Tag Archives: Roberto Mancini

City Were 8 Points behind United and all was lost, or was it?

On this day (April 11) in 2012 Roberto Mancini’s Manchester City lay eight points behind Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United and possessed an inferior goal difference (two goals) after the same number of games. There were only six games left to play and, as far as the wider public was concerned, it was only a matter of time before United won the title. But things began to change on this day in 2012 when City faced West Bromwich Albion.

Here for subscribers is the story of that day…

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The 2010s: Victory over Sunderland

Manager Roberto Mancini knew that victory over Sunderland on this day (3 April) in 2011 would lift Manchester City to third place in the League. Despite early season optimism that a League title could be possible that opportunity had faded and now the target, as far as the League was concerned, was to finish third or better. While fourth place would bring a Champions League play-off place, third would bring automatic qualification.

City took a ninth minute lead, but it wasn’t until Carlos Tevez doubled that lead via a penalty six minutes later that Mancini’s team looked in total control. An adventurous looking City pushed and pressed Sunderland and further chances came from Tevez and Balotelli before the break, but it remained 2-0. That changed in the second half as the Blues’ dominance brought reward.

Three goals in ten minutes made this an extremely positive day with City looking at their absolute best. In the 63rd minute a shot from Balotelli rebounded for David Silva to send home the rebound. Four minutes later Aleksandar Kolarov fired across goal following a corner and Patrick Vieira slid in to steer the ball in at the back post. Vieira had only come on as substitute two minutes earlier.

The fifth and final goal was slotted in by Yaya Toure in the 73rd minute. The win meant third placed City were a point clear of fourth placed Chelsea (though they had a game in hand) and ten behind leaders United. Mancini’s team were six points clear of fifth placed Tottenham with seven games left for the Blues.

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FA Cup Quarter Final 15 Years Ago Today

On this day (13 March) in 2011 Manchester City faced Reading in the FA Cup quarter final. Here for subscribers is the story of that game:

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Manchester City 1 Wigan 0

A difficult League game at home to Wigan saw the Blues win 1-0 on this day (5 March) in 2011, but it had been a laboured victory with City looking somewhat tired. Journalist Paul Wilson described the goal: ‘City got lucky when the normally reliable Ali al-Habsi allowed David Silva’s tame first-half shot to slip through his fingers and trickle between his legs, though in the context of the way Arsenal dropped two home points on the same afternoon luck is not something to be sniffed at. At least City had the gumption to settle for the points and a flat performance, instead of taking risks trying to be entertaining.’

City were suffering with several injuries and manager Roberto Mancini believed his side had been performing exceptionally well considering the issues. He claimed the squad was thin compared to the other title challengers: ‘Every other team has 20 or 22 players to choose from and you need that if you are playing every three days. We only have 15 or 16 at present. When we recover all our players it will not be a problem, but since January we have been unlucky with niggling injuries and now we have just lost Kolo [via a suspension].’

Writing in the Guardian Paul Wilson had some sympathy: ‘Mancini could be right about the team finding themselves in a difficult moment. The Europa League demands a trip to Kiev on Thursday, just about the last thing a team in need of a rest would fancy, and after the return leg the next league fixture is Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. A home FA Cup tie against Reading on Sunday ought to provide some respite, though City will only arrive back in the country in the small hours of Friday morning and on the evidence of their efforts against Wigan no one will be taking anything for granted.’

The 2010s: Manchester City v Notts County

On 20 February 2011 Manchester City’s FA Cup tie with Notts County ultimately demonstrated the gulf in quality between Manchester’s Blues and the 18th placed team in League One (3rd tier). County, managed by former United player Paul Ince, had opened brightly and almost took the lead after only 60 seconds, but City went on to dominate this fourth round replay.

Patrick Vieira opened the scoring for City in the 37th minute when he headed home after David Silva whipped a cross in his direction from a Kolarov corner. Vieira added a second 13 minutes after half time. Roberto Mancini’s side seemed comfortable by this time, but County began to put the Blues under pressure, forcing goalkeeper Joe Hart to make a couple of significant saves.

Ince’s side peaked by about the 70th minute and City increased their lead in the 84th as Carlos Tevez scored his 50th goal in only 73 appearances for the Blues – a return that caused the Guardian’s Daniel Taylor to suggest the Argentinian had: ‘legitimate credentials to be recognised as the outstanding striker in [City’s] history.’

A Edin Dzeko header made it 4-0 in the 89th minute and then Micah Richards hooked a superb shot into the top corner from about 12 yards out to make it 5-0 in added time.

City were through to face Aston Villa in the fifth round, and they already knew that, should they beat Villa, the quarter-final would be against either Everton or Reading.

While the result was extremely positive there had been one potentially concerning moment picked up by the nation’s media. Mario Balotelli clashed heads with County defender Pearce and was replaced almost immediately by Carlos Tevez (60th minute). As Balotelli left the field, he seemed somewhat unhappy and threw his snood to the ground as he walked down the tunnel. The player was taken to hospital after the game as he felt dizzy and nauseous, but much was made of his disappointment at being substituted. When asked about it after the game Mancini said: ‘He was unhappy, sure. I’d expect him to be. But that was our plan [to substitute him] and we had told him. We have games coming up every three or four days and we want him 100%.’

