Liverpool must be kicking themselves for the 4 points thrown away after dominating and outclassing the champions home and away. Comfortably out coaching Mancini,Rodgers set his team up precisely as the coaches have done in the champions league and starved City of the supply from Silva to Aguero while breaking our wide at pace to get around city's narrow clueless pedestrian midfield. Top 4 looks beyond Liverpool this season but this squad look an awful lot more balanced than under Dalglish' tenure and with a couple more additions should really kick on next year Nice touch from both sets of supporters holding up a banner pre match over the divide(presumably about ticket prices?) Point apiece not the result either team needed and more than likely put paid to any remaining title/top 4 ambitions
Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini said: "Before their first goal there was a big fault, if it happened against us it would be a red card but instead the referee didn't see anything. But in the end I feel that was the right result. Pathetic from Mancini Dzeko should've been ashamed of himself for lying there uninjured while his team are outnumbered and concede Never gives credit where it's due
Pathetic is the word. If I was a City fan I'd be fuming with Dzeko for sitting on his arse for so long but even angrier with Manchini for making such a terrible excuse. I think we were the better team for a fair proportion of the game so Manchini should really be grateful for a point. I'd have taken two points from these two games but the nature of the results makes it seem a bit disappointing. Now we have three games out of four at home in the league and Wigan away. I'm not saying we won't **** up somewhere but they're all winnable games so we need to keep playing just like the last two games. Obviously I think City have already blown it (I actually think they blew it when united got Van P and City got Rodwell...wtf???) But good luck for the rest of the season anyway
Posted this on another thread but it seems relevant here: He comes across as a sulky little boy. Can't admit his team was outplayed (again) almost glad they won't win the league. He has wasted an enormous opportunity this season going back to the boring negative football of two years ago. How can you make a team with squad of players negative is beyond me but he has done it. City should have been kicking on from last year to put united in their place but he has made it easy for them.
He's very fortunate the support he receives in the boardroom and the stands As a fanbase city fans are fiercely loyal to a ridiculous degree and he gets far more loyalty than he warrants I don't believe he's done any better than fat Sam would've done given similar circumstances Hypocrite that I am I'll no doubt be singing the useless sods name next Saturday at st Mary's but there you go
Maicon coming on for Silva actually turned the game in Man City's favour. So I'm not sure how you can criticise that. Rodgers didn't help by changing Enrique for Skrtel, mind. But I guess Enrique wasn't ready for 90 minutes yet.
Enrique had a bad 10 mins before he was subbed and looked like he was tiring. Just highlights one of our week areas in having no adequate cover. Carra and Agger play pretty well together but carra and skrtel don't IMO. Silva taken off because that is mancini's mind set. Don't see how it swung the game in city's favour as miacon did very little when he came on and we still looked the better team.
Really? Not seen to many of your games to be fair surely he should ha e been brought on at some point though?
I don't agree it change the game in their favour. I think they needed a goal and whether they made the change or not they would have applied pressure. I don't think Maicon did much either. Moving Agger to LB probably had more of an impact for Man City! Tevez was sat on their bench whilst they were desperate for goals
But bringing on more strikers doesn't really increase your chance of scoring goals, not unless you are really dominant and camped in the oppositions half and they have a red card or something. City weren't in control of the game, so Mancini changed to 3-5-2 so they more men in midfield. It worked for them as they got a foothold in the game which they didn't have before the substitution. Silva was sacrificed because he didn't really fit into that formation. And its not as if he'd been really influential in the game, or this season in general, he's been poor but he's quite lucky in the sense the likes of Nasri & Balotelli have deflected the attention off his poor form.
To me, it seemed like Kolarov had come on to alter the system before that. However, I understand where you are coming from despite not agreeing
Dzeko could learn a few things about hardening up from Agger. I don't think it was a foul seemed more 50/50. Aguero's some player.
Was it just me or did it seem that Skys commentary team were heavily bias towards wanting City to win?
Not observed it myself. I think most commentators go with expectations. The expectation was that City as champions SHOULD dominate and win the match but the reality is that they didn't deserve the draw.
