Dissecting Manchester City's defeat against Liverpool
Manchester City's surprise defeat on the weekend has brought the club down with a thud. As City fans were delirious with joy during the last round of Premier League action when their team surgically dismantled Liverpool, this time around, their faces were recoiled with horror at the Stadium of Light.
The high flying Manchester City was stunned by Steve Bruce's Sunderland with a 1-0 embarrassment. It was not an ill deserved defeat either. Even though Manchester City were quick off the blocks, they were unable to keep up the momentum in the second half when they gave the home team the opportunity to attack them and pressure them in the latter parts of the game. The pressure was evident on the star-studded talent in the Manchester City ranks as Sunderland won a late penalty against Micah Richards. And the prolific Englishman, Darren Bent, stepped up to smash in the winner to give the fans in the Stadium of Light something to cheer about.
And it was not as if the City Sky-Blues did not have their chances to put the game beyond Sunderland.
Carlos Tevez, who has fast become the talisman for the City side, looked to score in the 16th minute of the match. Manchester City broke incisively after a Sunderland corner and when Ivorian Yaya Toure played a pass towards Tevez, it seemed as if a goal was inevitable. Yet the Argentine fluffed his lines in a miss that could easily be included in the biggest misses of the season collection at the end of the year. The missed chance was that bad. Tevez, however, kept plugging away and kept creating chances for his side.
Most of the momentum in the second half fizzled away as Sunderland manager Bruce decided to replace the woeful Frazier Campbell with Danny Welbeck at half-time. Sunderland improved remarkably in terms of attacking after the break and as they say, the rest was history.
Manchester City's defeat raises a few questions not just about the squad but the manager himself. Has Italian manager Roberto Mancini spent enough of fortifying the right parts of his squad? Does he have the tactical ability to navigate tricky away fixtures at the Stadium of Light? Was Mancini playing for a draw at Sunderland? If so, does that not dent in principle his lofty ambitions for the title? Is this just a blip in the road for the richest club in the world or will this become a recurring blueprint at away fixtures for City throughout the season?
All of these questions may not be answered just yet. However, it is instructive to try answering some of them. At the beginning of the season, Mancini had declared that he would rotate the squad. Yet after the defeat against Liverpool, he kept more or less the same team. That could point to the method that Mancini might be using i.e. to conserve the elements of the team that are playing well. If that is indeed the case, it will be interesting to see how he chops and changes this team when Manchester City plays in their next match.
Roberto Mancini’s substitutions began in the 75th minute. That, in itself, should be viewed with certain interest. Mancini’s change arrived way too late for the substation to have an impact. Granted, it was an attacking ploy to bring on Emmanuel Adebayor for Joleon Lescott, Mancini did not give the Togo hit man enough time. The same could be said for his next change which arrived with the like for like substitution of Adam Johnson with David Silva. These changes seemed far too little and too late,, especially when Bent’s penalty went into the field. If Mancini had instituted his changes earlier (as any title-aspiring manager would), he might as well have been celebrating a victory after the Liverpool match.
Not much should be derived from this performance. City is still a work in progress. They are not title aspirants by any stretch of imagination. Their travels will continue to give them problems as Mancini gets to grip with the situation, not just with the English Premier League but also with his collection of expensive players, which he must mould into a team. It will take time no doubt. For Mancini’s sake, it is hoped the team comes together sooner rather than later.
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