Manchester City v Blackburn Rovers: Post-match thoughts

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.


Twitter: @MikeWalshMCFC or @mcfcDSLeftFoot
Facebook: David Silva's Left Foot

FC Porto v Manchester City: post match thoughts.

Although the media reaction to the game has been fairly muted and instead has focused on other incidents during the match, City's victory over Porto should not be under-appreciated by the fans.

Make no mistake about it, Porto are no mugs and they rarely lose at home in any competition. In fact before facing City, they had only ever lost once on home soil to English opposition. Let's not forget that Porto are also the current holders of the Europa League and won the Champions League in 2004.

City fans may have been left rolling their eyes after realising that the referee was the same one that sent Balotelli off in their last Europa League game and let Dynamo Kiev's time wasting and play acting go largely unpunished. But hey, we're getting used to this being screwed over malarkey, aren't we? Thankfully it has rarely affected the final result in the league.

The first half saw City rather frustrated as they made several good chances which were seen saved by the Porto keeper, Helton (or Elton) if you were watching on ITV1. Balotelli, Richards and Nasri all had shots that were destined for the back of the net, saved by the Brazilian.

Despite City creating the better chances, it was Porto who took the lead within half an hour when Hulk had space for a cross on the left and whipped the ball in with a low drive. Verela got to it first after losing Clichy and prodded the ball home from 6 yards. Hart did make contact with it but not enough to turn it away from goal.

Although City were 1-0 down at the break, due to the chances that had already been created, you were still positive that City could get themselves back into this game. On 55 minutes, City did exactly that with a slice of luck that has been sorely missing of late.

Yaya, stood just inside the Porto half, lofted the ball into the box which was put into the net by Pereira (perhaps the most naturally miserable looking person on the planet), due to some fine pressuring by Balotelli.

Sergio Aguero came off the bench and replaced Balotelli on 77 minutes and it was him who sealed the victory for City 7 minutes later, Yaya Toure once again the provider. The big Ivorian bursting into the box after being put through by Nasri, unselfishly knocking the ball square to Aguero who could not miss.

It was a performance and comeback to be proud of, City played quite well throughout and limited Porto to very few decent chances despite the number of shots they actually had. Even the £80m forward, Hulk, looked more like the incredible sulk. He came up against Richards, Kompany and Lescott during the 90 minutes and barring his first-touch cross in the first half, he made very little impact on the game. The impact on the ground was considerably greater as he spent a lot of time hitting it after falling over all too easily.

Lescott once again proved his credentials and hardly put a foot wrong, he certainly got my vote for man of the match. After Mancini's stern words in the last couple of weeks, Balotelli also put in a very professional performance and Mancini will be hoping he stays that way until the end of the season. In fact although it couldn't be said in the first half, at the end of the 90 minutes, I'm not sure anyone had a particularly bad game overall.

Unfortunately it took a rather unsavoury incident for City to get a real headline from this game. The Club have put an official complaint in after both Mario Balotelli and Yaya Toure reported racist chanting from a section of Porto fans.

Interviewed after the game, Yaya said he 'heard something' but didn't state what it was but Porto officials instantly denied such claims before actually looking into them.

The official Porto stance on it is that “nothing abnormal” had taken place and that “No one noticed anything strange, not even the Uefa delegates that worked closely with Porto during the match.”

Rui Cerqueira (Porto's spokesmen) then went on to embarrassingly describe what he felt was a misunderstanding. He said that Porto fans were actually chanting "Hulk, Hulk, Hulk" and City fans were chanting "Kun, Kun, Kun."

I think we all knew this was total rubbish. City fans are well known for chanting "Kun, Kun, Kun" aren't we? Especially when Mario is on the ball and Aguero is on the bench. Last I heard, we chant "Sergio, Sergio" but that may just be my dodgy hearing.

Perhaps unfortunately for Rui and Porto, video footage of at least one incident that has been posted on Youtube showing a section of Porto fans making monkey sounds when Balotelli failed to score in the first half. There were several incidents reported at the end of 90 minutes.

There can be no excusing this kind of behaviour. City were not saying all Porto fans are racist, but it is clear that a section of them clearly are and picked out Balotelli for treatment. If UEFA fail to act on this, especially after video evidence has come to light, then they are sending the wrong message to Clubs and fans throughout Europe.

City are now in a very strong position going into the 2nd leg at the Etihad Stadium, a 2-1 lead with both goals coming away from home. There is still a job to do, but City are strong favourites to head into the round of 16.



Twitter: @MikeWalshMCFC or @mcfcDSLeftFoot
Facebook: David Silva's Left Foot

Manchester City v Liverpool: Post Match

I said it would be one of the toughest games of the season and despite the score I think it was. Playing a game against one of the top teams in the country only 2 days after playing another game was never going to be a walk in the park.

