So City will now travel to the Hawthorns to face West Brom on the 9th August in a Monday Night Football clash. It’s fair to say that though it is early days, Monday night games can be quite significant if record books are to be acknowledged. As per Opta, the eventual title-winning side in the Premier League have started their season on Monday night in each of the past five seasons.
City themselves have tasted success themselves on Monday Night Football in the past, so we take a look at three memorable Monday night games for the Blues.
Swansea (H) 2011/12:
Starting the 2011/12 season on a Monday night, Roberto Mancini’s hosted then Premier League newcomers Swansea and began the season in style with an emphatic 4-0 win. It wasn’t all easy at the start though and City were tied with the Swans until Edin Dzeko broke the deadlock after the break. Things spiced up when a certain Argentine entered the fray. Sergio Aguero marked his City debut with a devastating double as well as teeing up Silva for the third goal. Certainly a memorable one, as it set the tone for the full season.
Newcastle (H) 2013/14:
Again in 2013/14’s double-winning campaign, City started the season at home on a Monday, this time hosting Alan Pardew’s Newcastle at the Etihad in Manuel Pellegrini’s first official game in charge. The Blues had a mixed pre-season but when it mattered they stepped up, delivering a stunning performance to sink the Magpies. On the front-foot throughout, goals from Silva, Aguero, Toure Nasri clinched a wonderful win for Pellegrini in his first match. This performance gave a glimpse of the Pellegrini way of playing; something which helped City on their way to a a memorable double.
Manchester United (H) 2011/12:
This one wasn’t a curtain-raiser, in fact it was at the opposite end of the season, when City and United locked horns in what had been previously labelled as the ‘title decider’ beforehand. As we know, City clawed back a considerable deficit after blowing it away to Arsenal, but United’s collapse let City back in and they found impressive consistency in the latter stages of the season. In this derby, City were far superior against a United side who had quite clearly came for the draw. Vincent Kompany’s header in first half stoppage time sparked wild celebrations and set City on their way to their first League title for 44 years.
What is your favourite Monday Night Football memory? Let us know in the comments or tweet us @TheMaineBlues.
