Following a two week break City return to action on Wearside, hoping the confidence boosting win over Chelsea will inspire another match winning performance. With their batteries recharged, Roberto Mancini’s team will also be looking to capitalise on Sunderland’s poor form that was only lifted by the midweek win over Bolton.
It’s hard to argue against an unchanged side for City. Patrick Vieira is available again following his 3 match ban, though most fans will be dismayed to see him start the match. If we’re looking to close the game out, then bringing the veteran on from the bench would make a better way of re-introducing him to the pace of the Premier League.
If Mancini want’s to employ a more attacking formation than that at Chelsea, he could bring in Ireland to play behind Tevez, probably at the expense of Zabaleta. It will be interesting to see if Wright-Phillips or Adam Johnson gets to start on the right wing.
“Our family are Sunderland fans – not so much my mum and dad, but aunties and uncles and cousins. They will all be at the game but they’ll be sitting in the Sunderland end.
“Lots of my friends are Sunderland fans too. Most people at school were Sunderland supporters – a few were Newcastle and nobody was Boro! I’m sure I’ll be getting plenty of texts!”
It’s been an interesting couple of weeks for Shaun, with a couple of excellent cameo appearances for City and England, followed by Ian Wright’s unhelpful comments on his contract talks. At least that didn’t appear to be getting him down on his Miami mini-break with Wayne and Micah.
As Sunderland are likely to play the physically imposing Jones and Bent in attack, it makes sense to continue with Kompany and Lescott in the centre of defence, even if Kolo Toure is now fully fit.
The centre of the Sunderland midfield will be weakened by the suspended Cana, while Cattermole is also struggling with a hamstring strain. Zenden may be required to play in the centre of midfield. If that’s the case, City should be confident of dominating this crucial area.
The key will be in getting sufficient support to Tevez. In all the games under Mancini there have been periods when the midfield has sat deep, leaving the forwards isolated. To much of this and we’re in danger of drawing or losing a game we should be looking to win.
With Darren Bent enjoying an excellent season and Kenwyne Jones having one of his better games on Tuesday, there’s a clear danger of Sunderland claiming a goal. Away from home, City are currently at their best when we strike first, then hit the opposition on the break. The Wolves and Chelsea games are the best examples.
Seeing Liverpool lose at Wigan following our win over Chelsea should have given everyone the extra belief required to push on for a Champions League place. It’s now down to the manager and team to show it, and record back-to-back away victories.
Blue Days line-up: Given, Richards, Bridge, Lescott, Kompany, de Jong, Barry, A Johnson, Bellamy, Ireland, Tevez.
Goals: Lampard 41, 90 (pen) for Chelsea. Tevez 45+1, 76 (pen), Bellamy 51 , 87 for City.
Team Bridge triumphed over John Terry’s Chelsea thanks to determined defending, a return to form for Craig Bellamy and a return to the side by our new talisman, Carlos Tevez. This was a stunning result, the best of the season so far, and one to restore belief in our Champions League quest.
Mancini sprung no great surprises in the starting eleven. Kompany returned to the back four, in the central defensive pairing with Lescott which most fans seem to agree is our best. There’s more sympathy for Nedum Onuoha than Kolo Toure, who were both on the bench.
Zabaleta was again in central midfield to further stifle Chelsea, alongside de Jong and Barry. After 120 minutes at Stoke on Wednesday, it was a slight surprise to see Bellamy start the game. Doubts about Carlos Tevez’s fitness proved groundless in the extreme.
After the great non-handshake had passed, the game could start and City continued from where they had left off against Liverpool. Concentration and not conceding were the order of the day. Unfortunately Chelsea’s attacking options aren’t so easy to subdue, and half-chances were created.
Kompany and Lescott stood up to Drogba and it was the roaming Anelka who caused the most problems. With a couple of clumsy challenges, Micah Richards looked a little jaded from the mid-week exertions.
Bellamy and Johnson weren’t pushing forward to test the Chelsea back-line, though Tevez was doing his best. When he did get the ball, Johnson was quickly crowded out and seemed to struggle for his footing on a poor pitch.
Just when it looked like we were going to get through to half-time, Frank Lampard’s movement caught out Kompany for what looked like a crucial breakthrough. Up till this point we hadn’t looked like achieving four shots, let alone four goals.
