As the old adage goes, records are there to be broken.
There's no blame attached to anyone who felt slightly pessimistic heading into West Brom. One win in seven as they travelled to a ground where City hadn't won in 29 years including a goals against record that stretched to 23 in the last six visits.
What could possibly go wrong? Well, as a matter of fact, absolutely nothing as City put the record straight with a brilliant response to lift them within three points of the play-offs. What a crazy, ridiculous but enthralling league the Championship is.
You quickly got the sense that it was going to be City's evening after they weathered that early spell of pressure. West Brom had a couple of half chances that they wasted including Matt Phillips' ballooned effort over the bar during the opening 45 minutes.
Not many people would have had Joe Williams on the first goalscorers coupon when he put City ahead before Nahki Wells showed real striker's instinct to bury Antoine Semenyo's effort that may or may not have been destined for the far corner.
Their performance was everything that typifies a Nigel Pearson side. It was dogged and scrappy at times, bodies were thrown on the line - just ask Williams who took a brutal strike to the gonads in the second half. Timm Klose also rather comically flew head-first over the advertising board.
When the final whistle blew, some of City's players dropped to their knees, completely exhausted having given their all and that's all we can ask for. Here's the talking points on a fantastic evening in the Midlands.
When there's a Will...
You almost had to rub your eyes when Williams was wheeling off in celebration after scoring his first goal for City. It was also his first goal since July 2020 while playing for Wigan so it's fair to assume it was long overdue.
It's surprising he didn't have a nose bleed he was so high up the field when Jay Dasilva's cutback fell kindly to his feet from just a few yards out. Williams couldn't miss and it was a great moment for him and the superb travelling supporters who enjoyed their evening in the Midlands.
On a more serious note, Pearson had been calling for this squad to start sharing the burden on goals especially with the strikers going through somewhat of a tricky spell of form heading into the game. City set up with a flat midfield three with Andi Weimann left on the substitute bench.
Firstly, it allowed City to have an extra shield in front of the defence and limit the areas for West Brom to play through the middle. It also gave the opportunity for Williams or Scott to take more risks by wading forward to join the attack.
Matty James provided a very capable shield as the deepest man and the tactic paid off as Williams took the gamble to venture into the box. James' superb ball over the top to Wells was fired across goal to Dasilva at the back post who cushioned it to his team-mate to open the scoring.
Talking of risks, it was also the third game Williams has started in six days which should be able to put to bed the belief that his body isn't capable of playing weekend followed by midweek matches.
The manager referenced the goal from midfield after the game by saying: "Well, that’s one, in how many games I don’t know. It doesn’t matter but yes, we do need to spread them around of course and I think that’s his first goal for us.
"You know he’s had a frustrating time so for him to play three games on the spin, score his first goal, that's good for him."
A defensive resilience
Don't underestimate the importance of keeping a clean sheet away from home for the first time this season. It's a psychological barrier that has been smashed ahead of a trip to Reading at the weekend.
Even after yesterday's victory, City have conceded the most goals away from home in the league and conceded the most goals from set-pieces. It's two bugbears that had to be improved and there was/is a lot of pressure on the manager to find a solution to the issues.
Now that's not saying he's sussed it by leaving Weimann out and deploying the flat midfield three, but there was certainly more balance to City's play both from an offensive and defensive capacity.
Here's a stat you don't see very often. Yesterday's opponents didn't manage one shot on target all game.
Yes, they hit the post and bar at the very end but West Brom's lack of threat going forward was down to the organisation of the players who were well-drilled, knew each other's jobs and had each other's backs to grind out a victory.
However, looking at those three central defenders - they were heroic last night. Pearson has a selection dilemma if Kal Naismith passes his fitness test heading to Reading because Timm Klose was a rock at the back.
Calm in possession, strong in the tackle and aware of the danger, his influence looked to have an effect on both Rob Atkinson and Zak Vyner who fed off his confidence.
After the win over Preston, Atkinson told me it was "an honour" to play alongside Klose and you can see why. His aura seems to gravitate to his team-mates on either side of him who gratefully fed off that.
Each man had played their part to perfection. Atkinson was so dominant in the air against a team who had no hesitation in whipping crosses into the box, looking to exploit a recent weakness in the backline.
Vyner was immense, keeping a tricky customer in Brandon Thomas-Asante quiet by showing his intelligence and concentration. It hasn't been an easy ride for the central defender and it would have been assumed that once Tomas Kalas is fit, he would likely make way.
But he's rising to the challenge, has regained his confidence and looks to be really enjoying his football.
Let's not forget about Max O'Leary's performance whose confidence may have taken a knock after the incident against Millwall in the week. Although he didn't have to face a shot on target, West Brom had 13 corners in total and he showed his bravery to come out and punch when necessary.
Pearson made a little quip after the game by saying: "At least he was visible." Make of that what you will...
Leading by example
I'll keep banging on the Matty James drum. A player whose performance often get overlooked because he's not the most fashionable of midfielders around.
What he lacks in pace and technical ability he makes up for in his ability to shield a defence and keep City in possession. Apart from Tomas Kalas, James has the best passing percentage record (84.8) in the squad.
Last night he constantly dropped deep to collect the ball from O'Leary or Klose - a role that probably wouldn't have been so evident had Naismith been on the field. Therefore it's pretty unsurprising that he made the most passes in a City shirt.
One of those proved to be a real moment of quality to get City on their way. He played a superb pass over the top to Wells which allowed the striker the time and space to get his cross away for Williams' strike.
Being handed the captain's armband, he was a leader in the pack. After the game against Millwall when City's players headed for the tunnel down and defeated, he stood at the entrance, encouraging them to keep their heads up.
That respect off the pitch resonates on it too and you only have to look at the difference in performances and results when he's out injured. In the 10 games he has missed through injury, City have lost six of them.
They've lost three games in the eight he has featured in, however those defeats came against Hull, Norwich and Burnley. All matches that City arguably felt were unjust.
"I thought he was excellent and he can pass a ball," Pearson said. "The pass for Wells' run looked simple but it was a really clever ball. Nahki to Joe and I wouldn't expect him to pop up there but he did."
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