Blue Days

So much for our defensive Italian manager! After this six goal blitzing of Burnley, the only disappointment for Roberto Mancini was how the conditions prevented City from adding to our winning margin in the second half.

Given – Excellent reaction save in the first halft and did well to hold the wet ball in the second. Showed his professionalism in not making a hash of anything, which could have been easily done given the conditions. 7

Onuoha – Looking increasingly comfortable on the ball; the highlight being a nutmeg. Not as reckless as Micah and would deserve to keep his place. 7

City head to Burnley in a game which is once again categorised as “must win” if we’re to reach a Champions League spot. With Carlos Tevez in hat-trick scoring form, and Burnley’s home fortress looking a lot less impregnable since Brian Laws took over, there’s a decent chance Roberto Mancini may get the result he wants.

Given – Produced an excellent reaction save to a flicked header just prior to the second goal. The Irishman couldn’t be faulted on a bad day elsewhere for the defence. 7

Zabaleta – A decent performance even if the Argentine didn’t manage to supply any of the quality crosses of which he’s capable. 7

Another draw that felt like a defeat, where ‘great game for the neutral’ was a description that Mark Hughes could have done without. After falling two goals behind, then storming back to take the lead, before conceding a late equaliser – all against supposedly weaker opposition – this game deserved another old cliche: ‘Typical City’.

The return of Burnley to the top flight has seen a wave of nostalgia attach itself to one of the Football League’s founder clubs. It’s therefore fitting to be playing them on an increasingly rare Saturday 3pm kick-off.

Whilst middle aged fans may remember the last top flight matches between the two sides in the mid-seventies, more recent fixtures in the Championship and League Cup have seen City banging in the goals. Twenty three strikes in the last six matches have featured two hat-tricks from Shaun Goater and one from Paulo Wanchope.