At a time when some were suggesting City should concentrate on finishing in a League place that would guarantee Champions League football rather than a domestic cup, Mancini was asked whether the Cup mattered to him. He replied: ‘The FA Cup is an important competition, and we want to win it. Reaching the final is our aim but we cannot look too far ahead. We have a Europa tie on Thursday and then we must play in the League on Sunday before the cup match against Villa… It is a lot to ask to win every week, but we must rest well and then work hard.’

Match Stats

20 February 2011

Manchester City 5 (Vieira 2, Tevez, Dzeko & Richards) Notts County 0

Attendance 27,276

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Dzeko’s FAC First

On 30 January 2011 Manchester City travelled to Notts County in the FA Cup. Roberto Mancini’s Blues went behind (59thminute) but new signing Edin Dzeko lifted spirits with his first goal in the competition. With only ten minutes left Micah Richards pushed forward on the right then crossed wonderfully for Dzeko, who volleyed into the roof of the net from close range.

Further opportunities followed but the game ended 1-1. There had been intense media focus on the tie – billed as England’s oldest club against the world’s wealthiest (neither description accurate) by some media outlets – this had been put forward as a day when a football shock could occur, especially as the playing surface was poor following rugby games played on it. Ultimately, Dzeko’s goal avoided any embarrassment and allowed the game to go to a replay in what was to become a trophy winning season.

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Stoke v Manchester City 15 Years Ago

On this day (27 November) in 2010 City played out a dour draw at Stoke in the Premier League. If you fancy reading about it (and I’ve not really sold it with that description!) then see below:

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QPR 2 Manchester City 3

On this day (5 November) in 2011 Manchester City defeated Neil Warnock’s Queen’s Park Rangers 3-2 with goals from Edin Dzeko, David Silva and Yaya Toure. The game is often overlooked in the history of games between the two clubs mainly due to the fact that the second game of the season between these teams was such an important occasion. But this match also had its twists and turns, with the three points of course proving vital at the season’s end. People inevitably focus on the final day, title winning matches but in a season where a title is decided on goal difference then every game and goal is important.

QPR opened the scoring in the 28th minute (a header from Jay Bothroyd) with man of the match Edin Dzeko equalising two minutes before half time. David Silva (photographed) made it 2-1 seven minutes into the second half but Heidar Helguson equalised in the 69th minute. The game was won with a 74th minute headed effort from Yaya Toure.

After the match manager Roberto Mancini rightly commented: ‘It was important we beat QPR. I knew that we could have a problem. The win was very important because we’ve played 6 very, very hard games and we’ve won, it was important because of the international break.’

The 2010s: Blackburn 0 Manchester City 4

On this day (1 October) in 2011 Manchester City faced Blackburn in the Premier at Ewood Park. Here’s a few words I wrote on that game a few years ago:

At Blackburn on 1st October the home side tried to stifle Mancini’s men for some time.  In fact City sat back and took stock of the situation throughout the first half as a negative Blackburn team seemed happy to kill the game at every opportunity.  In the second half, as often the case during the opening months of the season, the Blues had total control and ten minutes after the interval Johnson made it 1-0.  

Balotelli sent Nasri’s cross home three minutes later, before Nasri added a third and Savić headed City’s fourth.  City fans, who had sung Roberto Mancini’s name at various points before and during the match, were in full voice at the end while the Blackburn supporters chanted for the dismissal of their boss Steve Kean.  Post match Mancini’s assistant David Platt faced the press:  ‘It was the result we were looking for to put Bayern Munich to bed.’

City had lost 2-0 at Munich in their previous game. Here are highlights of the Blackburn match:

https://www.mancity.com/citytv/match-highlights/2011/october/blackburn-v-city-extended-highlights-1-oct-11

Five, Fifteen, Fifty – New MCFC Match Programme Series

Those who saw the Manchester City v Tottenham match programme at weekend May have noticed my new series of articles. This year I’m doing a season tracker feature and have chosen the seasons 1975-76, 2010-11 and 2020-21. Each issue will cover those seasons plus I’ll write a Memory Match feature on a game from that week in one of the three seasons. The three seasons are all important ones in the history of Manchester’s Blues (every season is important of course!) and I hope I can do them justice. The reason I’ve chosen those seasons….

Typically season tracker pick seasons that are a multiple of five and usually focus on 5, 10, 25 years but I felt it was important to look at a season further back, so chose fifty years ago (1975-76 – one of my own personal favourite seasons). I also wanted to recognise the 2010-11 season as that saw Roberto Mancini’s team win their first major trophy. The 2020-21 season was of course a major trophy winning season unde Pep Guardiola.

The Memory Match I chose for the first issue was from 2010 and a day when Liverpool were defeated.

I hope everyone who gets chance to see the programme enjoys the four page feature. Thanks, as always, to those who support my writing.