Man City are suddenly peering over their shoulders in the Champions League race as age catches up to them, writes JACK GAUGHAN

Traditionally determination has been thing of a divided wrong the Manchester City dressing country during a run-in. Some ticker the different games, hoping for favourable results. Others don't fuss astatine all.

Raheem Sterling really straddled some camps during the ding-dong battles with Liverpool successful 2019 and 2022, some titles decided by a azygous point. Sterling would ne'er instrumentality a lucifer connected astatine location until substance messages started pinging done that Liverpool were dropping points.

It became a moving gag that he'd springiness successful to temptation, scope for the remote, lone for Liverpool to past people astir instantly. He kept coming backmost for more, but careless City yet prevailed.

There is nary Liverpool this year, nary Arsenal arsenic successful caller seasons. The prime connected Monday is whether to ticker Newcastle United astatine Leicester City. You would ideate adjacent the astir obsessed, and that would person to beryllium Ilkay Gundogan, volition find it hard pressed to tune in.

There is the grim world that Eddie Howe picking up different triumph pushes City retired of the Premier League's apical 5 for the archetypal clip since mid-January. Newcastle are 2 points down City with 2 games successful hand.

Pep Guardiola was handed a favour by Brentford, but saw Fulham and Aston Villa adjacent the spread successful a congested tract for Champions League qualification and, though their remaining games look gentler than those astir them, City are inactive not threatening to nutrient a drawstring of accordant performances. 

It's wherefore the containment without amusement astatine Old Trafford came arsenic nary large surprise, City and Manchester United with hands connected each other's foreheads from a distance.

It was an insipid derby and 1 that ne'er felt arsenic if it would burst into immoderate benignant of life. City person to beryllium exceptionally cautious that they don't fto this run-in drift successful the mode the travel crossed municipality did. No Champions League adjacent play which, arsenic things basal successful the present and now, is eminently possible, would marque caller sporting manager Hugo Viana's occupation successful the summertime that spot harder.

City are already juggling ideas connected who goes, whose clip is up and who tin springiness them much years, arsenic they embark connected a rebuild. It goes without saying that not being successful Europe's elite contention volition severely interaction their targets. Florian Wirtz, for example, mightiness not beryllium keen connected kicking astir successful the Europa League.

So they person to sharpen minds up of Crystal Palace - notoriously a bogey squad astatine the Etihad Stadium - connected Saturday.

At Bournemouth and astatine United, Guardiola went for the tried and trusted successful midfield, the ones to strangle matches successful possession, with Gundogan, Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne and Mateo Kovacic - City's omniscient masters of the ball.

Just don't telephone them the aureate oldies. Silva was irked by suggestions that this radical had present go excessively aged down connected the southbound seashore past week, erstwhile City played successful a akin vein to here.

'I'm 30 years old, Kovacic is 30. You're not talking astir guys that are 36,' helium said. 'So we person six atrocious months oregon 4 atrocious months and retired of obscurity we're old, we're not bully enough?

'In the past 8 seasons, we've won six Premier Leagues and aft 4 atrocious months, we're old? That's radical that don't recognize the game, ne'er played the crippled and astir apt don't recognize a happening astir football.'

Individually they are not aged and individually they tin each adhd value. But clearly, not each of them tin run unneurotic adjacent twelvemonth and De Bruyne's announcement that his decennary is coming to a adjacent could enactment arsenic the starting pistol for change.

City won the lowest percent of duels successful a azygous league-wide crippled passim the play astatine United, seeing their midfielders dispossessed 8 times.

They tin beryllium satisfied with the effect successful the discourse of the campaign, portion recognising that not laying a mitt connected United is pugnacious to take.

'I saw galore bully things successful the past 3 games successful presumption of the passionateness without the shot that we mislaid many, galore times this play for galore reasons,' Guardiola said.

Be that arsenic it may, but they volition apt caput into the last 7 games of the play playing drawback up.

At slightest they've got signifier with that.

Perhaps musculus representation volition footwear in.