Manchester City Show off England's Finest Attack in Win over Swansea

ETIHAD STADIUM, MANCHESTER

Manchester City may have their problems defensively, but going forward they possess the best attack in the Premier League. They scored another three goals on their way to victory over Swansea on Sunday without ever hitting their very best, and they must now take their free-flowing football into away matches, starting at West Brom on Wednesday evening.

At home, City are imperious. Seven wins in seven home league games, with 29 goals scored and just two conceded. They’ve scored 37 league goals in total—10 more than leaders Arsenal—with their strike partnership of Sergio Aguero and Alvaro Negredo managing 16 between the two.

Indeed, it was Negredo who set City going against Swansea. They were enjoying plenty of the ball but lacked a cutting edge until Jesus Navas rolled the ball into the path of "The Beast" who unleashed a powerful left-foot strike that brought a decent save from Gerhard Tremmel in the Swansea goal.

That seemed to set City on their way. Moments later Negredo scored a superb curling free-kick, and the game was firmly in City’s hands before two second-half goals from Samir Nasri completed the win. Negredo has now scored in seven consecutive home games for City.

Nasri is emerging as one of City’s stars of the season—a remarkable turnaround from the player who looked to be edging close to the exit door during the dying embers of Roberto Mancini’s reign.

Nasri appeared at a low ebb then, despised by the club’s fans after a season in which he failed to get any kind of form going, and where he had infamously flinched in the wall defending Robin Van Persie's free-kick in the derby defeat at the Etihad. 

This season couldn't be more different. His influence continues to grow, with his place in the first XI totally secure and Man of the Match performances becoming a regular occurrence.

Nasri's two goals in this match against Swansea were superb. The first one saw him get on the end of a through ball from Yaya Toure before taking two deft touches and finishing confidently. His second was a first-time finish after a cross from Pablo Zabaleta. He curled an effort wide towards the end which would have sealed a brilliant hat-trick. 

With City missing David Silva—their most creative player by quite some distance—Nasri has emerged as a vital player in recent weeks. Manuel Pellegrini paid tribute to the Frenchman in his post-match press conference, saying: "Samir played very well, especially in the second half. He’s playing free, he’s happy – he feels he’s an important player and the way the team plays is very comfortable for him."

It was a good day for City all around. They went into the match buoyed by results elsewhere, with Tottenham and Manchester United taking points of one another, and Liverpool suffering a surprise loss away at Hull.

Attention now turns to addressing Man City's poor away form which has seen them win just once so far, with difficult trips to West Brom and Southampton to come in the next seven days. Those two fixtures are now absolutely vital.

All it will take is an improvement away from home, and City will be difficult to stop in their quest for a second title in three years. 

Rob Pollard is Bleacher Report's lead Manchester City correspondent and will be following the club from a Manchester base throughout the 2013-14 season. Follow him on Twitter here @TypicalCity