Football is hard to fathom at times 2 weeks ago,Chelsea came to the Etihad with a near perfectly executed game plan and played city off the park,they simply didn't let us play. Yesterday it was role reversal,Pellegrini executed his to perfection and mourinho had no answers. As in the first game City dominated the opening exchanges but crucially got that all important first goal as Jovetic finished off Dzekos fine pass but this wasn't the same Chelsea,they were constantly giving the ball away as City pressed & overran them in midfield and were back to bullying them around the park as had been the case for a while premourinho,helped in no small part by the blindness or leniency of the portly Phil Dowd who never seems up with play. On viewing Chlelsea's team sheet I was delighted to see Mikels name in midfield and he never let me down in a dog of a performance leaving Matic terribly isolated,how Mourinho didn't haul him off at half time and push Luiz to reestablish the excellent partnership they'd shown previously is anyone's guess but I felt it went a long way to city kicking on and winning at a canter as Salah for Eto just wasn't the change that was required. Second half was all intent from City and the apparently offside Nasri second was fully deserved. There were many standout performances from City,yaya was immense in the middle ably assisted by Garcia,Kompany was a real leader at the back and his partnership is much more solid when Lescott is next to him,Silva was sublime but the performance of Milner snuffing out the threat of hazard was the real highlight. 6000 packed the away end,kept behind them to the end,but must have been very disappointed to be leaving the ground without seeing Chelsea ever in the match at any stage. Going out of the FA cup is sadly hardly the end of the world these days and I'm sure Chelsea cherish the 6 points taken off us in the league far more but onwards we go after a game we thoroughly deserved to win as I just thought we wanted it more. Regards PPLF
Seems a pretty good analysis to me. I just said the same about Mikel on a different thread. You deserved that win though as we just didn't seem to want it. I had hoped Jose would turn it around at half time as it was dismal to watch but he just didn't do his usual magic yesterday.
good post. chelsea were never going to win both games there and i wonder if jose was thinking that we had already won the one that mattered. as for mikel, the second i see his name in the starting line up i fear the worse.
Last season against City,Rafa parked the bus home and away which returned a solitary point. Mourinho's Chelsea deservedly did the the double over us which if Chelsea go on to win the league will have been the crucial factor in it. Clearly mourinho tactically got it wrong yesterday but the 2 most important games he got it spot on.
http://www.mcfc.co.uk/citytv/Features/2014/February/FAC-City-v-Chelsea-Tunnel-Cam-long Yesterday's tunnel cam
No arguments about City deserving their victory! When Terry's captaincy skills go missing we always end up having to work harder! As much as I would have like to see us go for our 5th FA Cup win in 8 years (a record???) we may find it turns out to be a blessing in disguise when we pursue our Major targets of the PL and CL.
oh ffs Jesus wept have people around here got memories like goldfish? Chelsea Played mid week, Man city had their game called off, the team was simply tired! Not some tactical master class , the fresher team won, end of stoey, sometimes I fecking despair of this place!
I agree freshness was a factor but not to that extent. We weren't even in the game for the most part.
Lack of cohesion and direction was more a factor than fitness levels. When the gaffer's plan wasn't working the players had no idea what to do other than what he had told them and no one manipulating to the missing pieces. With Jose's tactics, if one area isn't implemented effectively the whole system breaks down, as he integrates player roles in all areas of the pitch. We were poorer with the ball than without it.