City never really got into any sort of rhythm at any point in the 90 minutes and the possession and passing stats show just that as Liverpool had around 2/3 of it with City completing only 77% of their passes. Going down to 10 men after 73 minutes didn't help but the pattern had already been set. It was never a 2nd yellow either.

Mike Jones is just another in a line of referees who don't appear to be up to the standard required of a Premier League official. Gareth Barry received 2 yellow cards and was given his marching orders, while Adam and Skrtel was free to do pretty much whatever they like for the majority of the game. Even Skrtel giving away a penalty straight after Barry got sent off couldn't get Mike Jones to dip his hand in his pocket to give Liverpool a card after Glenn Johnson's solitary 55th minute booking for quite clearly pulling back Aguero.

I have complained about City's poor finishing in their recent few games as a number of good chances have gone begging, but imagine how Liverpool fans feel? They've had to put up with it from the very start of the season and now Liverpool and Suarez have accepted the ban (if not his guilt) the task of converting the majority of chances falls to Andy Carroll.

Unfortunately for Liverpool, Carroll is almost totally one dimensional, simply asking for the ball to be whipped into the box for him to try and stick his head onto. That was the plan against City anyway. Unfortunately again for Liverpool is that they came up against a Vincent Kompany that has regained his best form in recent weeks and 10 of Kompany's 14 clearances came from crosses aimed at Carroll. In fact, Carroll may as well have not been on the pitch for all he offered. Kompany on the other hand was awarded man of the match.

Although not the kind of game people have come to expect from City, it was a great defensive display with everyone mucking in. Even the forwards stuck a few tackles in albeit with rather mixed results, they are forwards after all. A lot of players had to put a shift in, and although it was rarely spectacular it was full of grit and determination. Not exactly the performance you would expect from a group of over payed, uninterested mercenaries on a cold and wet Manchester evening.

City did concede more chances than they would have liked but Joe Hart rarely looked out of his comfort zone as he put in another commanding performance. The players in front of him handled themselves well, and Joe mopped up any mistakes they did make.

Yaya had possibly his best performance of the season as he gave City a driving force on the counter attack on a number of occasions, one surge won the penalty after going down to 10 men which James Milner converted His goal to make it 2-0 was my goal of the match. It was a fantastic header that went in off the bar, not only for how it went in, but because he was moving backwards at the times and managed to get decent power on it as well as direction.

Aguero's opportunistic shot from the edge of the box was also quite stunning as he hit the ball with enough top spin which made the ball dip very quickly in front of Pepe Reina. The Spanish keeper, who has had a very good season so far, couldn't get down quick enough and the ball shot underneath him into the ball of the net.

All in all it was a solid performance from the squad and full of the determination that was required to silence the growing number of critics all too ready to write off City's season. City proved they can grind out results despite not playing particularly well. I say 'grind out results' but 3-0 isn't really what I'd call a close result. So much for City's season falling apart eh?




Twitter: @MikeWalsh1880 or @mcfcDSLeftFoot
Facebook: David Silva's Left Foot

Sunderland v Manchester City: Post Match

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.




Twitter: @MikeWalsh1880
Facebook: David Silva's Left Foot

West Bromwich Albion v Manchester City: Post Match

0-0 was not the result anyone quite expected, but that's how it ended at the final whistle. After saying I hope West Brom have a go but suspected they wouldn't, I wasn't surprised when they didn't. But that result was certainly a positive one for West Brom and their main aim of not getting beat was achieved. 

City were left ruing a couple of fine chances that went begging which would have opened the game up and played into City's strengths. In the majority of previous games these chances haven't mattered as City have gone on to score several goals anyway, but not in this game. 

The first of these chances fell to David Silva on 24 minutes. Toure gave the ball away outside West Brom's 18 yard box, but as the Baggies played the ball forward Kompany intercepted the ball and hit a wonderfully weighted pass to Aguero who then put it on a plate for Silva in the middle of the box. Silva, with plenty of space, hoofed the ball over the bar. 

City had the ball in the net 10 minutes later but Balotelli's shot was flagged offside. The ball was initially played to Aguero who was marginally offside, however Aguero never touched the ball as a defender got to it first. The ball then looped to Balotelli who then volleyed it into the back of the net. As the ball was played initially, Balo was onside.

It's another instance of the offside rule either being misunderstood or mis-applied with all this first phase, second phase nonsense. It's high time it was simplified and cleared up once and for all. But anyway...

Balotelli came close to scoring in the 53rd minute. After receiving the ball from Clichy on the left wing, Mario struck a curling shot from 25 yards which beat the keeper but unfortunately for City, it didn't beat the cross bar. 

Perhaps City's best chance of the game came just after an hour as the ball was cleared from another City attack, Clichy lofted the ball to James Milner who headed it back into the box. The ball fell for Aguero who had the opportunity to toe poke it into the net but hit it wide from 7 yards out. Sergio actually thought he was offside as he hadn't seen the defender behind him playing him onside as the ball was played. Even so, as I was taught in school, always play to the whistle.

