Tag Archives: Nicolas Anelka

City 2003: Another Attendance Record

On this day (18 October) in 2003 Manchester City scored 6 goals at their new home, the City of Manchester Stadium (now Etihad Stadium), for the first time. It was also the 6th consecutive record attendance for the new ground. There was also a sending off for Shaun Wright-Phillips. It was an odd day in some ways but you can read more below:

Although the game was 1-1 at half-time, City defeated Bolton 6-2 at the City of Manchester stadium.  The 6th was scored by Claudio Reyna in the 84th minute.The Bolton victory was notable from a stadium perspective as it also marked the sixth consecutive highest record breaking attendance for the venue.  Due to seating reconfigurations taking place throughout the early part of the season, a new record crowd for the stadium was set for the first five League games.  

The first competitive game (TNS, UEFA Cup) saw 34,103 – capacity had been restricted to about 35,000 due to safety legislation – followed by a record in every one of the following five League games staged – 46,287 (Portsmouth), 46,436 (Arsenal), 46,687 (Villa), 46,842 (Spurs) & 47,101 (Bolton).  Each of those matches was watched by a capacity attendance.  Over the following months further changes, such as reducing the size of the Directors’ Box, increased capacity further and the record crowd was broken again when Leeds United came on 22nd December (47,126) and then Liverpool (47,201) six days later.  Ultimately, the Chelsea game on 28th February became the season’s best with an attendance of 47,304.

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Chelsea Defeated

Pre-match the Times claimed: ‘if only one [goal] is needed, Chelsea usually find it.’ Well, not this day as Manchester City became the only team to beat Chelsea during their title winning season (their 2nd title; their first was 50 years earlier).

Nicolas Anelka netted an early penalty to give Manchester’s Blues the 1-0 win on this day (16 October) in 2004.

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20 Years Ago (I know!): City 1 Chelsea 0

Twenty years ago today (16 October 2004) eventual champions Chelsea were defeated 1-0 by Manchester City at the City of Manchester Stadium (now Etihad).  City were the only side to beat the champions during 2004-5 and managed to draw the return fixture 0-0. You can read more on the October game below:

By the time Chelsea arrived in Manchester on 16 October the Blues were 12th on 8 points, while the visitors were second, behind Arsenal, on 20 points.  Chelsea were also one of only two sides unbeaten in the League and were, without doubt, favourites to win this match.  Keegan optimistically told fans pre-match:  “It is still 11 against 11 on the day and we are more than capable of beating the top sides.”  

The manager’s views proved correct as City defeated the eventual champions 1-0 with an 11th minute penalty from Nicolas Anelka.  It was the first time Jose Mourinho had suffered a defeat at Chelsea and was only the second time his side had conceded a goal during 2004-05.  It was also City’s first home victory over the London club in the Premier League.  Sadly, Jihai Sun suffered cruciate ligament damage and was to miss the rest of the season.

The Jihai Sun injury was not the only one affecting Keegan’s side during the first half of the season and, as the Blues had one of the smallest squads in the Premier League, the manager found himself with few players to choose from at times.  

The 2000s: Wanchope Double

On 15 May 2004 Paulo Wanchope netted twice as Manchester City defeated Everton 5-1 on the last day of the 2003-04 season. The other goals were netted by Antoine Sibierski and Shaun Wright-Phillips.

If you want to read all about that season then here’s a 4,200 word article on it (below). This was City’s first at the City of Manchester Stadium (now Etihad).

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Anelka Double and Peter The Great

On this day (3 May) in 2003 Manchester City defeated Liverpool 2-1 at Anfield. The newspaper reports that followed tended to praise City ‘keeper Peter Schmeichel most, even though Nicolas Anelka had scored both goals for the Blues. In Manchester, this was a hugely popular City win but this was a strange and emotional period for all connected with the Blues. The following game would be City’s last first team match at Maine Road and while fans celebrated a rare win at Anfield there were many emotions as the club now looked ahead to Maine Road’s farewell.

You can read plenty on this final season elsewhere on the site.

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Chelsea Defeated

Pre-match the Times claimed: ‘if only one [goal] is needed, Chelsea usually find it.’ Well, not this day as Manchester City became the only team to beat Chelsea during their title winning season (their 2nd title; their first was 50 years earlier).

Nicolas Anelka netted an early penalty to give Manchester’s Blues the 1-0 win on this day (16 October) in 2004.

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Maine Road 100 – Day 36

It’s day 36 of my posts counting down to the centenary of Maine Road’s opening game. Yesterday I featured Maine Road’s first derby match and today’s images are a reminder of the last Manchester derby played at Maine Road.

The game, played on 9 November 2002 saw City defeat United 3-1 with goals from Anelka and Goater (2). United’s historic last goal at Maine Road was scored by Solksjaer.

Fan memories of that day in Farewell To Maine Road

These images are taken from Farewell To Maine Road and subscribers can now download a PDF of that book. The feature on Maine Road’s last derby was in chapter one: End of an Era. See below for details of how to get that book.

Goater’s 100th goal, scored v MUFC in November 2002.

For those unfamiliar with Maine Road this photo may help locate the the tunnel image (number 1):

Maine Road aerial 1971 from Farewell To Maine Road

If you’d like to read more on the history of Maine Road, take a look at Farewell To Maine Road, which can be downloaded from this page:

Farewell To Maine Road – Part One
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The 2000s: This Week 2004-05

Continuing the weekly series on Manchester City’s seasons from 1999-2000 through to 2008-09. Each week I’ll be publishing here the story of a different season of that remarkable ten-year period. Today we have a 2,200 word article on the 2004-05 season (below).

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The 2000s: This Week 2003-04

Continuing the weekly series on Manchester City’s seasons from 1999-2000 through to 2008-09. Each week I’ll be publishing here the story of a different season of that remarkable ten-year period. Today we have a 4,200 word article on the 2003-04 season (below) which was City’s first at the City of Manchester Stadium (now Etihad of course).

Subscribe to get access – Annual

This article is for subscribers to my website. It costs £20 a year to access everything on the site since creation in December 2020. That includes articles, history talks, videos, interviews & more. There’s also a monthly option below.

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Subscribe to get access – Monthly

Monthly subscription costs £3 per month to access everything on the site since 1 October 2022 (cancel anytime). All subscribers access all new material until their subscription ends. Why not give it a try for a month?

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Reports Talk of Peter The Great

Twenty years ago today (5 May 2003) newspaper reports reflected on Manchester City’s 2-1 victory at Liverpool two days earlier. They tended to praise City ‘keeper Peter Schmeichel most, even though Nicolas Anelka had scored both goals for the Blues. It was a hugely popular City win of course in Manchester but this was a strange and emotional period for all connected with the Blues. The following game would be City’s last first team match at Maine Road and while fans celebrated a rare win at Anfield there were many emotions as the club now looked ahead to Maine Road’s farewell.