

Delph is congratulated on his goal by David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne in the rout of Palace

Delph is congratulated on his goal by David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne in the rout of Palace

City fixtures 

Premier League unless stated

Tuesday Shakhtar Donetsk (H) CL 

Saturday Chelsea (A)

October 14 Stoke City (H)

October 17 Napoli (H) CL

October 21 Burnley (H)

October 24 Wolves (H) EFL Cup

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So what conclusions can we draw from City's free-scoring start to the season? Let's just say that teams have made similar starts to this before and it hasn't always worked out well.

In 1994-95, Kevin Keegan's Newcastle United entertainers won their first six league games and scored 22 goals in the process - one more than City have managed this time.

But they won only once between November 5 and January 25, a barren run that ultimately saw them finish sixth.

Fresher in the memory is the epic duel between the two Manchester clubs in the 2011-12 season. Sir Alex Ferguson's side made a blistering start that included an 8-2 demolition of Arsenal, but they only edged City on goal difference after half a dozen games.

Manchester City won their maiden Premier League title in 2012 after a nip and tuck race with United throughout the season

Manchester City won their maiden Premier League title in 2012 after a nip and tuck race with United throughout the season

In the end, the season would finish with City top and United second, with Manuel Pellegrini's side winning the title by virtue of a superior goal difference of eight. That famous 6-1 win at Old Trafford certainly helped in that regard.

Remember also that City won their first 10 games in all competitions last season, scoring four or more times in five of them, but would ultimately finish third and exit the Champions League at the last-16 stage.

City's early-season stats are certainly highly impressive, but, as history tells us, the trophies are not handed out in September.