Tevez and the Chelsea defence had other ideas. Chelsea looked set to score a second before Bridge hoofed it clear to set Tevez on his merry way, courtesy of Mikel’s not so clever header. The movement of Tevez towards, then away from Mikel forced his error.
From then on Carvalho, Terry and Hilario took it in turns to be outwitted. The way the ball trickled over the line looked particularly excruciating from a Chelsea perspective. In native American parlance it could be said El Apache had triumphed over the Mohican of Terry.
With the home side still in shock, Lescott’s free header from a Bellamy free-kick nearly had us going in ahead at the break – which would have constituted larceny on the grandest scale.
If the first forty minutes were instantly forgettable, then the second half was one to be savoured for a long time to come. Chelsea must have considered our first goal an aberration as they piled forward to regain the lead. That can be the only reason for leaving just one defender and Mikel back when City broke for our second.
One positive that was overlooked from the Stoke match on Wednesday was Bellamy getting on the scoresheet. His attacking play has been relatively poor of late and the goals had dried up. Maybe, the Stoke goal restored his confidence as he brought back memories of his second at Old Trafford.
Once again he sprinted down the flank before slotting the ball into the net. This time putting the ball across the keeper rather than rounding him. It was equally sweet.
Chelsea were stunned but unlikely to throw the towel in. We looked all set to grind our way to victory so it was pleasant surprise to see Barry winning the ball high up the pitch and driving into the Chelsea area.
The foul for the penalty bordered on comical. Belletti may claim he didn’t realise just how slow Barry was as he ran into the back of the England man. Like Hamann before him, our Gareth used his years of experience to position himself between opponent and ball, and duly went to ground to make the referee’s job as easy as possible.
Tevez broke with his habit of slamming the penalty down the middle and slammed it into the corner instead. Even Bridge was dragged into the celebration.
Wayne, whose leg had been heavily strapped from the start, departed shortly afterwards and Mancini surprisingly brought on Santa Cruz. Sylvinho would have been the more obvious replacement, so Mancini was making a tactical shift here.
With Zabaleta dropping to left-back we switched to a 4-4-2, albeit with Tevez sitting deeper. Rather than simply defend our way through to full-time, we were looking to stretch Chelsea and give them more to think about defensively. It was a statement of more progressive tactics by Mancini in the second half.
Michael Ballack did his best to ease our nerves with a reckless challenge on Tevez that saw him pick up a second yellow. Tevez then released Wright-Phillips, who did the simple things correctly in sprinting into the area and crossing for Bellamy to tap home.
Shaun looked sharp and benefitted from coming on when there was space to exploit, in contrast to Johnson who had been given precious little room to manouvre. Having these two players vying for the right-wing slot is a welcome bit of competition within the squad.
Chelsea continued to pile forward as best they could, with Anelka continuing to cause problems. His penalty “foul” was as soft as that for Barry, but fortunately it came to late to matter. It’s credit to Chelsea’s attack that at no point were we ever entirely comfortable. The sight of Given berating his team-mates till the last told us as much.
“I know what JT is like and nothing surprises me about it, so I’m not going to comment on that. I think everybody in football knows what the guy is like, but that’s off the field.
“On it he’s an outstanding player. He’s a great captain for Chelsea. It’s always going to be difficult when you play him and his team.”
With attention focussed on Wayne Bridge, the truly inspirational performance came from Tevez who had only flown in to London from Argentina the day before. He constantly took the game to Chelsea and seemed to inspire those around him – Bellamy in particular.
El Apache plays the lone striker role remarkably well for someone lacking height and having no great pace. To often such a player can be the victim of little professional fouls from the likes of Terry and Carvalho and the referee deserves credit for spotting most of them.
Fabio Capello may also have noted the best England defender on show was Joleon Lescott. With Rio’s back troubles, Joleon could be quietly playing his way into England’s starting 11 for the World Cup.
Ultimately the difference in this match lay in City’s defence being committed and focused all game, whereas Ancelotti’s back-line made a host of errors.
