Premier League: Manchester City silences critics with 8-0 thrashing of Watford

It only took a loss against Norwich City last week for pundits to claim that Manchester City is a team in crisis. However, the defending English Premier League champions quickly showed that their title defence is still on track by decimating Watford FC with an 8-0 scoreline on Saturday.

It was raining goals at the City of Manchester Stadium with six different players finding the back of the net. Bernardo Silva scored a hat trick while David Silva, Sergio Aguero, Riyad Mahrez, Nicolas Otamendi and Kevin De Bruyne all scored one each. Watford was unable to find a single reply to City's barrage.

Manchester City is now only two points behind league leaders Liverpool. However, Liverpool is yet to play a match this weekend. If they win against Chelsea tonight, they can extend their lead to five points. Frank Lampard's team will be looking for a chance to move up the table, after a dismal start has put them all the way down in 9th position.

After the emphatic victory against Watford, Man City manager Pep Guardiola had some words to say to their critics. "People still don't understand - journalists, pundits, former players - that losing games is part of life," he said in an interview shared by the BBC.

"We can lose the games, but the important thing is the approach and how we react," he added. Manchester City certainly reacted with all guns blazing after losing to Norwich. Aside from thrashing Watford, they also had a convincing 3-0 victory against Shakhtar Donetsk in their mid-week UEFA Champions League group stage clash.

Manchester City will be hoping that Chelsea defeats Liverpool tonight. That will leave them only two points behind Liverpool after matchday 6. Even though it's very early in the season, every single point counts. Manchester City will be very well aware of this, after winning the Premier League title by only one point last season.