Manchester City have travelled to Anfield on many occasions and as I mentioned in my preview of the game City have very rarely left without anything other than a loss. In fact I believe pre war is where you have to go back to before you see we were totally dominant. That said, you also have to go back a long way in order to find the depth of class in all areas of the pitch that we now currently boast.
However, Manchester City are coming of a morale destroying defeat at Napoli midweek which has left qualification from that competition teetering on the edge, going to Liverpool and getting a win was always going to be tough. Statistics wise you really couldn't separate the two teams, possession was almost evenly split, 51 to 49% in favour of the home side. Shots on target were also close with four to the home side and three to City.
With 15 minutes on the clock City captain and defender was booked for a tackle on Suarez which meant he, in particular, had to be careful for the rest of the game. Another quarter of an hour later and Kompanys name was again taken but this time for a beautiful nod past Reina and into the corner of the Liverpool to put City one up. Merlin won and then dispatched a corner which was whipped into the area for Kompany to connect with.
For the next 90 seconds all the hard work was tarnished. First off Gareth Barry was booked which means that he will miss the Quarter Final match against Arsenal on Tuesday. That was nothing though compared to how Liverpool equalised when a wild shot from Charlie Adam, which was heading wide, was deflected in by Lescott who hadn't quite got total control over his feet again.
That gave Liverpool the courage to attack and pile on the pressure on City with City feeding on scraps. It was one of these scraps that almost led to City heading in to a halftime lead, with Aguerofinding Silva whose shot is saved smartly at the near post. Once Atkinson blew for haltime you just felt, as a City fan, that Mancini could speak to the guys and maybe make a switch and the Lescottown goal would just be a game note.
The second half started and both teams are unchanged. For the first twenty minutes it looked as if City were happy with absorbing the Liverpool pressure before breaking on them, which they did a couple of times and looked dangerous. Nasri was then swapped with Balotelli with Mancini sensing that the win was still attainable. However, where Balotelli goes, referees cards are quick to follow. Now it is true that Balotelli did come from behind Glen Johnson and give him a tug, but it also true that a freekick and no card would have fit the crime also. That was not the case though and that would prove costly for the Italian.
In the last eight minutes Aguero, who had looked ineffective, was taken off with Dzeko replacing him with Mancini looking to go with two upfront. Balotelli had other ideas though as a raised elbow had the referee reaching for first a yellow and then finally a red card for Balotelli. A yellow card was probably fair for the raised elbow but to be fair Skirtel also went in elbows up and replays suggested minimal contact Balotellis case wasn't helped by Skirtel rolling around holding his face like he had just been hit by a baseball bat. Mancini was not impressed and had a word with Mario as he walked off.
That left Liverpool with seven minutes of regulation and an extra three in stoppage to get that one goal and a win. City held firm and defended as a unit, Dzeko and attacking players were found in their own area helping out the defenders and this speaks volumes to me. Thanks to that togetherness and of course Joe Harts crazy acrobatics and strong hands kept Liverpool out and secured a good point for City.
Still top of the league, still 5 points clear of United and still undefeated. Next up in the league is a home game with Norwich City, keep the faith fellow Blues, a few seasons ago this would have been a 3-0 loss and we'd have been down looking up at the rest rather than today atop the Premier League.
Written By: PA Cityboy(www.facebook.com/pacityboy)
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