“You have to overcome these situations to become a better club, a better team”
, Guardiola - 21/02/2017
Goals; Sterling (26'); Falcao (32'), Mbappe (40'), Aguero (58'), Falcao (61'), Aguero (71'), Stones (77'), Sane (82')
Line Up (4-1-4-1) (match ratings in brackets);
Caballero (6.5)
Sagna (5)
Otamendi (4)
Stones (6)
Fernandinho (5) (Zabaleta 62' (6))
Yaya (8)
Silva (9)
DeBruyne (8)
Sane (8)
Sterling (8) (Navas 89' (5.5))
Aguero (9) (Fernando 87' (5.5))
Stats; Possession 61%/39%; Shots 6(6)/7(6); Fouls 12/15
City under floodlights on a Tuesday night. Whilst, for good reason, we continue to boo, you cannot deny there is something spine tingling and fantastic about it. More than that, it all still feels a bit far fetched. Especially with performances like last night.
Monaco were City’s latest opponents and just in case you hadn’t read it enough, they are doing a bit alright this season. With the British media handing out the Premier League trophy to Chelsea already, it seems that the Champions league has almost turned into a must win for City, and a free scoring Monaco side were going to get in the way of that success.
From the first whistle it was a case of ‘We’re going to score more goals than you’ from both sides. City’s defence looked unsettlingly nervous from the off. Since Willy’s inclusion he has shown a shade more pragmatism than Bravo when playing it out from the back, but last night the Argentinian seemed adamant that one of Stones, Otamendi or Yaya as Pivote had to take the ball from him just outside the area. This invited the usual room for error, and Monaco had done their homework.
Nevertheless, it was City who broke the deadlock, and take a bow Leroy Sane. The lad just can’t stop putting in big performances. Dancing through three players and bouncing the ball off Silva, Sane slid the ball across the face for Sterling to tap home his 9th goal of the season, 1-0. Not bad for a player with written off as having no end product.
From there the floodgates opened. Willy with a poor short pass from the back invited pressure from Fabinho who put in a fantastic cross to Trafford flop Falcao, who left alone in the box, finished with the diving header, 1-1. Two minutes later City should have had a penalty. But of course, Aguero was booked for diving, by a haplass referee who continued to lose the plot throughout 90'. Even before the renewed booing had ceased , City’s defensive frailties were exposed by a simple freekick over the top of Otamendi for 18 year old ‘Wonderkid’ Mbappe to smash the ball past Caballero, 1-2. Just like that City head into half-time a goal down.
Just after halftime and the referee was definitely looking to win best cock-up at the useless refereeing academy awards. A coming together between Otamendi and Falcao was belatedly given as a penalty, by the same linesman who had kept quiet when Aguero was blatantly tripped on the half hour. This was the turning point.
The City of previous years may have hidden, whilst strong in the Premiership, have weakened when faced with 12 vs 11. Lost their heads. The City fans may have shrugged their shoulders, expected the inevitable and slumped back into their seats. Yesterday was different. It was as if something snapped within everyone in the ground. It all started with Willy. The Wembley shootout hero of last year was at it again and smothered Falcao’s limp penalty. The Etihad erupts. Pep erupts. Dare I say it, Willy erupts, GAME ON?
It then took a bit of fortune to come our way, with Aguero being released by a breakaway run from Sterling. Sergio’s shot being misjudged by Subasic and fumbled into his net, 2-2 and the least City deserved; how many of us would have sold the moother in law to keep that score? But, then another defensive error, this time from Stones, which led to Monaco regaining their advantage through a fantastic Falcao chip, from latching onto another long ball, 2-3. I immediately thought that this was it. It was just one of those games that we are destined not to get anything from.
What could sum up a turning point in a City season more than scoring from a corner? The mad got madder as Sergio ‘he’s not a Pep player’ Aguero thumped home his second of the night with a world class volley from Silva’s teasing corner, 3-3. One corner not enough? De Bruyne’s was then met at the back post by John Stones to make it 4-3. If you ever needed a picture to restore hope that passion is still strong in the City camp, then the celebrations led by Stones summed it up perfectly. Just to top things off, David Silva, who ran the entire game once again, chipped the ball in behind to Sergio who unselfishly lays the ball into the path of Sane who fired into an open goal. 5-3.
There is never a dull moment as a City fan. What we saw last night was a club that was sick and tired of being oppressed from the ‘elite’. Every script had been written. Penalties not given, defensive mistakes, penalties wrongfully given to the opposition. It was City’s season so far in a nutshell. But what Guardiola has been adamant about since day one is wanting to make these players passionate about this club and make them know that they are good enough. It was this aspect of the Guardiola ethos that came into fruition last night. Of course there is still a long way to go but there is no team in the world that would want to face us right now.
