After a promising first half, City allowed Sunderland to take control in the second period and paid the ultimate price with a last minute Darren Bent penalty conceded by Micah Richards. It could all have been so different had Carlos Tevez not spurned an open goal in the first half.

The Tevez miss will dominate the headlines after the match, and questions will also be asked of Micah Richards. The England U-21 player blotted an otherwise decent defensive performance by allowing Bent to get goalside, giving him the opportunity to crumple to the floor when Micah tried to jump over him. It showed Micah hadn’t learnt from a similar offence commited at White Hart Lane last year.

However these two incidents are not the major concerns in the longer term, even if they did decide this fixture. Roberto Mancini was fuming on the touchline before the penalty as we completely failed to perform in the second half.

It was a return to the bad days of last season where de Jong and Barry were pushed deep and the opposition were able to take territorial control of midfield. Yaya went from looking the most dangerous player on the pitch in the first half to being unable to influence the game in the second.

Cattermole and co cut out everything with far to much ease. We were second to the ball and didn’t press to regain possession. The left side of midfield with Barry and Milner was particularly disappointing. Against Liverpool they shared the same wavelength and looked dangerous. Here they shared a lack of pace and inability to press their opponents.

Neither Johnson or Milner ever dominated their full-backs – something which was essential given the limited attacking abilities of our full-backs. Worse, neither of our wide men were able to fully occupy their opponents in the second-half as Sunderland’s full-backs became a genuine attacking threat.

Tevez endured a difficult game throughout as his passing to often failed to reach his team-mates. This sometimes happens with Carlos, but often gets masked by his industry. Following the miss he was then to keen to make amends, trying to beat the whole Sunderland team when team-mates were better placed.

Yet what are Mancini’s options if Tevez is having an offday? An unhappy Adebayor or Jo. Despite all the outlay, that doesn’t feel enough. With two days of the transfer window remaining, should something be done?

James Milner managed to put over a couple of dangerous crosses but there’s nobody in the City attack loodking for that kind of service. It’s probably to late to do a deal for Dzeko, but it’s hard not to feel the Bosnian would be a better fit than Adebayor in Mancini’s side.

Without an aerial presence up front, there’s little for Joe Hart to aim at. Long balls out of defence frequently come straight back as we don’t have a direct option for alleviating pressure.

Roberto Mancini:

“I want to speak with the players when they come back from the international break because in the second half we were split in two or three places. We made it too easy for Sunderland.

“It’s vital we understand why we lost this game because there will be times when the other team plays 10 men behind the ball. We must be patient, but if we don’t take our chances we will make it hard for ourselves.”

On the plus side yesterday, the defending of the penalty area was again excellent for the most part. In the first half Steve Bruce focused on packing the midfield, leaving Kolo Toure and Kompany to deal with an isolated Bent. They did this effectively and continued to protect Joe Hart well in the second period when the danger steadily increased.

It shouldn’t be forgotten that for much of the first half we did move the ball around well. It seemed only a matter of time before a goal would come. Aside from the Tevez chance, Yaya went closest on the stroke of half-time when he collected the ball from a flicked on Milner free kick. His shot was deflected wide but it is surely only a matter of time before he opens his account.

The introductions of Adebayor and Silva were understandable, but there was also a case for bringing Vieira on. His performance on Thursday, working the ball forwards, quickly and accurately, from the centre of the pitch was just what we were missing in the second half. His natural authority wouldn’t have gone amiss either.

There’s two days of the transfer window left and it will be interesting to see how the club reacts to this defeat. If anyone was thinking we’re the finished article, then think again. When Tevez has an off-day we lack an alternative.

External reports:

• BBC
• The Guardian
• Manchester Evening News
• MCFC site
• The Telegraph

Blog reports:

• The Lonesome Death of Roy Carroll
• Manchester City Mad

Richards – His concentration, positioning and defending were all looking good until… allowing Bent to get goalside and clumsily leaping over him. The penalty was all to reminiscent of one he conceded at White Hart Lane last year. 6

Lescott (Adebayor 74) – Once again he didn’t do a great deal wrong defensively. Still wasn’t sharp enough with his passing to properly augment the attack in the first half. 6

K Toure – Lacked the authority of previous games and looked increasingly flustered, though he did defend the area well. 6