You have to give some credit to West Brom though, they're the first domestic team to stop City scoring so far this season. They created a few chances for themselves too, unlike the hapless Stoke in game prior to this.

The real reason as to why City didn't score (other than the goal that was given offside) is that City didn't have enough chances on target. Out of the 17 shots, only 4 were heading for the back of the net. Not a very good day for City on the attacking front and Mancini will have to watch for complacency setting in and weed it out should it appear. 

On the plus side though, it's the 3rd clean sheet in a row. Although I doubt anyone will be mentioning this despite creaming themselves over United's clean sheets on so long ago. 

Just short of the half way point of the season with 18 games played, City are still top of the table with a superior goal difference to Manchester United. City have also already played United, Liverpool, Spurs, and Chelsea away from home.The only team in the title and top 4 hunt that City have yet to play away is Arsenal. Everyone else has to come to the Etihad stadium where City haven't lost for over a year.

Strap yourselves in for one hell of a ride.






Twitter: @MikeWalsh1880
Facebook: David Silva's Left Foot

Chelsea v Manchester City: Post Match

I'm not sure I can remember the last time so many people rejoiced over a Manchester City loss. Times are changing for sure. It was certainly an exciting game to watch although the end result wasn't what any City fan wanted to see.  

It all started so well on a very wet and windy night at Stamford Bridge when Aguero received the ball just inside the Chelsea half, found his way out of a dead end and threaded a perfect ball to Balotelli who's perfectly timed run gave him the space to run at the goal with Ivanovic struggling to catch up. He still had a lot of work to do though as Cech came out to meet him and Ivanovic tried to put in a challenge from behind. Mario oozed pure class by effortlessly easing the ball around Cech and neatly slotted the ball into the back of the net. Less than 2 minutes on the clock and City were already 0-1 up at Stamford Bridge.

City totally dominated the next 30 minutes with some exquisite one-touch passing which left Chelsea chasing shadows for the most part. Even when they didn't have the ball they gave Chelsea little room to breathe, closing down players quickly and forcing errors. However, City failed to capitalise on some very good chances as well as having a very good penalty shout turned down by Clattenburg.

Silva jinked his way into the penalty area, ending up on the deck as he passed Bosingwa who stuck out a leg and made contact with Silva's knee. Clattenburg waved play on. How he could just wave play on is a mystery as the call had to be either a penalty to City or a yellow card to Silva for diving if Clattenburg felt it wasn't a penalty.

Chelsea managed to find their way back into the game against the run of play after 34 minutes when Daniel Sturridge managed to get around Gael Clichy and whip in a cross which was met by Raul Meireles. It was good movement by Meireles although the defending could, and should have been better. Zabaleta could have come closer to him (although he would have left the far post unguarded) and Yaya Toure stopped tracking him the closer he got to goal.

Meireles was lucky to still be on the pitch after that as he committed a studs high challenge either side of that goal. First he caught Silva and the calf after he was 2nd to the ball and then caught Zabaleta's knee in very similar circumstances. Only one of these was punished with a card, yet both were yellow card offences. Both sides returned to the dressing rooms with 11 men and all to play for at half time.

Things took a turn for the worse for City after the restart as Gael Clichy was booked for pulling back Sturridge just inside City's own half. A needless foul given Clichy's pace and the position of other players. He then received a second yellow 11 minutes later after a rash challenge on Ramires, leaving City with 10 men for the next half an hour.

To their credit, City defended well and limited Chelsea's chances despite the lion's share of possession they now had. It wasn't until the 81st minute that Chelsea managed to gain the lead through a Frank Lampard penalty. Daniel Sturridge's shot from just inside the 18 yard box hit Joleon Lescott's arm as he dived to block the ball. It wasn't intentional by any stretch of the imagination, but his arms were high and a penalty was given.

City put up a good fight and still managed to cause Chelsea some problems to the point that it looked as though Chelsea had the man sent off for a short spell, but it wasn't to be. Chelsea's players and staff rejoiced like they'd just secured the quadruple, as did several of SKY's commentary staff.

City have now played Spurs, United, Liverpool and Chelsea away from home, winning 2 drawing 1 and losing 1. 7 points away from home to 4 of the 5 closest title challengers is nothing to be sniffed at. Although there were a couple of disappointing performances from some players last night, the team as a whole can hold its head up high despite the defeat.

Cue the 'resurgent Chelsea' and 'the wheels falling off at City after crashing out of the Champions League' comments from people who either didn't watch the game or should really know better.

Arsenal visit the Etihad on Sunday. Although they're looking good in attack, their depleted defence may just take a beasting after the disappointment of the result last night.




Twitter: @MikeWalsh1880
Facebook: David Silva's Left Foot