Bayern Munich 2 – 0 MAN CITY – MY THOUGHTS
28 Sep
A night that will be remembered for a long time. Unfortunately, for all the wrong reasons.
From Bayern’s indubitable superiority, via Edin Dzeko’s uncharacteristic petulant reaction to being substituted, right through to Carlos Tévez and his disgraceful behaviour, this was a night Roberto Mancini won’t call upon fondly.
The Argentinean striker grabbed the headlines and whilst his actions were pathetic and deserving of all the criticism heaped upon him, it should not mask what was a disappointing performance from the Blues. The opening half hour gave us hope as we went toe to toe with Bayern, coming close to scoring and producing the type of confident, assured football we’re becoming used to. However, for the next sixty minutes, we barely got a kick.
The German side were outstanding in every department, passing us off the park in the second half and not allowing any glimmer of hope. They kept the ball so well, used it intelligently and in Frank Ribéry, they had a world class performer at the peak of his talents. It was a lesson for City and it can only be hoped that we learn from this and improve.
It was two momentary lapses of concentration which cost us but that is all that the best sides need at this level. Joe Hart was desperately unfortunate with both goals and was let down by the tardiness of his defence in reacting to the loose ball. Kolo Touré in particular for the second goal was painfully slow and his selection, ahead of the in-form Joleon Lescott, was a bizarre one. The Ivorian looked horribly off the pace and struggled to cope with the deluge of Bayern attacks. He was, however, better than his brother.
Apart from our goalkeeper, there were few positives. Nigel De Jong returning to the pitch after a fairly length absence was pleasing to see, although his introduction at the expense of Dzeko didn’t go down too well with the striker. It was a petulant and childish response from the Bosnian and Mancini has already stated that Dzeko will start on the bench against Blackburn. For one of football’s nice guys, it was a surprise to see him react like that and hopefully this was just a one-off.
And then we come to Tévez. I won’t linger on him, as this is a match review and not the Carlos Tévez show, but suffice to say he’s poison. I’m writing this the day after the night before and I’m still incredulous at his behaviour. No matter how distanced he feels from the club or how much he misses his children, he has a professional duty. That is to play for City. To decline that is quite frankly shocking and I’m sure the club will deal with him appropriately. Mancini has declared that Tévez will never play for City again and I’m not sure too many fans would disagree with the manager’s decision. Manchester City is bigger than Carlos Tévez. We will move on.
In the near future, that’s a visit to Blackburn on Saturday and the likelihood of Mario Balotelli leading the line with Sergio Aguero. It says a lot when Balotelli is on the verge of becoming our most mentally stable striker!
We are most definitely not out of this competition but it’s undeniable that it will take a superb team effort to turn it around. Consecutive wins against Villareal are essential and we must then follow that up with a trip to Napoli and a home tie with Bayern. A tough task indeed, but one that we can pull off.
We lost the game not because Bayer was superior to us [they have a great team no doubt] but because we did not live up to what we are capable of.
Though I am 100% behind Mancini, you tend to question his team selection esp when he talks about rotation. A partially fit Milner and unfit Nigel would have done much better than Barry and Yaya. Bayern players were running all over them and they were basically walking on the field. Yaya need to learn how to use his big body to control and impose himself
Tevez is a disgrace esp after the club bent over backwards to accommodate all his needs. He has over-stayed his welcome and he needs to go. Manchester City should support Mancini all the way on this; otherwise, the club will be headed to chaos.
I was disheartened at the nature of the goals that were given away in the first half. But Bayern are a top, top side. However the dismay i felt at the breakdown of our performance in the second half cannot easily be put into words.
Suffice to say that no matter what you think of the Tevez drama at least it is a rational way of explaining the lacklustre nature of our complete surrender in the second half. I would usually blame Mancini for not acting quick enough with game changing substitutions but this incident seemingly gets him off the hook.
I also would lie to speak up for Dzecko. He may have been a bit stroppy but he obviously wanted to make a good impression in his former league and was getting himself into some good positions. The same cannot be said for Aguero who has seemingly developed a disastrous selfish streak.
Finally i would just like to say that the behaviour of Tevez is so disappointing but i for one will never forget the amazing impact he had for city when he was at his best.
inform j-lo wot i wudnt b surprised to c kolo dropped but its a young montenegran i hope replaces him as 4 tevez glad 2 say i havent backed him at all this season because i new he wud do sumthin like this forza mancini
@Bring Bellamy Back: If you look at most of Aguero’s youtube videos of him back in la liga you can see that he is a selfish player. I’m afraid its NOT a recent development.
And just to put it out there, Napoli are only slight favourites to go through, compared to us, according to the bookies.
Then why did they buy him? Really cannot see him doing it for us in big games.
El “Manchester City” es mejor gracias a Carlos Tevez! Fué goleador la temporada pasada y Capitán del equipo! Y el unico lugar en donde debe estar Tevez es en el campo!!! Dzeko afuera a cortar el pasto de los laterales del campo!!!
The “Manchester City” is better because Carlos Tevez! He was top scorer last season and captain of the team! And the only place where it should be Tevez is in the field! Dzeko out to cut the grass on the sidelines!
Buen punta, pero es imposible por un jugador a ser más grande que un club.