Given – Back to his best. Saves from Anelka were the highlight, but equally important was his ability to hold on to shots and keep the defence focussed. 8
Richards – Possibly feeling the effects of 120 minutes against Stoke, Micah made a few clumsy tackles and struggled to get to grips with Anelka. Grew stronger as the game wore on. 6
Kompany – A single mistake in failing to track Lampard for the first goal. Otherwise excellent, keeping out Drogba and co for lengthy periods. 8
Lescott – Another who stood strong with a backs to the wall performance. All the attention was on other England defenders, but Joleon was the best on show. 8
Bridge – No surprise that once the game was under way, Wayne simply got on with the job. A much better showing than against Stoke with his improved positional sense under Mancini contributing to a solid back line. 7
De Jong – Never as dominant as against Liverpool, but still did a terrific job in keeping Joe Cole and Lampard out. 8
Zabaleta – Thrown in as another midfielder destroyer, Pablo did well to survive a clash of heads with Drogba and gave Richards some valuable support. 8
Barry – Used his experience well. Good to see him getting into the opposition penalty area to win the penalty when we were already in the lead. 7
Johnson – Struggled with the pitch and a posse of Chelsea defenders whenever he had the ball in the first half. 6
Bellamy – A first half of defensive duty gave way to the dynamic counter-attacking we saw earlier in the season. Terrific to see him last the 90 minutes. 8
Tevez – Given the quality of the opposition and the fact he only landed in London on Friday, this was a stunning display. We have a talisman. 10
Subs:
Wright-Phillips – An excellently timed run and cross for the fourth was just what we wanted from Shaun. 8
Santa Cruz – Surprisingly brought on in place of Bridge. Helped occupy Chelsea defenders without doing anything spectacular. 5
Sylvinho – Fleeting appearance to see us through to full-time.
With our poor form, and a host of difficulties for the manager, a trip to Stamford Bridge is hardly the ideal fixture and few will be backing us to overturn recent history and get a result. Can a case be made for City to overturn expectations? Let’s have a go…
First the bad news round-up. Adebayor is out thanks to a ridiculous four match ban for an offence similar to one committed by Robert Huth in the same game that didn’t warrant a free-kick. Having played for 120 minutes on Wednesday, Bellamy’s knees are unlikely to take the strain of another 90 minutes.
Tevez may be back, but is unlikely to be 100% after a long-haul flight and a lack of proper training. Elsewhere up front, Santa Cruz still looks way short of full fitness, and Ireland is equally short of form. Having played extra-time with ten men, most of the team will be feeling the effects of three games in seven days. Oh, and everyone seems to be losing faith in the manager.
So where’s the cause for optimism? Chelsea also had a tough game in mid-week, with a trip to Italy thrown in. Important players will be missing in the form of Cech and Cole.
If Zhirkov is out, then they’ll be forced to field a makeshift left-back, who either Wright-Phillips or Johnson should be encouraged to attack. Further absentees could be Essien, Bosingwa, Alex and Belletti limiting their ability to rotate from Wednesday night.
All the attention will be on Wayne Bridge and it’s to be hoped he puts in a strong performance against John Terry and his former employers. Across the defence, we’re in good form and a trio of Lescott, Kompany and Richards shouldn’t be bullied by Drogba and co.
Zabaleta’s recent improvement could see him get a game, either at right-back or in midfield. Nigel de Jong and Adam Johnson should return to give some freshness to the side that lost on Wednesday. Presumably Gareth Barry will play and it’s to be hoped he has one of his more energetic games.
With Adebayor missing, Tevez is likely to be asked to play as a lone striker. His strength at holding off opponents has seem him surprisingly effective in this role, but he’ll need plenty of support against Terry and Carvalho.
The main concern is who else will play in midfield, and provide attacking support. Ireland will be fortunate to retain a starting place given his lack of form, yet there is no-one else who can play the role behind the striker. A big performance from the Irishman could make all the difference.
Wright-Phillips will hope to get a chance on the right-flank and his industry combined with the chance to show his old employers what he’s capable of, could also be valuable.
“We know it’s going to be a tough game. Chelsea have great qualities all over the pitch and we will have to be on top of our game.
“But we have already beaten them at home this season. I know it’s a different story going to Stamford Bridge, but I think it’s better to play in a big game after a huge disappointment.
“If we can bring the points back, it would give everyone a huge lift.”
Early kick-offs can lead to a subdued atmosphere, which would suit the tactician Mancini. In addition, the ‘big four’ can be vulnerable after a champions league fixture – look what happened to United at Everton last week.
