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Rodri scored City's late winner when they beat Sheffield United in August, and opened the scoring early on this time, with his fifth goal of the seasonManchester City ended a stellar year on a high note by beating a battling Sheffield United side to move within two points of Premier League leaders Liverpool.
Rodri gave the defending champions an early breakthrough when he latched on to Phil Foden's neat pass and fired into the bottom corner of the net from the edge of the area.
The Blades' packed defence meant City had to wait to add a second but Foden was the provider again when it arrived midway through the second half, with his low cross despatched by Julian Alvarez.
City, who were crowned Fifa Club World Cup winners before Christmas, displayed all five of the major trophies they have won in 2023 on the pitch before kick-off.
It was a reminder to their rivals that they remain the team to beat this season, and so was the sight of Kevin de Bruyne in their squad after more than four months out with a hamstring injury.
The Belgium midfielder did not make it on to the pitch this time, but the sight of him warming up on the touchline in the second half brought huge cheers from the home fans.
In contrast, the Sheffield United fans had little to get excited about, as their side offered little in attack other than a flurry of chances just before the break.
Defeat felt inevitable as soon as City scored their second goal, and Chris Wilder's side remain bottom of the table, and without an away win this season.
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City chasing more glory in 2024
City had dropped points through conceding late equalisers in each of their past three home league games, but there was never any danger of a repeat of that here.
As well as the victory, which means they have secured back-to-back league wins for the first time since the start of November, they also had a first clean sheet in eight games to celebrate.
It had already been a productive festive period for Pep Guardiola's side, who saw all the teams above them drop points, and they appear to have put any talk of a pre-Christmas crisis well behind them.
City can look back with pride at their achievements in 2023, but they have lots to look forward to in 2024.
De Bruyne's seemingly imminent return to action is a major boost and they will hope to welcome Erling Haaland and Jeremy Doku back from injury in January, as they push on in search of more silverware.
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Rate players out of 10 throughout or after the game. The rater will close 30 minutes after the final whistle.
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Manchester City
Squad number31Player nameEderson
Squad number2Player nameWalker
Squad number25Player nameAkanji- Squad number6Player nameAké
- Squad number24Player nameGvardiol
- Squad number8Player nameKovacic
- Squad number16Player nameRodri
Squad number20Player nameBernardo Silva
Squad number47Player nameFoden- Squad number10Player nameGrealish
- Squad number19Player nameÁlvarez
- Squad number3Player nameRúben Dias
- Squad number52Player nameBobb
- Squad number82Player nameLewis
Sheffield United
Squad number18Player nameFoderingham
Squad number2Player nameBaldock
Squad number19Player nameRobinson
Squad number5Player nameTrusty
Squad number20Player nameBogle
Squad number16Player nameNorwood
Squad number21Player nameVinicius Souza
Squad number14Player nameThomas
Squad number25Player nameBen Slimane
Squad number35Player nameBrooks
Squad number32Player nameOsula
Squad number7Player nameBrewster
Squad number10Player nameArcher
Squad number23Player nameOsborn
Squad number33Player nameNorrington-Davies
Line-ups
Man City
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 31Ederson
- 2WalkerSubstituted forLewisat 68'minutes
- 25Akanji
- 6Aké
- 24Gvardiol
- 8KovacicBooked at 43minsSubstituted forRúben Diasat 68'minutes
- 16Rodri
- 20Bernardo Silva
- 47Foden
- 10GrealishSubstituted forBobbat 52'minutes
- 19Álvarez
Substitutes
- 3Rúben Dias
- 4Phillips
- 17De Bruyne
- 18Ortega
- 21Gómez
- 27Nunes
- 52Bobb
- 82Lewis
- 92Hamilton
Sheff Utd
Formation 3-4-2-1
- 18Foderingham
- 2Baldock
- 19Robinson
- 5Trusty
- 20BogleBooked at 89mins
- 16Norwood
- 21de Souza Costa
- 14ThomasSubstituted forNorrington-Daviesat 90'minutes
- 25Ben SlimaneSubstituted forBrewsterat 67'minutes
- 35BrooksSubstituted forOsbornat 80'minutes
- 32OsulaSubstituted forArcherat 67'minutes
Substitutes
- 1Davies
- 7Brewster
- 9McBurnie
- 10Archer
- 11Traoré
- 23Osborn
- 27Larouci
- 33Norrington-Davies
- 38Seriki
Live Text
Match ends, Manchester City 2, Sheffield United 0.
Second Half ends, Manchester City 2, Sheffield United 0.
Substitution, Sheffield United. Rhys Norrington-Davies replaces Luke Thomas.
Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Jack Robinson.
Jayden Bogle (Sheffield United) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Nathan Aké (Manchester City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Jayden Bogle (Sheffield United).
Attempt blocked. Jayden Bogle (Sheffield United) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Cameron Archer.
Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by George Baldock.
Attempt blocked. Nathan Aké (Manchester City) header from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Phil Foden with a cross.
Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Auston Trusty.
Attempt blocked. Phil Foden (Manchester City) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Bernardo Silva.
Substitution, Sheffield United. Ben Osborn replaces Andre Brooks.
Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Auston Trusty.
Attempt saved. Phil Foden (Manchester City) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Rodri.
Substitution, Manchester City. Rúben Dias replaces Mateo Kovacic.
Substitution, Manchester City. Rico Lewis replaces Kyle Walker.
Substitution, Sheffield United. Rhian Brewster replaces Anis Ben Slimane.
Substitution, Sheffield United. Cameron Archer replaces William Osula.
Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Jayden Bogle.
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