MAN CITY 4 – 1 Aston Villa – MY THOUGHTS
16 Oct
Clinical and professional would be how I’d describe our performance yesterday. We never needed to extend ourselves to top gear, but with a much changed side, we still had enough quality to gain the three points and head into the next week full of confidence. With Manchester United drawing away at Liverpool, this victory took us top and was the perfect result to put any doubts to the back of our minds.
In previous years, with future games clearly affecting Roberto Mancini’s team selection, we may have struggled to get the win, possibly grounding out a point but never convincing. This time around, however, it’s different. Without Silva, Nasri, Dzeko and Aguero, we still had more than enough to comfortably dispose of Aston Villa. Our finishing was ruthless, the performance solid and we can now focus on the Villarreal game with the momentum in the right direction.
The one player who stood out and whose sensational overhead kick allowed the floodgates to open, was Mario Balotelli. His was a display full of maturity, responsibility and eye catching moments of brilliance. Some of his trickery and footwork is just on a different level, but I’m sure it was his application and willingness to work for the team which would have appealed to Mancini.
Playing as the lone striker, he worked tirelessly to bring others into the game, linking especially well with Yaya Touré and he produced a sublime goal to open the scoring. Whenever he lost the ball, he tracked back, tried to regain possession and he seemed to relish proving a point to the visiting Villa fans, who had briefly derided him for slipping. Without losing his temper, he retaliated in the best possible manner. He will miss the Villarreal game due to suspension and we will miss his pace, dynamism and ability to create something from nothing.
Mancini, already devoid of the services of Aguero to injury, decided to rest the trio of Silva, Nasri and Dzeko and our style of football was understandably affected. There wasn’t so much of the crisp, one-touch passing that has characterised our season, but more of the patient, slow build up that grinds down the opposition. Yaya Touré pushed further forward and had a greater impact on the game, but can expect to drop back again when our more creative players return for the next game. Our strength in depth was in evidence and as the games come thick and fast, we’ll need all members of the squad ready to play.
You don’t need to be a master at casino strategy to understand how crucial Nigel De Jong is to our play and his return was particularly pleasing to witness. With such attacking options on the pitch, we need a couple of solid, destructive midfielders to provide balance and we’ve missed the Dutchman in a number of games recently. Most notably in the Champions League, when sides counter attack with blistering pace, his absence has left us vulnerable but with him back, we’ll be a tougher side to break down.
Opposition View – I expected Villa to pose a tougher threat than they eventually did. Our movement troubled them and they struggled to get Darren Bent and Gabby Agbonlahor into the game. Shay Given couldn’t do much for our goals and they needed to work harder to close us down. Their hope this season is to attain European football, but they will have to play better than this.
As for City, we can now focus on our next two pivotal games. It’s Villarreal at home on Tuesday in a must-win Champions League affair and that is followed by the not so small matter of the derby game. Two wins and we’ll certainly be very contented Manchester City fans.
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