Osman wonder strike sinks City's title hopes
By Aaron Leggott
It seems that City have all but conceded the title over to rivals Manchester United as yesterday's defeat ensured a 15 point difference between the two teams at the top of the league.
In truth, City did not deserve anything from the game at Goodison Park. With Sergio Aguero, Yaya Toure and Vincent Kompany all missing out, our task to win wasn't made any easier at a historically tough place for the Blues to visit.
Everton showed the fight, determination and spirit needed to beat the Champions and spectacular efforts from Leon Osman and Nikica Jelavic ensured City were leaving Merseyside without three points for yet another year.
David Moyes' game plan was simple, yet effective - get in their opponent's faces and keep a consistently quick tempo when going forward - and it worked.
They were unlucky not to take an early lead after Kevin Mirallas was ruled offside. Replays showed that it was perhaps the wrong decision from the linesman.
But the Toffee's eventually grabbed their goal despite City starting to find a way into the game as Osman struck a thunderous effort from 25 yards, giving Joe Hart no chance.
Mancini decided to abandon his 3-5-2 formation after half time, and almost found instant success as Javi Garcia and Matija Nastasic nearly converted from close range.
Everton were in the ascendancy but City were handed a lifeline on the hour mark as Steven Pienaar was given his marching orders for a stamp on Garcia.
City started to push more men forward but in all honesty they rarely worked Slovakian Jan Mucha in the Everton goal. Perhaps Carlos Tevez had the best chance for the Blues, but his effort was tipped away from goal.
James Milner and Pablo Zabaleta also had chances to equalise but were once again denied by Mucha, before Mancini's men appeals for a penalty were waved away as referee Lee Probert opted to award a free kick instead. The incident came after a Tevez shot hit the arm of Marouane Fellaini in the box. It was an awful decision which capped a disastrous day for the officials.
With City pushing men forward in search of an equaliser, the home side capitalised on a mistake by Gael Clichy and broke forward in numbers. Fellaini found Jelavic on the edge of the area, and his shot was deflected off the boot of Clichy and looped over Hart into the goal to top off a miserable afternoon for the Champions.
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| A catastrophic day for City. Picture taken from Manchester City's Facebook page |
My thoughts
Well, it just wasn't our day yesterday. I think a mix of Everton being hit by cup final fever along with a lethargic performance by City meant it was never going to be our day.
I would feel cheated if I was an Everton fan though. Last week, when your team had the chance to get to Wembley for a second successive FA Cup semi final, you blow your chance against a much weaker Wigan side.
Yet the week after, when you have got nothing to play for, you play like you're in a cup final. Beyond belief.
Everton's defeat to Wigan last weekend.
Don't get me wrong, I'm flattered that you all regard us so highly that beating us is seemingly the highlight of your season but surely you want more than just three points against City?
Regarding City's performance, I think a summer clear out is in order. A lot of the team seem to be suffering from a metaphorical hangover after last years title win and just haven't turned up this season.
I won't name the individuals, but it is extremely disappointing to see a lack of effort from them. Poor performances I can take, but when you don't try? That's unforgivable.
We have now got nine games to give ourselves something to shout about, but to hand the title to United like we have done is disappointing. The biggest game until August is now a semi final in the FA Cup (and hopefully a final after that) so we need to see some commitment and fight from some individuals if they want to be playing for Manchester City next season.
Stats
City Everton
48% Possession 52%
17 (11) Shots (on target) 11 (5)
6 Corners 13
10 Fouls 15
Match Stats
Match Stats
Player ratings
HART: Poor display from Hart. Was poor for the first goal and never really recovered after that.
TSBV rating: 6/10
ZABALETA: Wasn't his best game but he gave his all for the cause once again. Should have done better with his chance at 1-0 though.
TSBV rating: 6/10
KOLO TOURE: Best of a bad bunch. Defended well and was probably City's best player on the day. Made some crucial interceptions and tackles.
TSBV rating: 7/10
NASTASIC: Had a great chance just after half time from a corner but defensively he was okay yesterday. Think he struggles when Mancini adopts the 3-5-2 formation but made some key tackles during the 90 minutes.
TSBV rating: 7/10
KOLAROV: His first half performance was dreadful and Pienaar was running rings around him. Needs to improve if he wants to stay at City beyond the summer.
TSBV rating: 5/10
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| Marouane Fellaini. |
BARRY: We missed Yaya yesterday and I think Barry struggled with the physical presence of Fellaini. Him and Garcia as a central midfield pairing just doesn't work, at all.
TSBV rating: 6/10
GARCIA: Wasn't his worst performance but like Barry, he struggled to deal with Fellaini. Also was unlucky not to score just after half time.
TSBV rating: 6/10
MILNER: Not his best performance for City and in all honesty rarely got forward due to the attacking strength that Leighton Baines possesses.
TSBV rating: 6/10
SILVA: Not influential yesterday at all and struggled to provide Dzeko and Tevez with anything. He will have better games than that though and will need to be in better form in the next three games.
TSBV rating: 5/10
DZEKO: It was a dreadful performance from Dzeko. His first touch was awful and it just seemed that he couldn't be bothered all game... maybe his thoughts were on his birthday today!
TSBV rating: 5/10
TEVEZ: Tried hard throughout the game and probably was the biggest threat in the City team going forward. Was feeding on scraps from the midfield though and his effort was wasted in truth.
TSBV rating: 7/10
Substitutes
NASRI: Was playing far too deep to have any impact in truth. Couple of decent passes but that's about it from the Frenchman
TSBV rating: 6/10
CLICHY and SINCLAIR: Didn't have enough time to influence proceedings.
You can also follow Aaron on Twitter: @aaron_leggott
You can also follow Aaron on Twitter: @aaron_leggott
(c) The Sky Blue View 2013
Yes, City were poor, and really deserved nothing from the game, although, as you say, we should have had a penalty.
ReplyDeleteYes, Everton had a goal disallowed, luckily from our point of view, but, to the naked eye, it was understandable, if harsh. Not so the penalty.
If the PL defence is over, there is still plenty to play for.
Good review mate good job!
ReplyDeleteA good, unbiased article giving a decent view of the match. Keep up the good work.
ReplyDelete