Kompany – Increasingly important as the game wore on when balls starting coming into our penalty area. Stood tall as our best defender. 7

de Jong – Tried his best to keep Sunderland at bay, but needed more help from his colleagues in the second half. Unable to get us moving forward when we needed to. 6

Barry – Looked ok in the first half but disappeared when Sunderland upped the pace in the second period. At least he didn’t suffer defensively at left-back and made a couple of timely blocks. When defending deep Gareth lacks the pace to get forward quickly enough. 5

Y Toure – Excellent during the first half, particularly with the run that set up Tevez. His lack of influence in the second half indicates his fitness levels aren’t yet up to scratch. 7

Milner – A disappointing second performance. Link up play was sloppy and his lack of pace enabled Sunderland to crowd him out. Still managed to put over a couple of telling crosses, but we lacked the presence in the penalty area to get on the end of them. 5

A Johnson (Silva 80) – Unable to repeat his glorious goal last season. Struggled to show his quality as Richardson did surprisingly well against the native Wearsider. 6

Tevez – Aside from the miss, this wasn’t Carlos’ finest match. To often his link-up play failed to find team-mates. Following the miss he seemed intent on trying to take on Sunderland single-handed whenever he got the chance. They weren’t going to let him dance round them and he needed to bring in colleagues. 5

Subs:

Adebayor – Came closest to scoring in the second half with a backheel volley – a great effort. Tried to take the game to Sunderland without ever looking like breaking through. 6

Silva – Not able to get into the game. 5

Jo – Barely time to get a touch.

Man of the match: No-one warranted it in the second half, so it goes to Yaya for at least looking good in the opening period.

If we show the same resolute defending as we did against Liverpool then victory should be within our capabilities with Carlos Tevez in attack. The obvious danger man is Darren Bent now that Kenwyne Jones has departed.

Patrick Vieira and Dedryck Boyata were the two best performers against FC Timisoara but don’t expect either to start at the Stadium of Light. It will be a surprise to see anything other than the same side which beat Liverpool.

Boateng, Balotelli, Kolarov and Bridge are all still missing. Robinho apparently didn’t train on Friday so there’s unlikely to be any surprise inclusion of the Brazilian in the squad.

Despite being at home, Sunderland could set their stall out to frustrate us. The early goal against Liverpool settled us down, but it would be interesting to see how we fared against a packed defence for a longer period. With our attacking full-backs missing, there remains the danger of us failing to attack with sufficient menace down the flanks.

Tevez likes to roam which can result in our attacks lacking a focal point. Having no target man also removes the option of high balls if we’re lacking sufficient guile in our passing.

Faced with difficulties, the main options on the bench would be Adebayor and Silva. Following Ade’s comments about being willing to leave the club, there are big questions about his commitment. With Silva the doubts surround his acclimatisation to the Premier League.

Shaun Wright-Phillips may have scored on Thursday but did little else to suggest he’s a greater threat than Johnson. If Jo appears ahead of Adebayor again, then there has to be a question mark over whether the Togolese will still be at the club when the transfer window closes.

If we are able to get ahead then Mancini may call on Zabaleta or Vieira to help close the game out. Despite the injuries there remains sufficient options for the manager.

Sunderland were unlucky not to win their opening home fixture and shouldn’t be taken lightly. On the plus side, they have yet to form a settled side as their new signings bed in. Nedum Onuoha will be ineligible thanks to the terms of his loan.

Roberto Mancini:

“It is important we play football – no long balls but on the floor, shifting the ball quickly. The players I have brought in need to fit the style I want to bring here.

“I have followed all the players I bought many times and know they all have good mentality.”

In terms of how the match might affect our league standing, there’s an opportunity to consolidate a top four place, which would be perfect going into the international break. Tottenham losing at home to Wigan is a bonus result that provides the opportunity to put some early distance between ourselves and a rival for the Champions League places.

Positioning ourselves in the top four, two points off the top, might also convince any possible new signings that we’re a club whose going to be challenging for trophies this season.

Blue Days line-up (4-2-3-1):
Given
Richards – K Toure – Kompany – Lescott
de Jong – Barry
A Johnson – Y Toure – Milner
Tevez

Prediction: 2-0 to City.