Mancini will relish going up against his old foe Ancelotti, particularly after Stoke, and it will be interesting to see how he fares. Every neutral complained after last Sunday’s stalemate with Liverpool, but don’t be surprised to see Mancini employ similar tactics here.
If we keep it tight, restrict the opposition to a single shot and snatch a goal through Tevez, then City fans will be more than happy this time round.
The key things will be to avoid defending deep for long periods, getting forward to support Tevez and retaining possession. If we do that and maintain our defensive discipline, then maybe it’ll be a happier trip than most expect.
Blue Days line-up: Given, Richards, Bridge, Kompany, Lescott, de Jong, Barry, Ireland, Johnson, Wright-Phillips, Tevez.
Goals: Bellamy 81 for City. Kitson 79, Shawcross 95, Tuncay 99 for Stoke.
A failure to take chances saw City crash out of the FA Cup in extra-time, with the harsh dismissal of Emmanuel Adebayor by card happy Steve Bennett in the second period giving Stoke the advantage. The pressure will be turned up on Roberto Mancini even though he can hardly be blamed for the squandering of numerous chances.
The manager was true to his word in selecting a physically strong line-up – particularly at the back – to combat Stoke’s style. Micah Richards came in at right-back, and there was a real surprise with Nedum Onuoha coming in alongside Joleon Lescott, while Vincent Kompany moved into midfield.
The diminutive de Jong dropped to the bench, while Zabaleta added a competitive edge to the right flank. With Craig Bellamy on the left and Adebayor continuing his improved form, we were able to dominate the opening period.
It was a marked contrast to early siege of last week, with a subdued Stoke unable to get past Kompany, never mind our back-four. All that was required was for City to take their chances.
Barry missed an early one. Onuoha saw the ball land at his feet from a corner, but stabbed it wide. Adebayor played in both Ireland and Bellamy. Stevie took a first touch in his stride but then saw his shot blocked.
Bellamy had no excuses. With only Sorenson to beat, a poor first touch made for an easy save. The complete lack of form between Ireland and Bellamy became increasingly apparent as a promising start, crucially, wasn’t capitalised on. We could have had four by the interval, but went in with none.
Stoke could only get better, and during the second half they started lobbing trademark high balls into our box. The defence was holding firm, but our passing became very sloppy. Simply keeping the ball in play seemed to be beyond several players of supposedly superior technique.
As a consequence, Stoke were allowed to gain some momentum and the substitute Kitson duly scored after playing a one-two, with Bridge not getting tight enough.
Trouble appeared to be in the offing, but we responded almost immediately with Adebayor setting up Bellamy to rifle home. The Welshman’s celebrations, like his performance, seemed muted.
It was Adebayor’s sending-off which really provoked Craig and from then on he looked dangerous. Had he shown this fire in the first half we might well have been ahead and able to see out the tie.
The law really is an ass if Adebayor is banned for three matches. Had he seen red for a terrible challenge, then yes. For punching an opponent, yes. But some of the three match bans we see now are for trifling offences. It happened last season here to Wright-Phillips. Vieira’s flicked foot was inconsequential, deserving of a one match ban at most for retaliation.
With the game against Tottenham due to be rearranged we might not see the Togolese striker till March 29th! Just when he was looking good.
Later, we saw Huth put his arm across Bellamy in a more deliberate way than Adebayor did. The referee gave nothing. At the weekend Fuller stuck his boot into Jamie O’Hara’s groin with more aggression than Vieira showed, yet there was no ban for him. Did Tony Pulis ask for “parity” after these offences? The seemingly arbitrary nature of three match bans is infuriating.
Meanwhile, City comfortably saw out normal time, and in retrospect this was when they should have gone for a win. Unfortunately Santa Cruz was still looking off the pace so a cutting edge was absent. That the next goal went to Stoke therefore shouldn’t have been a surprise. It was still a disappointment.
As in the game at Eastlands, a Delap throw did for us and this time Given was clearly culpable – coming and failing to get the ball. Following on from his clanger at the Britannia Stadium last week, the Irishman is having a poor run.
The contrast between the attacking substitutes of Kitson and Tuncay, and our own Santa Cruz couldn’t have been greater, as the Turk matched his team-mate’s skill and hunger in claiming a well-taken goal. The way he slalomed round defenders and produced a finish was an object lesson to Wright-Phillips, Bellamy and Ireland.
