Blue Days

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.

Gareth Barry:

“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.

External reports:

• BBC
• The Guardian
• The Mail
• MCFC
• The Telegraph
• The Times

Blog reports:

• Bitter and Blue
• Man City Issues

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.

Rafa Benitez:

“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.

Nigel de Jong:

“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.

Prediction: 2-0 to City.