City have adopted ‘We fight to the end’ as a modern club mantra. Typical who?
@PatrickElanoLine Up (4-1-4-1) (match ratings in brackets);
Caballero (6.5)
Sagna (5)
Otamendi (4)
Stones (6)
Fernandinho (5) (Zabaleta 62' (6))
Yaya (8)
Silva (9)
DeBruyne (8)
Sane (8)
Sterling (8) (Navas 89' (5.5))
Aguero (9) (Fernando 87' (5.5))
Stats; Possession 61%/39%; Shots 6(6)/7(6); Fouls 12/15
City under floodlights on a Tuesday night. Whilst, for good reason, we continue to boo, you cannot deny there is something spine tingling and fantastic about it. More than that, it all still feels a bit far fetched. Especially with performances like last night.
Monaco were City’s latest opponents and just in case you hadn’t read it enough, they are doing a bit alright this season. With the British media handing out the Premier League trophy to Chelsea already, it seems that the Champions league has almost turned into a must win for City, and a free scoring Monaco side were going to get in the way of that success.
From the first whistle it was a case of ‘We’re going to score more goals than you’ from both sides. City’s defence looked unsettlingly nervous from the off. Since Willy’s inclusion he has shown a shade more pragmatism than Bravo when playing it out from the back, but last night the Argentinian seemed adamant that one of Stones, Otamendi or Yaya as Pivote had to take the ball from him just outside the area. This invited the usual room for error, and Monaco had done their homework.
Nevertheless, it was City who broke the deadlock, and take a bow Leroy Sane. The lad just can’t stop putting in big performances. Dancing through three players and bouncing the ball off Silva, Sane slid the ball across the face for Sterling to tap home his 9th goal of the season, 1-0. Not bad for a player with written off as having no end product.
From there the floodgates opened. Willy with a poor short pass from the back invited pressure from Fabinho who put in a fantastic cross to Trafford flop Falcao, who left alone in the box, finished with the diving header, 1-1. Two minutes later City should have had a penalty. But of course, Aguero was booked for diving, by a haplass referee who continued to lose the plot throughout 90'. Even before the renewed booing had ceased , City’s defensive frailties were exposed by a simple freekick over the top of Otamendi for 18 year old ‘Wonderkid’ Mbappe to smash the ball past Caballero, 1-2. Just like that City head into half-time a goal down.
Just after halftime and the referee was definitely looking to win best cock-up at the useless refereeing academy awards. A coming together between Otamendi and Falcao was belatedly given as a penalty, by the same linesman who had kept quiet when Aguero was blatantly tripped on the half hour. This was the turning point.
The City of previous years may have hidden, whilst strong in the Premiership, have weakened when faced with 12 vs 11. Lost their heads. The City fans may have shrugged their shoulders, expected the inevitable and slumped back into their seats. Yesterday was different. It was as if something snapped within everyone in the ground. It all started with Willy. The Wembley shootout hero of last year was at it again and smothered Falcao’s limp penalty. The Etihad erupts. Pep erupts. Dare I say it, Willy erupts, GAME ON?
It then took a bit of fortune to come our way, with Aguero being released by a breakaway run from Sterling. Sergio’s shot being misjudged by Subasic and fumbled into his net, 2-2 and the least City deserved; how many of us would have sold the moother in law to keep that score? But, then another defensive error, this time from Stones, which led to Monaco regaining their advantage through a fantastic Falcao chip, from latching onto another long ball, 2-3. I immediately thought that this was it. It was just one of those games that we are destined not to get anything from.
What could sum up a turning point in a City season more than scoring from a corner? The mad got madder as Sergio ‘he’s not a Pep player’ Aguero thumped home his second of the night with a world class volley from Silva’s teasing corner, 3-3. One corner not enough? De Bruyne’s was then met at the back post by John Stones to make it 4-3. If you ever needed a picture to restore hope that passion is still strong in the City camp, then the celebrations led by Stones summed it up perfectly. Just to top things off, David Silva, who ran the entire game once again, chipped the ball in behind to Sergio who unselfishly lays the ball into the path of Sane who fired into an open goal. 5-3.
There is never a dull moment as a City fan. What we saw last night was a club that was sick and tired of being oppressed from the ‘elite’. Every script had been written. Penalties not given, defensive mistakes, penalties wrongfully given to the opposition. It was City’s season so far in a nutshell. But what Guardiola has been adamant about since day one is wanting to make these players passionate about this club and make them know that they are good enough. It was this aspect of the Guardiola ethos that came into fruition last night. Of course there is still a long way to go but there is no team in the world that would want to face us right now.
City have adopted ‘We fight to the end’ as a modern club mantra. Typical who?
