By Aaron Leggott
My thoughts
This game had a proper end of season feel about it and a draw was a fair result. It was a game of two (very unentertaining) halves - with Swansea shading the first half, and City becoming much stronger after the break.
You can tell that the motivation for some players has totally gone in terms of the Premier League and it is hard to shake them out of that mindset - we just need to ensure that Champions League football is secured which I'm fairly confident we will manage.
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| David Silva in action against Swansea Official MCFC Facebook |
With games against West Brom, Reading and Norwich we should be expecting a full nine points in return to finish the league season off strongly. And a win at Wembley on Saturday wouldn't be too bad, either.
I thought Gareth Barry was our stand out player on Saturday as he dealt with the threat of the likes of Jonathan de Guzman, Leon Britton and Pablo Hernandez comfortably and bar Hernandez in the first half - the trio rarely got a sniff of goal.
I was disappointed with the performance of Yaya Toure and he was understandably taken off at half time following an abysmal performance - he will need to up his game at Wembley.
And unfortunately, I think Edin Dzeko might be slowly on his way out of Manchester. His miss at the Liberty Stadium was nothing short of astonishing and it was easier to score than miss - which Dzeko managed to do in spectacular style.
So, with West Brom heading to the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday, I fully expect Roberto Mancini to make a number of changes in order to keep some individuals fresh for the FA Cup Final.
Player ratings
HART: Swansea only managed to muster just one shot on target and it wasn't a testing one for Hart - a clean sheet for England's number one but he didn't have much to do.
TSBV rating: 6/10
ZABALETA: Had a poor first half and if it wasn't for Hernandez's inability to hit the target, we could have easily been losing due to Zabaleta's poor positioning. However, he played much better in the second half as he was back to his solid self.
TSBV rating: 6/10
KOMPANY: Another solid game from Kompany as he proved what a rock he is in the heart of City's defence - Michu never got a sniff all game.
TSBV rating: 7/10
NASTASIC: Like Kompany, he had yet another solid game and I'm looking forward to see how he progresses in the next two to three seasons - he really does have the ability to become one of the world's greatest centre backs..
TSBV rating: 7/10
CLICHY: It is rare when someone is able to keep up with the pace of Nathan Dyer, but Clichy managed to do this with ease on many occasions to keep the right winger quiet throughout the game.
TSBV rating: 7/10
YAYA TOURE: One of his poorer games for City as his passing was off - often being caught out by Britton and de Guzman.
TSBV rating: 5/10
BARRY: As mentioned above, I thought Barry was our MoTM as he managed to help City dominate possession in both halves.
TSBV rating: 8/10
MILNER: Quiet first half from Milner but after Toure went off at half time he was moved into a more central position and performed well alongside Barry.
TSBV rating: 7/10
SILVA: Didn't pose his usual threat when going forward and it is evident that he needs to work on his shooting following his attempt on goal in the last 10 minutes.
TSBV rating: 6/10
NASRI: Nasri was probably City's biggest attacking threat during the game and proved why he needs to keep playing in order to keep his performances to a maximum level.
TSBV rating: 7/10
AGUERO: Was never supported when going forward and it's evident that he needs someone up front alongside him when playing otherwise his threat is extremely limited. He will, and has, had better games at City.
TSBV rating: 6/10
Substitutes
DZEKO: Replaced Toure at half time and in truth - didn't do much more than the Ivorian. His miss in the 83rd minute was extremely poor and summed up his performance.
TSBV rating: 5/10
TEVEZ: Came on in the 78th minute for Aguero and didn't really have enough time to make a difference
No rating
RODWELL: Great to see him back as he replaced Silva with five minutes to play - hopefully he gets some game time against West Brom tomorrow.
No rating
Note: All pictures above from MCFC Official Facebook page
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