Have you ever witnessed a more one sided game in all your life? I don't think I have in my reasonably short 27 years of it. For around 70 minutes of the game, City had about 86% of possession. It ended with 78% possession, 28 attempts on goal.
City barely had to get out of second gear as Blackburn came with the sole intention of limiting the number of goals City scored. Yakubu cut a lonely figure as the ball was often hoofed in his direction with either Kompany or Lescott waiting to take it back from him.
If there is one negative to take away from the game, it's that despite having 28 shots on goal, only 9 were actually on target. Mancini will no doubt be unhappy with this despite the overall performance. In tougher games, less than a 30% hit rate could cost City.
The shots that City did have on target (apart from the goals) generally brought pretty good saves out of Paul Robinson, who is said to be reconsidering his international retirement. I'm not entirely sure why though, as he still wont be playing ahead of Joe Hart.
Robinson had to make a fine save very early in the game with barely a minute gone. Silva put through Johnson making a run on the wing who then whipped in a low cross which found. Balotelli. Mario's first time shot towards the bottom corner was parried away though.
Silva was causing all sorts of problems on the edge of the box, keeping the ball close to him, waiting for a teammate to make a run, and almost always finding them.
Zabaleta and Kolarov were chosen as the full-backs for this game and they both played admirably, with Aleks getting man of the match. Both provided the width that was required to get behind the Blackburn defence out wide and each put in a number of good crosses.
It was once again Silva who played the ball into space for one of the full-backs in the 30th minute, this time Kolarov. The cross was driven into low into the box and once again found Balotelli who had drifted into space between defenders. Mario struck the ball across the keeper who could only watch it fly past him into the back of the net.
Balotelli unveiled another message on his under armour, declaring his love for his girlfriend, Raffaella Fico. He had learnt his lesson though and only lifted the shirt high enough to see the message instead of pulling it over his head, avoiding an unnecessary booking.
Kompany nearly made it 2-0 6 minutes later when a corner came towards the near post. Vinnie peeled away from his marker, and in a move not dissimilar to Mancini's famous back-heeled goal during his playing days, clipped the ball towards goal. Once again, Robinson was equal to it and Yaya put the rebound wide of the goal.
City came close again seconds before half time. Balotelli hit a 40 yard pass with the outside of his right boot which Aguero had to chase. And despite having 2 defenders around him and receiving a push in the back, Aguero's tenacity got him to the ball before either of them. It was unlucky that his shot across goal went wide of the target.
Sergio made it 2-0 just 6 minutes into the 2nd half after another City corner. Robinson parried away the initial ball into the box, but it fell right in front of Aguero who fired it into the net.
Dzeko came on for Balotelli on 79 minutes and managed to get himself on the score sheet after only 2 minutes on the pitch. Kolarov again the provider after collecting the ball from substitute Pizarro, crossed the ball into the box and into the path of an oncoming Dzeko. His header powered low to the ground and beat Robinson with ease.
Joe Hart was required just the once in time added on. Yakubu hit a tame shot from outside the 18 yard box to mark Blackburn's only shot on target in 94 minutes of football. Hart easily collected it down at his left.
It has to be mentioned that Yaya was magnificent. With Blackburn rarely attacking, Yaya was able to pass the ball almost at will, completing 101 of his 103 passes. He hit several long range passes that found the target with pin-point accuracy, one of his outstanding qualities as a player. And when he did stride forward, Blackburn simply didn't know what to do. It is hoped that the injury that saw him limp off the pitch 5 minutes from the end isn't serious.
Balotelli also has a great game, showing fantastic attitude throughout. Pizarro looks like he's been with City for years, such is his quality of passing and ability to read the game as though he's looking at it from above. I'm certainly wanting to see more of him before the season ends as he looks a quality signing.
With Tevez returning to training, many fans will no doubt be pleased that Aguero, Balotelli and Dzeko are all back in scoring form and looking likely to keep Tevez out of contention of even an appearance on the bench. It wouldn't surprise me if after all that has happened Mancini isn't happy for the same reasons, if only behind closed doors.
How on earth did City manage to lose that game? It was the kind of end to the game that City fans of a certain standing will have been fearing, virtually the last kick of the game from a goal that was offside.
That's the way City have generally gone about their business for more years than I care to remember. In previous years fans would have just laughed it off as 'typical City', but with the squad City now have and the money that has been spent it's more difficult to accept results like that when there is so much to play for. Still, it's something we have to do. Perhaps not laugh it off, but accept the result and move on.
