By Aaron Leggott
My thoughts
We were far from our best yesterday and I think we were extremely fortunate to finish the game with a win. Wigan really impressed me last night and Roberto Martinez has proven that if used correctly the 3-5-2 formation is one of the best in the business.
In truth, as soon as I saw the starting line-up I was sceptical as to how easy this game was going to be. With Javi Garcia and Gareth Barry playing in holding midfield roles, I knew that we were going to be run over by Jordi Gomez, James McCarthy and Shaun Maloney and I was proven right.
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| Edin Dzeko tussles with the Wigan defence Photo: Official MCFC Facebook |
I don't know why Mancini persists with picking Barry and Garcia in the same team because it just doesn't work. They are both too slow and you need some pace and energy, especially against a team like Wigan. For this reason, I'd have started James Milner alongside either Barry or Garcia.
The one player who impressed me once again was Samir Nasri. You get the feeling that he needs to play when he is on form, and ever since the Newcastle game a couple of weeks back he looks a totally different player to the one early this season.
He was the only one who seemed interested in the midfield last night and some of his runs and passing was top quality. I'm hoping that Mancini picks him in the starting XI at White Hart Lane on Sunday because he really deserves it.
Carlos Tevez, once again, was full of energy and desire to win the game for his team and his goal was something out of the top drawer and he was ultimately the difference between the sides.
With Tottenham on the horizon, I am hoping that we can carry on with our run of good form and further solidify our place in second.
RICHARDS: Great to see Micah come back from his injury which kept him out for six months. However, you could tell he was far from being match fit so this game will do him good. I think he needs to write this season off and just make sure he works hard ahead of the new campaign.
TSBV rating: 6/10
KOMPANY: Some great tackles and blocks from the captain, in particular during the second half when he prevented Arouna Kone from testing Hart with a fine block from close range.
TSBV rating: 7/10
LESCOTT: Was given MOTM by the club and you can understand why. He was consistently solid all game and his goal line clearance to prevent Maloney at 0-0 was as important as Hart's save in the first half. A good performance from Joleon - although he wasn't my MOTM!
TSBV rating: 8/10
KOLAROV: Up there with one of his worst performances in a City shirt. Did well to assist Tevez in the goal but he was sloppy throughout the game and was unable to find a team mate with his wayward passing. Needs to pick his game up if he wants to be a City player next season.
TSBV rating: 5/10
GARCIA: As I said earlier, I don't think playing Garcia and Barry together works at all so for this reason I don't think we saw the best of Garcia. He was considerably outplayed by the Wigan midfield and this was the main reason for their domination of play throughout the game.
TSBV rating: 6/10
BARRY: Garcia wasn't just to blame for Wigan's midfield brilliance last night and Barry will have to take some of the flak for a lackluster midfield performance.
TSBV rating: 6/10
YAYA TOURE: I think we need to try and make Yaya think he's playing at Wembley every game because he was absolutely awful yesterday! When you compare this display to the one against Chelsea on Sunday you'd be forgiven for thinking it was two different players. His passing was off and he was totally outplayed in the midfield role.
TSBV rating: 5/10
NASRI: In truth, I thought Nasri was our best player on the pitch last night. I gave my main reasons above so will not repeat myself but Samir is looking like he is fighting for his future with the club and if he carries on with these kind of performances then I will be glad to see him stay at City next season because on his day he is one of the best attacking midfielders in Europe.
TSBV rating: 10/10
AGUERO: Could tell he was still shattered from his display at Wembley and never really got going. Was taken off at half time as a precaution but hopefully he is fit to play on Sunday.
TSBV rating: 6/10
TEVEZ: At the moment I feel like a parrot every time I start describing Tevez's performances recently! Once again, the energy shown by the Argentine was there to see and his goal just summed up his display. He rarely was offered support from the midfield and often had to do everything himself - as proven with his goal.
TSBV rating: 9/10
The one player who impressed me once again was Samir Nasri. You get the feeling that he needs to play when he is on form, and ever since the Newcastle game a couple of weeks back he looks a totally different player to the one early this season.
He was the only one who seemed interested in the midfield last night and some of his runs and passing was top quality. I'm hoping that Mancini picks him in the starting XI at White Hart Lane on Sunday because he really deserves it.
Carlos Tevez, once again, was full of energy and desire to win the game for his team and his goal was something out of the top drawer and he was ultimately the difference between the sides.
With Tottenham on the horizon, I am hoping that we can carry on with our run of good form and further solidify our place in second.
Player ratings
HART: Made an absolutely world class save from Franco di Santo mid way through the first half which kept the scores level. Joe proved why he deserves to be number one at Manchester City with his performance.
TSBV rating: 7/10
RICHARDS: Great to see Micah come back from his injury which kept him out for six months. However, you could tell he was far from being match fit so this game will do him good. I think he needs to write this season off and just make sure he works hard ahead of the new campaign.TSBV rating: 6/10
TSBV rating: 7/10
LESCOTT: Was given MOTM by the club and you can understand why. He was consistently solid all game and his goal line clearance to prevent Maloney at 0-0 was as important as Hart's save in the first half. A good performance from Joleon - although he wasn't my MOTM!TSBV rating: 8/10
KOLAROV: Up there with one of his worst performances in a City shirt. Did well to assist Tevez in the goal but he was sloppy throughout the game and was unable to find a team mate with his wayward passing. Needs to pick his game up if he wants to be a City player next season.TSBV rating: 5/10
GARCIA: As I said earlier, I don't think playing Garcia and Barry together works at all so for this reason I don't think we saw the best of Garcia. He was considerably outplayed by the Wigan midfield and this was the main reason for their domination of play throughout the game.
TSBV rating: 6/10
TSBV rating: 6/10
YAYA TOURE: I think we need to try and make Yaya think he's playing at Wembley every game because he was absolutely awful yesterday! When you compare this display to the one against Chelsea on Sunday you'd be forgiven for thinking it was two different players. His passing was off and he was totally outplayed in the midfield role. TSBV rating: 5/10
TSBV rating: 10/10
AGUERO: Could tell he was still shattered from his display at Wembley and never really got going. Was taken off at half time as a precaution but hopefully he is fit to play on Sunday.
TSBV rating: 6/10
TSBV rating: 9/10
Substitutes
DZEKO: Came on for Aguero at half time and like Tevez, was rarely supported by the midfield. Not his best game but held the ball up well and was unlucky not to score at 0-0.TSBV rating: 7/10
TSBV rating: 7/10
SINCLAIR: Didn't really have enough time to influence proceedings as he replaced Richards on 83 minutes.
No rating.
Note: All pictures above from MCFC Official Facebook page
You can also follow Aaron on Twitter: @aaron_leggott
(c) The Sky Blue View 2013
Agree completely with the view that Garcia and Barry can't play together in midfield. Although last night we also had the problem of no width as Nasri drifted infield and Tevez dropped deep!
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