'....the ball arcing onto Edin Dzeko’s head from whence it flew into the net.'
Very much worthy of a read. Is this really the MEN?
Manchester City 3 Blackburn 0: Stuart Brennan's verdict
Stuart Brennan
February 27, 2012
It was the mildest winter of discontent, and all the signs are that Manchester City are about to have a blooming great spring.
United players seem to have spent the last fortnight questioning the mental fortitude of this Blues team, musing whether they will crack under the strain.
The answer, laid bare in this powerful domination of Blackburn, is the only way in which City are cracking is in the Wallace and Gromit sense – they are a cracking good football team.
The superlatives have to be tempered by the poverty of Blackburn. It is unlikely that, in the remaining 12 games of this season, the Blues will come up against such a lack of ambition married to such resignation to defeat.
But that should not detract from the quality on display.
It is a privilege to watch this City team in this mood – the beauty of David Silva’s first touch, the thunderous dashes of Yaya Toure, the darts of Sergio Aguero and the nonchalant
brilliance of Mario Balotelli.
And the artistic stuff is only half of the story.
Football is also about courage, commitment and strength and the way men like Pablo Zabaleta, Vincent Kompany and Nigel de Jong play the game is equally soothing to the soul.
Fit the two halves of that equation together, and you have a team perfectly suited to win the Premier League – and which deserves to win it. City have scored more goals than anyone, conceded less than anyone, won beautifully, won ugly and just plain won, and yet some foolhardy critics still think United have the better team ethic or Spurs have played better
football.
The truth is this City team is showing signs of emerging from a phase of the season where they had to battle rather than bedazzle and, once again, are starting to look like the team which was dominating and destroying teams five months ago.
Not without reason did Roberto Mancini predict his team would take some stopping if they were still top of the league when Yaya returned from the African Nations Cup – and when he said it, he did not know about the disciplinary travails of Kompany and Balotelli.
With everyone back, apart from Gareth Barry – rested as a precaution – this is a squad which rather than hoping to coast down the final straight is revving its engines.
All the talk beforehand was of nerves, of composure, and of the need to be patient to break down teams like Blackburn.
City ripped all that up by sweeping through them in the first minute, Adam Johnson one-two’ing with Silva and cutting a pass back for Balotelli to crash a shot brilliantly saved by Paul Robinson.
The former England keeper had a superb opening 45 minutes, while the current incumbent of the post watched from the other end, a lonely figure.
Rovers were content to play the game in their own half, a dangerous game against a side of City’s invention.
And when they did venture into opposition territory, they were punished. Yaya powered into a tackle and immediately sent Silva sprinting free, and Rovers were unhinged. The little Spaniard angled the ball wide to Aleks Kolarov – revelling in his freedom from defensive duty.
When he whipped a cross to the near post, Balotelli’s run across the defence was little more than an amble, about prescience more than pace, and his finish was of high quality.
The young Italian raised his shirt to declare his love, in Italian, for girlfriend Raffaella Fico. The feisty brunette might have to join the queue when it comes to showing affection for Super Mario if he keeps up this form.
With the first goal in the bag, City moved to another level and Rovers thought about damage limitation.
Kompany came up with the first of two near-post backheel flicks at corners, forcing Robinson into another great reflex parry, with Yaya stabbing the rebound just wide.
The Blues were in full flow, confidence and class oozing from every pore. But the second goal was vital and it was with some irony that it came from a flap by saviour Robinson.
He fluffed Silva’s corner straight to Aguero’s half-volley, and the little Argentine gleefully thumped home his 21st goal of a memorable debut season.
With Blackburn seemingly happy with a 2-0 scoreline, Mancini was able to give David Pizarro another 20 minutes from the bench, and that was an added pleasure.
The little Chilean has shown his ability in his three short appearances as substitute, and after making one and scoring one against Porto in midweek, he again made his influence tell.
Sure-footed and quick-witted, he keeps play moving and spreads the ball at will. His pass wide invited a first-time cross from Kolarov, the ball arcing onto Edin Dzeko’s head from whence it flew into the net.
It was a fitting way to wrap up the scoring. The great American showman said the secret was to The smiling City fans walking away from the Etihad can’t wait for more.
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