City had round 60% possession of the ball, 10 corners, and 25 attempts on goal. Sunderland had their backs to the wall on a number of occasions and played almost entirely on the break which is something City are going to have to quickly learn to overcome if they are to continue on their title challenge.
Mancini was clearly unimpressed that the opportunity to go 3 points clear wasn't taken as several players simply did not perform up to the required standard that Roberto has come to expect from his players despite the match stats. In fact Mancini was so unhappy he left the touchline and headed down the tunnel after the goal was conceded and before the game ended. He looked like a man who had been let down in a big way.
Most of the players in question are those that have had to watch from the sidelines in recent weeks and you would have thought they would have grabbed the chance with both hands, but that didn't happen. The passing in the final third of the pitch was pretty poor almost throughout the 90 minutes and it got worse the closer to goal it got.
Yaya, Nasri, Johnson, Kolarov and Kompany were all guilty of playing the ball into the box with little to no conviction or purpose. Dzeko's passing was pretty bad throughout too, and unfortunately his shooting was even worse. 1/3 of his passes were wayward and only 1 of his 10 shots were on target.
One player who can hold his head high despite the defeat is Gareth Barry who was as dependable as ever. Despite losing, Kompany and Lescott also played well defensively overall.
I'm not sure I can recall feeling this disappointed about a result in the last 12 months or so, and we're still top of the league! Perhaps the result against Everton last December was as close to the same frustration many have exhibited after this result. I suppose that's an indication of just how far City have come in the last 3 years.
City may well be going through the sticky patch that all teams go through at some point in the season, although the results themselves other than this one against Sunderland haven't actually been that bad. A loss at Stamford Bridge, a draw at the Hawthorns and two wins at home isn't too much to be worried about at this point.
A big kick up the backside is needed after this performance before Liverpool in 2 days, and some players will be kicking themselves as they have missed an opportunity to really show their worth to the squad today. Plenty of games are coming up though in the next couple of months so they will get another chance. Lets hope they take it.
In brief summary of the game it was a story of poor passing in the final third, extremely poor finishing from all involved, some good defending from Sunderland and an offside goal that stole the 3 points at the death. I probably should have put that first so you didn't have to read all of the above. It'd have saved a minute or two of your time anyway.
Thankfully, most other teams in the title and top 4 challenges also slipped up this week. Manchester United lost at home to Blackburn, Chelsea lost at home to Aston Villa, and Spurs drew away to Swansea. Only Liverpool and Arsenal picked up 3 points so it's not all bad.
City kick off the new year travelling North East to Sunderland who it's fair to say haven't really been up to scratch so far this season. Hence the sacking of Steve Bruce and the hiring of Martin O'Neill.
Since taking charge of Sunderland on the 5th of December, the fortunes of the Club appear to be looking a little better. However the points they have picked up are against those around them in the table and they lost away to Spurs, which isn't all that bad given Spurs' current form.
Where they might be in the table had they held onto Darren Bent last January and Assamoah Gyan is anyone's guess, but the fact that Sebastian Larsson is their current top scorer tells a story itself. That's not a slur on Larsson at all, and he is definitely going to be a goal threat for the defence to watch out for. But the fact that Larsson is a midfielder tells you they haven't managed to replace the threat that Bent and Gyan posed in front of goal. In all honesty, Niklas Bendtner wasn't ever going to be the answer to the loss of those two players.
It will be interesting to see how O'Neill deploys his midfield as this is where a game against City is really won or lost. Playing a defensive 6-3-1 like Stoke certainly isn't the answer as this gives City's midfield far too much space and time to look for the right pass. West Brom on the other hand, although once again playing defensively, played with 2 close banks of 4 which limited the amount of space for players like Silva to thread that killer ball into.
That hasn't always worked for teams as we've seen, but it certainly makes it more difficult for City to break through, and I suspect that may be how O'Neill will look to thwart City's advances on Sunday.
As for City, I fully expect Mancini to field a very different team to the one that started against West Brom. Why? Because City play host to Liverpool just 2 days later. Liverpool will also have had an extra 48 hours rest so it will be up to Mancini to try and keep the '1st' 11 as fresh as possible.