Given that everyone was saying how City should start with the same eleven who won at Chelsea, it would be churlish to criticise the manager for doing so. Swapping Johnson, who struggled at Stamford Bridge, for Wright-Phillips who did well when coming on as a sub was justifiable. At least Mancini was pro-active in changing things when it was apparent just how badly the system was failing.

Playing three defensive midfielders behind a lone striker can work in a cagey game against the bigger clubs when we’re looking to keep it tight and hit them on the counter. In the fixtures we need to win, it doesn’t allow us to dominate possession and instead gives encouragement to the opposition.

Sunderland was a prime example as the home side started strongly and we had no outlet. The Sunderland centre-backs knew they could get tight on Tevez as he doesn’t have the speed to outpace them if the ball is played over the top. Our trio of central midfielders were to close to each other, making it easy for Sunderland to close them down and force errors on a poor pitch.

In fairness to the defence, Shay Given didn’t have a difficult save to make all match despite the first-half pressure. The goal we did concede was disappointing in it’s simplicity. Malbranque has always had the ability to quickly turn inside and send over a cross. Jones is strong in the air and by arriving late in the penalty area, Kompany wasn’t able to get to him in time.

With Given persisting in hitting long balls, we desperately needed a target of our own and thankfully Mancini saw right in bringing on Santa Cruz when Bridge was injured. The big Paraguayan looked fitter in terms of his movement and he was crucial in the second-half turnaround by winning the ball and bringing others into the game with neat lay-offs.

Unfortunately his performance will more likely be remembered for the chances he missed and one woeful attempt at a cross following good work from Johnson. Regaining his fitness is one thing, taking chances is another. Adebayor may not have enjoyed the physical aspects of this game, but he may well have taken one of our second-half chances.

Mancini’s second change introducing Vieira for Richards was as unlikely as his first. Yet it had a positive effect in moving Gareth Barry out wide as an attacking full-back. The England man’s greater skill enabled better link up play and gave Sunderland additional problems.

The introduction of Johnson was more straightforward and the results were clear to everyone. In his last two appearances (for City and England) Wright-Phillips had done well coming on when the game was opening out after the initial right-wing incumbent had struggled to make an impression. Here the situation was reversed and Johnson was the beneficiary of the extra time and space.

There appears to be some discussion about whether Johnson was crossing or shooting when he scored. Let’s consider it… he’s a goalscoring winger who joined us with a reputation for shooting rather than crossing.  Cutting in on his favoured foot, he meant it alright.

It will be interesting to see who starts next week, as there is unlikely to be much space on the small Craven Cottage pitch against well organised Fulham. Following his peach of a goal, Johnson must be favourite. There’s certainly a freshness and eagerness to do well about the Wearsider that is endearing.

Joleon Lescott:

“We feel we lost two points at Sunderland because we missed so many chances to score in the second half.

“The manager told us at half time that what we had produced wasn’t good enough and we improved after the interval.”

In some ways this match resembled one of those Mark Hughes performances such as Bolton or Wigan where we fell behind before stirring ourselves to claim a point. Valiant in a sense, but ultimately two points dropped to a side we were hoping to beat.

The second-half saw a greater determination and aggression from City, which was maintained even when chances were being spurned. Even Barry lost his cool. This tougher atttitude is a welcome one in a team that has to often surrendered without a fight.

For the first time we saw a Mancini side really go for it and we proceded to create more chances than in any other 45 minutes during his reign. If we’re to claim a Champions League place, we’ll need to see more of this. In this fixture we were only denied the three points by a failure to take our opportunities, and that’s not something we can afford to do again.

External reports:

• BBC
• Daily Mail
• The Independent
• MCFC
• Manchester Evening News
• Sky Sports
• The Telegraph
• The Times

Blog reports:

• The Lonesome Death of Roy Carroll
• Norfstander

Video:

• Match highlights

Richards – One of the few to try and take the game to the opposition during the first half. Still lacks a subtle touch, but used his strength well. 6

Kompany – Was caught to far away from Jones for their goal. Otherwise solid with one beautifully timed tackle on Bent leaving the England aspirant to make an air shot. 6

Lescott – Once again solid throughout. Joleon is now putting in the consistent performances we’ve been hoping for. 7

Bridge – Apparently had a knee twinge which forced him off early. Wasn’t able to get forward enough prior to his departure. 6