Roque missed a golden chance to pull a goal back with seven minutes of extra time remaining, and there went any lingering hope.
“We had six or seven chances to score a goal up until Emmanuel was sent off.
“When a striker is being closely marked he wants to make space for himself and this kind of thing can happen – I thought it was a yellow card at the very worst.
“But football is a strange game because we didn’t score when we were on top and then something happens later that completely changes the game.”
To see this season’s hopes of silverware ended at the Britannia is bitterly disapointing and it’s difficult to remain objective. If we do then Mancini can’t be blamed for his selection and tactics going into this game. The defence was solid, moving Kompany into midfield was nearly a masterstroke, and we created enough chances to have the game wrapped up by half-time.
The defeat can be put down to a failure to take chances, a poor passage of play when our passing was woeful, and a refereeing decicion which showed we didn’t have “that bit of luck you need in the cup”. Having said that, we still failed to beat Stoke in three attempts and that doesn’t look good for Roberto.
Given – A critical error in coming out and failing to connect for the second goal. Everything else was ok, but in that moment our chance went. 5
Richards – A whole-hearted display where it was good to see him getting forward after the sending off. Unfortunately Micah’s ability in the final third didn’t match the enthusiasm to get there. 6
Bridge – Wasn’t tight enough on Kitson for the first goal and had a nightmare with his passing. 5
Onuoha – A surprise to see him back, and a welcome one. His calmness in the face of Stoke’s attacks wass a welcome contrast to Toure. 7
Zabaleta – A typically committed performance on the right of midfield before switching to left-back in place of Bridge. We know he’s not creative, but he did his job in keeping Stoke in check. 7
Lescott – Once again solid in defence. His return to the side and return to form shouldn’t be overlooked. 7
Kompany – Commanding in midfield during the early stages, when we should have killed the game. Gave his all throughout. 7
Ireland – Another disappointing showing. Failed to take a chance in the first half and wasn’t able to make any telling passes despite having the space to do so. 5
Barry – Another who missed a first-half chance and failed again to deliver telling passes when we needed them. 6
Adebayor – Beautifully played in both Bellamy and Irland during the first half, and came close to scoring himself with a long-range drive. Looked the man most likely for City until the referee intervened. 7
Bellamy – Biggest culprit of the first-half misses. Nothing was going right for him prior to scoring. Finally looked fired-up after Adebayor’s sending off. 6
Subs:
Wright-Phillips – Provided an attacking outlet down the right flank, but was another who ran the ball out of play with a frustrating frequency. Can hardly expect a pay rise with that habit. 6
Santa Cruz – Stoke subs, Kitson and Tuncay, came on looking hungry and scored. Roque on the other hand still looks off the pace – seven months into the season. Another who missed a good chance. 5
Sylvinho – Could give lessons in how to pass to a team-mate to some of our supposedly creative players.
With neither Mancini or Benitez willing to go for broke, Liverpool and City cancelled each other out in a hard fought draw where all the heroes were in defence. It resulted in one shot on target apiece with Adebayor forcing the harder save from Pepe Reina.
Adebayor also came closest to scoring on two other occasions; putting a header from a corner just over, and being tackled at the last by Skrtel on the one occasion he looked to have broken free from the Liverpool back line. This was not a game for the neutrals, yet for those who appreciate a hard fought tactical battle there was something to admire.
With both teams having lost the defensive frailties that plagued their early season form, this was always likely to be a tight affair. Here there were a couple of surprises in the defence selected by Mancini.
Early morning rumours of an injury to Toure saw Kompany restored to the side alongside Lescott. Zabaleta also returned in place of Richards. With all due respect to Kolo, this was the central defensive pairing that many were hoping to see and it didn’t disappoint.
Both in open play and set-pieces Vince and Joleon were dominant. Nigel de Jong looked happy to be seeing the ball on the ground again and was hugely influential in stopping Liverpool playing the ball through the middle. Gerrard was never able to influence the game as a result.
Mancini went for a more attacking midfield featuring Ireland in his favoured role, with Johnson starting on the left and Wright-Phillips on the right. Adebayor was the lone striker and he worked hard despite being constantly outnumbered. During the first half in particular, the Togolese was winning a lot of headers, but none quite fell for City to take maximum advantage.
