Manchester City's Win over Liverpool Demonstrates Strength of Character

MANCHESTER, England — With the exception of Bayern Munich in the Champions League, Manchester City have swept aside all before them at home this season. Big wins and comfortable performances have characterised their games at the Etihad, and, at times, it’s seemed almost too easy, with Newcastle, Manchester United, Tottenham and Arsenal all sent packing after being comprehensively outplayed for 90 minutes. 

However, the narrow 2-1 Boxing Day win over Liverpool—a result which moves City up to second in the table, one point off leaders Arsenal—came in very different circumstances. They showed here that they’re capable of grinding out results when not playing at their best—an ominous sign for their title rivals. 

Liverpool provided City with their sternest home test of the season by far. Their passing and movement was excellent, and in Luis Suarez they have one of the most dangerous attackers in world football. Yet City managed to dig in and swing the match in their favour, maintaining their 100 percent home record and sending out a message that they are not going to be beaten easily on their own patch.

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Full time: #MCFC 2 #LFC 1. Excellent game. Good quality from both teams. Kompany calls it "the hardest game we've had at home so far"

— Oliver Kay (@OliverKayTimes) December 26, 2013"

Backs-against-the-wall victories like this are just as important as those when that come in more straightforward circumstances, and City will take many positives from the result.

Joe Hart's performance, in particular, will have pleased his manager. When Manuel Pellegrini took the decision to remove Hart from the starting line-up after his blunder away at Chelsea in October, the intention was to relieve some of the pressure that had built up around the England man. After two-and-a-half seasons of unbroken appearances, Pellegrini felt his goalkeeper needed a rest.

A spell out of the limelight seems to have done him the world of good. This was his most assured performance in a long time, and he must now take the positives from this match into the rest of the season.

In his post-match press conference, Pellegrini said:

"

I’m very pleased with Joe, not only for his performance today, but in all of the games he’s played in the last month he’s played very well.

I thought it was good for Joe to have a rest—he was not in his best moment he’s played all of the games for three years - sometimes it’s good to have a rest.

He’s worked very hard for the last six weeks and now he puts in a normal performance and showed he’s the best goalkeeper in England.

"

Another plus was the continued excellence of Fernandinho, who was once again a strong contender for Man of the Match honors. His energy defies belief, and his range of passing means he can start attacks quickly and unexpectedly. He's proving to be a shrewd acquisition and, together with Yaya Toure, forms the best central midfield partnership in the Premier League.

With Pablo Zabaleta making a speedy return to the starting XI and Matija Nastasic back the bench and in contention for a starting place against Crystal Palace on Saturday, City will be confident of continuing their excellent run of form.

Since the defeat at Sunderland November, City have won nine and drawn one in their last 10 matches, with six wins and a draw in their last seven league games.

If they continue to show the resilience and character they showed against Liverpool, that run could be extended well into the new year.

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.