Recap: Manchester City vs. Aston Villa
Mario Balotelli’s 24-million-pound move to Manchester City is already looking like a bargain. The Italian’s hat-trick helped his team breeze past the ailing Aston Villa side in a match they lost 4-0.
The Citizens now find themselves level on points with Manchester United, firmly establishing themselves as genuine title contenders this season. Meanwhile, the result heaps even more pressure on the under-fire Gerard Houllier, who saw his side slump to their
seventh loss on the road this season.
Roberto http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Mancini-c23323 opted to rest Carlos Tevez for the match, giving the troubled Mario Balotelli a rare start. If the Italian was feeling homesick, he certainly did not show it. From the word go, the young striker caused major problems for the Villa defence.
Balotelli latched on to a through ball by David Silva in the seventh minute and would have scored were it not for Eric Lichaj’s blatant foul. The defender should have been sent off, but referee Michael http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Oliver-c28477 took a lenient view of the offence, awarding
just the penalty.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Mario-Balotelli-c23937 made no mistake from his spot kick, giving City the lead with less than 10 minutes into the match. The 20-year-old got his second soon after. David Silva once again did all the work, weaving past the defence to curl a shot towards the far
post. Villa’s keeper managed to save the effort but could only push the ball towards the waiting Balotelli. The Italian finished coolly and immediately raced to acknowledge Silva’s assist.
There was no way back for Aston Villa. Yaya Toure and David Silva came close to extending City’s lead. However, both their shots were deflected just wide of Friedel’s goal. The Blues did get their third goal just before half time. Lescott’s header to the
far post was deemed to have crossed the goal line before http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Barry-Bannan-c7309 had managed to clear the ball.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Adam-Johnson-c3537 in the box, handing the Citizens their second penalty of the match.
Mario Balotelli jumped at the chance to complete his first hat-trick for his new club, brushing aside all contenders to take the penalty himself. His second effort was even more confident than his first, completely deceiving http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Brad-Friedel-c7953. Manchester City
did not seem content with their 4-goal lead, pressing on immediately in search of their fifth. Aston Villa though, weathered the storm and saw out the match without conceding any more goals.
The result sees Manchester City inch ever closer to the summit of the Barclays Premier League. On the other side of the table, Aston Villa continue their downward spiral towards the relegation zone. It looks like Gerard Houllier will need some sort of miracle
to salvage their season.
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