Adam Johnson demonstrated his fine close control on both flanks, but also bore an unfortunate resemblance to Petrov on an off-day with his erratic deliveries from set-pieces. Gareth Barry used to take many an effective set-piece for Villa and maybe he should be given more opportunities at City.
After Liverpool had territorially dominated the early stages, City steadily came into the game with Johnson showing his skills. Ireland may not be enjoying his best form under Mancini, but he plays a vital role as an attacking midfielder in the absence of Tevez. The midfield had a much better balance, and it showed once we started taking the game to Liverpool.
In an attempt to further test Liverpool, Mancini switched Johnson and Wright-Phillips. Not for the first time this didn’t appear to work. Johnson may be ok on the right wing, but Wright-Phillips looked lost on the left and there was the sense that Carragher wasn’t being subjected to the test he might have been.
Sadly for Wright-Phillips, the wingers were rarely switched back and eventually he made way for Bellamy. The Welshman came on to a great cheer and showed his usual commitment, but there’s no escaping the fact that his attacking form has deserted him at the moment. Several times, he threatened to break through, but never did.
With Johnson tiring badly on the right flank, the chances of City carving open a winner faded. Bringing on Ibrahim for Ireland was a surprise call from Mancini, and didn’t pay off. At the same time, Benitez brought on Torres. With Benayoun already introduced and Aquilani following, the Liverpool manager appeared to be following a game-plan to try and snatch three points in the final portion of the game.
That these attacking substitutes failed to create a single clear opening is a big compliment to our defenders on the day. Torres in particular was quickly frustrated, getting booked for elbowing Lescott and spending his time arguing with the officials.
“Anyone watching the game would sense that neither team wanted to lose. There was so much to lose if the other team got three points. It was very tactical out there.
“Shay Given only had one shot to save, and Pepe Reina only had the one shot from Emmanuel Adebayor. It was just so tight, because nobody on that pitch wanted to lose the game.”
Prior to the game this fixture looked like a must-win if we’re to be confident of remaining in front of an improving Liverpool side. Yet having watched the game, no-one could argue against a draw being a fair result. Even the managers agreed! With Villa and Spurs both winning, the battle for fourth place is now tighter than ever.
Recently, it’s the games we’re expected to dominate, particularly away from home, where Mancini has struggled. Stoke on Wednesday will be another chance to try and rectify this.
The Italian looks happier when having to set his side up to play the bigger teams, and the close tactical battle here was reminiscent of the Carling Cup games against United. That may be just as well given we’re off to Chelsea next Saturday. Let’s hope the defence can continue from this excellent performance, and Tevez will return with his goal-scoring ways.
Given – One straightforward save was all that was required as the defence in front of Shay was outstanding. Did well with a series of tricky corners in the first half. 6
Zabaleta – Won some crunching tackles and looked to get forward whenever he could. A big improvement on his recent performances. 7
Kompany – A welcome return for big Vince and he totally dominated the penalty area. 8
Lescott – Looks to be back to full fitness and forged an excellent partnership alongside Kompany. 7
Bridge – A steady if unspectacular game. Defensively sound even if he didn’t manage many of the trademark attacking bursts. 7
de Jong – After the games against Stoke, Nigel looked glad to see the ball back on the floor. Provided an excellent shield, getting stuck into countless tackles. 7
Barry – As one paced as ever, but his form is improving and he retained good positional sense. It would have been good to see Gareth play some of the incisive passes of which he’s capable. They might have made the difference. 6
Ireland – Stevie took a lot of stick, but he was often crowded out. There wasn’t a lot for him to work with, as only the idiosyncratic Adebayor was ahead of him most of the time, and they’re yet to form an understanding. 6
Wright-Phillips – Looked like he was going to have a duel with Insua before Mancini decided to switch him to the left flank. Shaun looks lost over there and it was a shame he never got switched back. 6
A Johnson – Started brightly and was unaffected by the switch of wings. His close control is excellent, but the final ball was often a disappointment. Looked to tire badly in the second half. 6
Adebayor – Playing as a lone striker and target man, Adebayor won a surprising amount of high balls, particularly in the first half. Worked hard even if he wasn’t quite able to break free of the Liverpool marking. 7
Subs:
Bellamy – Came on to a big ovation and ran around but, in all honesty, nothing he attempted came off. Needs to rediscover his attacking form. 6
Ibrahim – A surprise call by Mancini. Abdi took a while to get up to the speed of the game, and it was a long-shot to hope he could make the difference in such a tight match. Managed a long-range shot just before the end. 6
Man of the match: All the heroes were at the back, and Vincent Kompany marshalled the lot of them.
