Champions bounce back from shock Norwich defeat as Bernardo Silva's hat-trick seals biggest top-flight win in club's 125-year history
Sunday 22 September 2019 07:36, UK
Pep Guardiola saluted the vast array of attacking talent at his disposal after Manchester City tore Watford apart in a record-breaking 8-0 victory at the Etihad Stadium.
Last weekend's shock loss to Norwich was put firmly in the rear-view mirror, thanks to by the club's biggest top-flight victory, sealed by five goals in a remarkable 18 opening minutes.
Bernardo Silva's hat-trick was complemented by efforts David Silva, Sergio Aguero, Riyad Mahrez, Nicolas Otamendi and star man Kevin De Bruyne as Watford fell to their heaviest ever league defeat.
"We shot on target five times for five goals," the City boss said. "The quality of players we had up front made the difference. In the first minutes, we gave them two chances to score two goals and they didn't.
"In the middle up front, we have a huge amount of talent and that is why we've done what we have done. The difference is the talent we have up front.
"What I liked the most is normally when it's 5-0 at half time the second half is not serious, it's boring, everyone does what they want. But we did completely the opposite, we were serious, more aggressive with our pressing and made a very good second half.
"People still don't understand - journalists, pundits and former players - losing games is part of life. I have the same feeling now that I had after Norwich, so that was not a bad performance. We can lose the games; the important thing is the approach and how we react."
City eventually finished just short of Manchester United's Premier League record 9-0 victory over Ipswich Town in 1995, but their historic victory secured their place among some of the competition emphatic wins.
Man Utd 9-0 Ipswich Town, March 1995
Andrew Cole led the way with five goals, with Mark Hughes (two), Paul Ince and Roy Keane also netting for United against an Ipswich team who finished bottom at the end of the season.
Tottenham 9-1 Wigan, Nov 2009
Striker Jermain Defoe scored five times and Aaron Lennon, Peter Crouch, David Bentley and Niko Kranjcar also found the target, with Paul Scharner replying.
Newcastle 8-0 Sheff Wed, Sep 1999
Alan Shearer was the five-goal hero on this occasion - with the help of two penalties - as relegation-bound Wednesday were routed at St James' Park. Aaron Hughes set the ball rolling, while Kieron Dyer and Gary Speed netted in the second half.
Chelsea 8-0 Wigan, May 2010
Carlo Ancelotti's side hit seven or more goals for the fourth time in 2009-10 against Wigan, who had defender Gary Caldwell sent off on the half-hour. Didier Drogba (three), Nicolas Anelka (two), Salomon Kalou, Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard's penalty left Chelsea champions and on the brink of a Premier League and FA Cup double.
Chelsea 8-0 Aston Villa, Dec 2012
Fernando Torres opened the floodgates early on and defenders David Luiz and Branislav Ivanovic made it 3-0 at half-time. Ramires netted twice in a second half also featuring goals for Lampard, Oscar and Eden Hazard.
Southampton 8-0 Sunderland, Oct 2014
Three different Sunderland players scored own goals as Santiago Vergini, Liam Bridcutt and Patrick Van Aanholt contributed to a rout that also featured a Graziano Pelle brace and goals for Jack Cork, Dusan Tadic and Victor Wanyama.
Man City 8-0 Watford, Sep 2019
Five goals in the first 18 minutes, from David Silva, Sergio Aguero (penalty), Riyad Mahrez, Bernardo Silva and Nicolas Otamendi, saw City carry on where they left off in their 6-0 FA Cup final win over the Hornets four months earlier. Bernardo went on to complete a hat-trick before Kevin De Bruyne rounded off the scoring.
Nottingham Forest 1-8 Man Utd, Feb 1999
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer came off the bench to fire four goals in the last 10 minutes in the rout of Forest, who went down at the end of the campaign. Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke each scored twice, with Alan Rogers briefly levelling matters for Forest.
Middlesbrough 8-1 Man City, May 2008
City have been on the receiving end of a similar scoreline - Richard Dunne's 15th-minute dismissal contributed significantly and allowed Stewart Downing to score the first of his two goals from the resulting penalty. The much-maligned Afonso Alves bagged a hat-trick, with Adam Johnson, Fabio Rochemback and Jeremie Aliadiere also on target. Elano's consolation could not disguise an ignominious end to Sven-Goran Eriksson's City reign.
