After the shock at Sunderland, City show they have the steel of champions
By MARTIN SAMUEL
Last updated at 12:19 AM on 4th January 2012
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Bouncebackability. Iain Dowie coined the word during his time as manager of Crystal Palace. It even appeared in the 2005 edition of the Collins dictionary, along with Sir Alex Ferguson’s ‘squeaky bum time’.
That stage of the season is yet to come for Roberto Mancini and Manchester City, but if they get there in the position they occupy this morning, it is their bouncebackability that will be the deciding factor.
City have not lost many this season but, when they have, their powers of recovery have said much about the character of Mancini and his squad. Defeat at Chelsea on December 12 was immediately followed by victory over Arsenal, and following an unexpected reverse at Sunderland came this emphatic win.
Return to form: James Milner wheels away after firing City's third
The statistics flatter Liverpool. They had 64 per cent of possession and won the pass count 593 to 331. Yet that is not the whole story.
Liverpool were two goals down early on, at which point City were content to sit back and absorb pressure. They let Liverpool run the game in the second half while all the time increasing their lead despite going down to 10 men. Here was a team entirely in control. Liverpool had plenty of the ball but it was like being savaged by a dead sheep.
City players had incurred the wrath of Mancini for chasing the game and conceding a late goal at Sunderland. Here they showed they are quick learners. No risks were taken, attacks came on the break, the defence massed in numbers.
Bolt from the Blue: Sergio Aguero shoots, as Jay Spearing and Daniel Agger look on
‘Good result, that, lad,’ said a father to his son on the way out. It was as if the young boy needed educating on the virtues of the bounce back. Raised in the golden years of unimagined wealth, he maybe thought a 3-0 home win over Liverpool was the standard response to defeat at an elite club. He had to be schooled on its exceptional nature. Good teams do not just come back and put three past a Kenny Dalglish side; potential champions do that.
Until a London club demonstrates the nerve to join the title race, the spoils of this season will be subject to a Mancunian duel. The gauntlet now lies at Manchester United’s feet, and they need to match City’s victory with one of their own at Newcastle United.
After that is the FA Cup third round tie between the clubs at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, with its potential for revenge after the 6-1 drubbing meted out at Old Trafford earlier in the campaign.
As preparation this could hardly have been bettered. Here was a City side responding to instruction, in command and comfortable with setting the pace. Those who thought last Sunday’s late defeat showed signs of mental frailty may have to look for another straw to clutch.
There were questions outstanding about Tuesday night’s match but most concerned how on earth Gary Neville got through both sets of fans to report from Sky’s studio inside the ground. He must have come in a tank.
City will miss Yaya Toure when he departs for the Africa Cup of Nations, though, make no mistake of that. His brother, Kolo, is interchangeable with Joleon Lescott at the heart of defence, and Vincent Kompany is the leader of that pack, anyway. Yet Yaya is a unique presence in City’s midfield, a powerhouse of athleticism without equal in the elite.
Driving force: But Yaya Toure, who scored city's second against Liverpool, will be off to the Africa Cup of Nations until mid-February
Manchester United would kill for his fearsome drive and quality right now; he is exactly what they are without. Soon, City will miss him, too; no wonder he remains the subject of intense negotiations over his release date.
There will be no sympathy for Mancini when the brothers return to the motherland, however, just as his complaints about the fixture schedule fell on deaf ears. Of course it was unjust that City should play games on Sunday afternoon and then Tuesday night, while Liverpool last played five nights ago.
When a team measures its spending in hundreds of millions, however, few will waste time squeezing out a tear at their plight. Understandably, on this evidence.
City’s dismissal of Liverpool was achieved without Mario Balotelli and Samir Nasri and with players of the calibre of Adam Johnson and Nigel de Jong on the bench.
Coining a phrase: Iain Dowie took Crystal Palace from 19th in the Championship to the Premier League
Palace’s bouncebackability under Dowie was considerably more unexpected than Mancini’s marshalling of his stellar squad. The last time Manchester City dropped points in the Premier League at home was against Fulham — and former boss Mark Hughes — on February 27.
Just three more wins, against Tottenham Hotspur, Fulham and Blackburn Rovers, and they will complete the remarkable feat of going a year with a 100 per cent home record. None of this should be taken for granted, no matter the depth of the squad.
It is devilishly hard to stay mentally and physically fit throughout a season, to sidestep a slump under pressure, or a run of disappointment. With the exception of Arsenal’s Invincibles, every champion suffers a dip in form, however temporary.
Tough nut to crack: City maintained their sensational home form
That is what the chasing pack must have been hoping for after Ji Dong-won’s late winner for Sunderland: first the drama, then the crisis. That is what was so important about this result. Manchester City did not display a flicker of nerves, the merest tremble of trepidation. They knew what the manager wanted and they delivered it, to the letter.
Bouncebackability; or as they say around these parts, good result, that. And they have waited long enough to be so matter of fact when putting three past Liverpool.
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