City continued their impressive trend of form with a narrow 1-0 win over Everton; a side who have caused City plenty of problems in recent meetings. The Champions capitalised on Chelsea’s slip-up at Newcastle, claiming a massive three points courtesy of a Yaya Toure penalty in the 23rd minute; one of many key incidents in the game.
In all truth, the opening stages were nothing short of a nightmare for City. After reaching extraordinary heights with his dazzling displays and remaining injury-free, Aguero pulled up merely minutes into the match, forcing City fans to fear the worst. It was all too good to be true.
No Everton player played any part in the injury – The City talisman battled for the ball, fell to the floor then suffered the damage as he attempted to go for the ball once more. Immediately, it did not look good and reports have indicated that the damage was inflicted onto Kun’s knee ligaments, though at the time of writing this the severity of the injury is yet to be officially revealed.
The Blues were undoubtedly dealt a colossal blow so early on, and with Dzeko not deemed fit enough to enter the fray at this point, Pellegrini called upon 18-year old Jose Angel Pozo – who is seen as one of the brightest talents in the club’s ranks. It was a huge decision for Pellegrini, but I for one was pleased with the trust he placed in Pozo.
The Spaniard, úndestandably, showed signs of inexperience to begin with but displayed good composure and movement as the game went on. He took up some good positions in and around the box, yet his teammates seemed somewhat reluctant to give him the ball.
The tempo of the game turned flat for a brief while as both teams struggled to move into their stride. City, however, made the breakthrough midway into the first half, as a result of a hotly-contested penalty decision. Toure fed Milner, who was going away from goal when Jagielka intervened.
The England defender was clumsy in the challenge, even if the contact was slight. It was soft, but would have been a foul anywhere else on the pitch. Yaya stepped up and duly dispatched the spot-kick, despite Howard guessing right.
Prior to the penalty, Mangala was incredibly fortunate to escape with a yellow card after leaving Samuel Eto’o writhing in pain following a dangerous and reckless high challenge.
The Frenchman’s attempt attack the ball was outlandish, yet it did not seem as though he intentionally set out to injure Eto’o. Nevertheless it was a woefully-timed tackle and probably warranted a straight red card.
Similarly, Fernando caught Barry with a high-foot but I feel a yellow was sufficient this time as the ball was there to be won.
City were not at their vintage best, but were good value for the win. Nasri put in a terrific performance in the no.10 role, as did Milner, who was his usual industrial self on the flank. It is also worth noting how well Gael Clichy has been performing, he conjured up yet another sterling display at left-back.
It was the City no.7 who was at the centre of City’s best opportunities to extend their lead. He laid the ball on a plate for Pozo early in the second half, though Tim Howard produced a fantastic save with his trailing leg to deny the youngster a memorable goal.
Later in the game the midfielder had a golden chance to bag a goal himself, yet could not get a clean contact on his volley, after substitute Dzeko nodded into his path.
Everton did not trouble City too much, but they would surely have snatched a point had Joe Hart not produced the most wonderful one-handed save to thwart Romelu Lukaku, whose effort had plenty of venom in.
The match was largely overshadowed by that injury to Aguero, but City deserve some credit for their performance. While they did not flourish in the final third, they defended admirably and claimed a huge win. Next up is that all-important clash with Roma, where City can make the Champions League knockout stages if all goes well.