Zabaleta – Mancini’s Mr Utility started in midfield, before switching to left-back then finally right-back. The defensive positions were the better ones for him in this game. 7

de Jong – Very busy and determined, but we needed more forward passing from the Dutchman in the first-half. 6

Barry – Surprisingly at his most effective after the switch to left-back. Looked off the pace in the first-half, before getting forward to better purpose in the second period. He can be a clever passer and it’s always good to see him in advanced positions. 7

Wright-Phillips – Not a performance to win an improved contract. There was plenty of endeavour and a few good moments, but we needed something more to break through. 6

Bellamy – One audacious shot when everybody expected him to cross was the highlight. Kept plugging away even though the clinical finishing of Stamford Bridge eluded him. 7

Tevez – A victim of terrible service in the first-half, our top scorer enjoyed a better second period without ever looking like adding to his goal tally. 6

Subs:

Santa Cruz – Roque gave us the target man we were crying out for, and his link-up play was good. The finishing on the other hand… 6

Vieira – In fairness he’s no slower than Barry and, a couple of wayward passes aside, big Pat did his bit in keeping the pressure on Sunderland. His ability to win headers in the middle of the park was also useful. 6

A Johnson – Looked a threat from the moment he came on, and provided the game with a moment of footballing beauty. 8

Man of the match: Did he mean it? Of course he did.  Adam Johnson.

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.

Adam Johnson:

“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.

Prediction: 3-0 to City.

Despite the criticism of Sylvinho, the defence is likely to be unchanged, as the Brazilian did ok against Bolton and no-one in the Sunderland side has the pace of Aaron Lennon.

Kenwyne Jones and Darren Bent are a physically strong and dangersous partnership up front for Sunderland. The lack of height amongst our back four where no-one was over 6 feet tall on Wednesday could be the biggest concern.

Playing Vincent Kompany at the back would alleviate this problem, but the Belgian may start in midfield with Nigel de Jong suspended. The make-up of the midfield is where the most intriguing selection choices lie.

A central pairing of Barry and Kompany is the most solid, but lacks mobility. Ireland has done ok in the last couple of games, particularly when coming into the middle, and could be a contender to play alongside Barry.

On the flanks, a recall for Bellamy seems inevitable even if it means upsetting Robinho. If Wright-Phillips is still out, there are a range of options. Ireland could continue or Weiss could be given a rare chance. Alternatively, Bellamy could be switched to the right with either Petrov or Robinho on the left.

An attacking midfield is likely, given Hughes is desperate for the win and a strong start to the match would generate a positive atmosphere inside the ground.

Despite his lack of form, it would still be a surprise to see Adebayor dropped. This is in part down to the lack of an impression being made by Roque Santa Cruz. Giving Bellamy’s pace a run through the middle could be worth a go. The Welshman does a decent job on the flank, but was more dangerous at the start of the season playing through the middle.

For Sunderland the return of Cattermole could be vital, particularly with the competitive Cana suspended. Fortunately for City, they aren’t in great form at the moment, and were well beaten by Villa on Tuesday.

However, they remain a potentially dangerous side under Steve Bruce, and the geordie would no doubt enjoy a positive result against Hughes with whom he now has a famously frosty relationship.

Todays revelation that Garry Cook has spoken to Guus Hiddink’s agent will provide an additional edge to the game. At City we may not have won many trophies recently, but we know a thing or two about managerial changes and the atmosphere could get a bit tasty if City fall behind at any point.

Many level-headed fans will call for patience, but 11 points from a possible 30 has sapped the faith in Hughes for a lot of people and, from the sounds of it, some of the players to. Being “at each others throats” after the Spurs defeat could provoke a positive reaction, but hardly sounds like a long term solution to the teams problems.

With three winnable fixtures against Sunderland, Stoke and Wolves, Mark Hughes probably needs 7 points to keep those vultures at bay. Anything less and the speculation that he will be gone sooner rather than later is likely to intensify.

All in all it promises to be a thrilling ride, at a time where each result could determine the manager’s future.

Blue Days line-up: Given, Richards, Sylvinho, Toure, Onuoha, Barry, Ireland, Robinho, Bellamy, Tevez, Adebayor.

Prediction: 3-1 to City.