Is the visit of Liverpool our biggest league game of the season so far? With City failing to pick up three points at Stoke, our grip on fourth place looks fragile. Victory over Liverpool would be a huge boost for Roberto Mancini as City seek to get back on track.
Recent performances have been unconvincing with the manager coming under scrutiny for his tactics and team selections. The report of a “bust-up” with Craig Bellamy is the last thing Mancini needed, even if he was able to smooth things over when speaking to the press.
Doubts over the wisdom of signing Patrick Vieira continue to mount following the Frenchman’s three match ban for a needless piece of retaliation. So much for experience and winning mentalities.
Elsewhere Tevez is still in Argentina, while Petrov has been ruled out for a month with knee trouble. Hardly the best preparation for a huge fixture.
Yet there is room for hope. We still have enough fit and available players to put out a strong starting eleven. City have raised their game when playing the big clubs this season and our home form is excellent.
In defence we have plenty of options, assuming Wayne Bridge is fit to return after being rested on Tuesday. Micah Richards should retain the right-back slot, while Kompany may challenge Toure and Lescott for a place if he’s fit.
Kolo should be happier against Liverpool than the aerial bombardment of Stoke. His pace would be better suited to keeping Ngog quiet. There’s a case for saving Kompany for the Cup replay, and letting Kolo skip that one.
With Vieira out, de Jong and Barry should be certain starters and will have to keep a close eye on Gerrard. Hopefully we’ll see two wide players enabling us to get at the Liverpool full-backs Carragher and Insua.
Personally I’d like to see Craig Bellamy given a run alongside Adebayor, where his pace could stretch the Liverpool back-line. Liverpool defenders would be more comfortable with the less mobile pairing of Adebayor and Santa Cruz.
If the Welshman’s fit Mancini may well start him on his usual left flank, though it would be good to Johnson given a run on his preferred wing with Wright-Phillips on the right. If Johnson is played in a floating role behind the strikers, then he could be crowded out by Mascherano and Lucas.
If Mancini wants to persist with a third central midfielder, then Ireland could play. Hopefully this wouldn’t be at the expense of width. Benitez is likely to have Liverpool set up in determined fashion and the game could easily degenerate into a war of attrition.
“They are an attacking team and we will have to attack too, so I think it will be open.” – Who are you tring to kid Rafa!
The ability of our wide players to get round the back of Liverpool, and for Adebayor to get on the end of some crosses could make the difference. With Kyrgiakos suspended, Carragher a doubt and Glen Johnson missing, putting pressure on the Liverpool back-line could prove fruitful. Mancini needs to do more than contain the opposition.
“It won’t make any difference who goes into the game above the other because Liverpool is always going to be a huge game and a match we will be giving our all to win.
“They are a huge club, one of the Premier Leagues ‘big four’, and as a player, these are the games you want to be involved in.
“We also have the added incentive of knowing a win will dent one of our main rivals for a Champions League spot. We have to prepare as we always do for our home games and aim to take all three points.”
In my previous article I described just how important a win could be if we’re to beat Liverpool to fourth place. It’s to be hoped everyone recognises this and we raise our game in a similar way to the home victories over Arsenal and Chelsea.
Blue Days line-up: Given, Richards, Toure, Lescott, Bridge, de Jong, Barry, Johnson, Wright-Phillips, Bellamy, Adebayor.
Goals: Whelan 72 mins for Stoke. Barry 85 mins for City.
A game that had threatened to be tempestuous didn’t disappoint, with City fortunate to come away with a point after going behind to 10 men for the second season running at the Britannia Stadium. Last season this fixture saw a desperate City performance and this wasn’t any easier for those blues who witnessed it.
City’s starting line-up didn’t inspire confidence with Bridge and Wright-Phillips, the best two performers on Saturday, both starting on the bench. Apparently, Wayne’s knee couldn’t take another game in such a short space of time and Wright-Phillips wasn’t 100% fit either.
