"It was tough playing against City. I was there at 14 and I had mixed emotions. I always want City to do well but I am a Villa man now."
, Micah Richards 08 November 2015.
Just as night follows day, you can rely on our beloved City to bring you back down to Earth with a bump, just when you think you have lift off. The Sevilla performance was a distant memory by the time Wilfried Bony requested to be substituted for a tightened hamstring on 23'. At that time City's performance was already crying out for some youthful vigour, and I can't help but conclude that Manuel made the wrong choice in bringing on Navas instead of Iheanacho. This is not a slight on Navas, who was without doubt our best player on the day, but 2014/15 showed that there is a line between respect for lower placed sides, and being brave enough to kill the game as early as possible. This was a game which showed again that City are short of that killer instinct, and the "safe" substitution showed that.
The first half was unremarkable. Kolorov had pinged an exquisite ball across the box (with Bony nowhere to be seen), and been unlucky on 17' when a combination of Guzan and the woodwork denied him. Sterling could arguably have had a penalty when Ciaran Clark clipped the winger as he, somewhat predictably, cut inside the centre half, but the referee waved away his claims. Sterling could also have done better to get onto a DeBruyne cross from the right on 42'. Otherwise it was a pedestrian performance, a whole 45 minutes wasted.
The second half was somewhat better, with City keeping the ball, and using Navas with effect. On 54' Navas again got away from his marker to clip a wonderful cross, which Sterling headed goal wards from point blank range, only for it to hit Guzan on the forehead and bounce away. On 66' Navas (again!!!) crossed to find DeBruyne who scuffed the attempt whilst attempting a Hollywood back-heal. And so it continued, but again without the tempo of attack required to guarantee to break down stalwart defences in this mood.
The substitution of Delph for Yaya on 78' was a strange choice, and gave away momentum. However pathetic the booing of Delph is, it was guaranteed, and also guaranteed to give Villa fans an excuse to stop biting their fingernails at a point where City were dominating. It was also not the "brave" decision as, to my mind, City needed a striker not more in midfield. From that point the writing was on the wall, Villa had been economical with their allocation of time at dead balls since the first minute, and the last 15 was more stop than start. A mention should be made of Gestede's cheating on 87', launching the ball at, rather than to, Joe Hart and winning a corner; when Gestede should have returned the ball after Joe had sportingly knocked it out of play to allow treatment of N'Zogbia. Left a bad taste, especially after the booing of Delph and the inflatable snakes in the crowd, not good, not good at all.
Extra time brought a header off the bar from Kompany, with the ball eventually being fired wide by Delph, and that was that. Nil nil, and you cannot help but think two points dropped. The lows and highs of City there for all to see once more. The previous two international breaks have brought a halt in City's momentum, and a raft of injuries, so hopefully the next ten days the footballing gods will look a little more favourably on the City squad as meaningless friendly season gets underway.
@l0ngwayfr0mh0me