The 2 main headaches will be the full-back and central midfield positions. At the time of writing this there is no news on the fitness of Micah Richards or Aleks Kolarov. If both are fit to play I suspect Aleks will play at left-back and Zaba will continue to play on the right. This being with the Liverpool game in mind of course where Richards and Clichy would start.
As regards to the midfield issue, does Gareth Barry start against Sunderland after only being used as a sub against West Brom? Or does he sit on the bench again and be fully fit to face Liverpool? I know this wont be popular with a lot of the newer City support, I'd rather him play against Liverpool as he has been one of, if no the most consistent performer in the entire squad since the start of last season. My thoughts on his contribution will have to wait for now though.
If I was pushed to make a decision on who will start in the centre I'd go for De Jong and possibly Abdul Razak. Mancini is going to want Barry and Yaya fit to face Liverpool, and I've simply no idea what is happening with Owen Hargreaves. A recall to action is in order for Edin Dzeko, after missing out on his last chance through a late ankle injury. As mentioned in previous articles, he is due a few goals as he seems to score in fits and starts. Although he is getting less opportunity at the moment due to the ever increasing contributions of Mario Balotelli.
I suspect this will be quite a tough game, especially with the number of changes we might see to the starting 11. Even so, City have enough ability to win and keep another clean sheet. Whether that happens, we'll find out on Sunday.
Another big game ahead as Arsenal travel up from London to the Etihad Stadium. The media have taken delight in declaring City's season is crumbling after falling out of the Champions League and suffering their first domestic defeat against Chelsea. All I will say to that is "pffft, get a grip and find something interesting to write about".
Arsene Wenger's side haven't exactly got off to a flying start to the season after selling 3 very important players over the summer. Their defensive record is quite shocking overall, conceding more goals than anyone in the top 7 teams.
This poor record is partly down to their complete and utter capitulation to Manchester United earlier on in the season, but they have only conceded 2 in their last 5 Premier League games. However, their numbers at the back have taken a serious hit and are without a recognised full-back on either side of the pitch.
Unsurprisingly I would say their main threat is Robin van Persie. RVP has almost single handedly kept the Gunners in the top half of the table, scoring 15 or the team's 31 league goals. And they said City relied too much on Tevez last season! I've not heard much (anything) about how van Persie has been carrying the squad from the media, and you wont do either.
Given RVP's goal scoring form, it is a little concerning that City haven't kept a clean sheet for 8 consecutive league games. The absence of Nigel De Jong has certainly showed this season as Mancini has opted for the combination of Barry and Toure in the middle rather than Barry and De Jong with Toure further up the pitch.
On the plus side of this though it has obviously enabled City to be more adventurous despite using the exact same formation as last season as we now have more quality attacking players to choose from. There can be no denying that City's ability going forward has more than made up for less cover at the back.
Talking of cover at the back, Micah Richards is set to return at right-back which is a big boost to the squad. Pablo Zabaleta is likely to move over to the left of defence as Kolarov is still recovering from injury and Clichy is suspended. Other than that, there are no injury concerns at this time.
City are once again favourites with the bookies to come out on top, and despite Arsenal slowly getting themselves back into top form and City's little blip in the league I'd have to agree with them. Arsenal will come and play football, there will be no buses parked in front of their goal. This, coupled with their makeshift defence, could play right into City's strength on the break.
City barely had to get out of second gear as Blackburn came with the sole intention of limiting the number of goals City scored. Yakubu cut a lonely figure as the ball was often hoofed in his direction with either Kompany or Lescott waiting to take it back from him. 
It was once again Silva who played the ball into space for one of the full-backs in the 30th minute, this time Kolarov. The cross was driven into low into the box and once again found Balotelli who had drifted into space between defenders. Mario struck the ball across the keeper who could only watch it fly past him into the back of the net. 
Kompany nearly made it 2-0 6 minutes later when a corner came towards the near post. Vinnie peeled away from his marker, and in a move not dissimilar to Mancini's famous back-heeled goal during his playing days, clipped the ball towards goal. Once again, Robinson was equal to it and Yaya put the rebound wide of the goal. 
Dzeko came on for Balotelli on 79 minutes and managed to get himself on the score sheet after only 2 minutes on the pitch. Kolarov again the provider after collecting the ball from substitute Pizarro, crossed the ball into the box and into the path of an oncoming Dzeko. His header powered low to the ground and beat Robinson with ease. 