Richards came in at right-back and his physical presence was much needed as City conceded a host of throw-ins, corners and free-kicks in the opening period. With our defensive midfield trio of de Jong, Vieira and Barry, we were hopelessly deep and narrow.
Adebayor and Santa Cruz failed to gel as a partnership, with Roque looking well short of form and fitness. In between the defensive midfielders and the strikers was the lone creative spark of Adam Johnson. It was to much responsibility for the new signing, particularly with the poor pitch and close attentions of Stoke defenders.
For the opening 20 minutes, Johnson was barely involved as we allowed Stoke to pummel our goal. They managed a couple of chances, but in fairness the zonal defending just about held up. The Wearsider started on the right flank, which left us unbalanced, particularly without Bridge’s energy on the left.
The unmistakable figure of Vieira was often the centre of attention and the Frenchman soon drew the wrath of the Britannia crowd with a petulent boot into the groin of Whelan. It wasn’t much, but it was unneccessary and Wright-Phillips got a retrospective three match ban for less when we played here last season.
As the first half wore on, City started to string a few passes together, but with Johnson’s crosses failing to find the strikers, there was still little to cheer. Barry sliced one chance wide, while Santa Cruz fluffed a Johnson cross that did find it’s target.
Half-time came as a relief. It was to be hoped Stoke had thrown their best at us, and a couple of tactical changes by Mancini would see us pull a result out of the bag. It didn’t quite go like that, but we did get a potential break just before the hour mark.
Amdy Faye misjudged a through-ball and Adebayor looked to be getting away, when the Stoke captain brought him down. The linesman saw the offence and Faye was off. City finally started to press forward with some determination and Wright-Phillips was introduced for Garido.
This resulted in the high risk gamble of moving Barry to left-back. Given the problems Fuller had been causing us before, it was no surprise to see him target the England midfielder. This came to a head when a clumsy challenge from Barry saw them both go over in the area. Fortune smiled and the referee waved play on.
Memories of last season came flooding back however when the 10 men of Stoke took the lead. A poor pass from Johnson conceded possession to Whelan and the former City youngster hit a hopeful shot goalwards. Our normally reliable shot-stopper failed to get his body behind it, and Given conceded the worst goal of his City career so far.
The situation was now as desperate as City’s tactics. Balls were going into the Stoke box, but to little effect. The crosses weren’t good enough, there was no playmaker capable of a subtle pass, and the forwards looked unable to get the better of the Stoke defence.
Zabaleta came on for Richards, who presumably was feeling the strain of his recent injuries. Neither of the two right-backs showed sufficient ability to pick a pass with Zabaleta in particular conceding needless possession at a crucial stage in the match.
Eventually a lofted ball was flicked on by Adebayor for Barry to send a shot onto the post. He did well to adjust and knock in the rebound.
City were now going flat out for the winner, but still lacking guile. Petrov came on for Johnson, but once again failed to make an impact.
With five minutes of injury time signalled, there was hope of a United style winner, but this is City. Somehow in the final minute we found ourselves defending a Delap throw. Stoke threw the big guys forward for one last time and Shawcross nodded the ball in. Personally I felt Shay had been pushed in mid-air for the kind of foul that is normally given these days, but others thought the goal should have stood.
To lose in such circumstances would have been catastrophic. Despite moving up to fourth, a point still may not be enough for us to hold on to a Champions League place.
“We should have got it down the channels for Shaun or Adam, but too often we played it down the middle.
“We were too quiet at times and we had some good chances to win this game.
“We made mistakes but in the end we got a goal when we needed it. But this was two points less than what we wanted. Fourth is not a bad position, but it would have been better with a win.
“Now we must recover, I hope we can come back and win in the cup next week but tonight, we should have looked for two more points than we got.”
The Liverpool game now looks like a must-win given our remaining fixtures. We can be thankful that it will be a different type of game, and one our players should be more comfortable with. Rafa Benitez will no doubt have noted how we struggle when teams get “in our faces” so we should expect the kind of game they normally reserve for United.
For next weeks return to the Britannia, it’s to be hoped Kompany is available and selected alongside Lescott – the one player who came out of this fixture with any credit. In midfield, it’s time to ditch the defensive trio of Barry, de Jong and Vieira from the Mancini masterplan. Our Italian manager has a lot of work to do, and no more room for error.
