As the dust settled and a cold wind blew through Manchester on a Monday evening where fireworks were promised and even the most neutral fan had at least one lazy-eye on the proceedings at the Etihad Stadium, the 2nd & 3rd placed teams (many peoples respective favourites to win the title) had done battle. The natives were left disappointed, & the victors (Chelsea) made their way back to West London with beer on their breath and a spring in their step.
The sportswriters & fans alike lauded Portuguese master tactician Jose Mourinho with superlatives, some even going as far to say that ‘tonight was one of his biggest achievements’. Maybe that’s pushing the envelope to it’s limits. But the fact remains that Manchester City’s home form has been formidable and their performances this season have (at times) generally been awe-inspiring!
Whilst Mourinho had a very clear gameplan and his stall ‘set-out’ prior to kick off, City manager Manuel Pellegrini had to remove a fly from his ointment, with the news that midfielder Fernandinho was injured and would not be fit to take any part in the game. An unfortunate spanner in the works, that in the grand scheme of things had very real and unfortunate implications for Man City, who had been made favourites by many to take all three points from the game.
As a disclaimer, I hasten to add that I’m not attributing City’s loss directly to the absence of the Brazilian. Injuries are part and parcel of the game at every level and teams are duty-bound to deal with them as they see fit. Few will weep tears of pity, nor feel sorrow for Pellegrini in regards to having to ‘mix & match’ his squad. It certainly isn’t a case of the Chilean having to ‘work with the scraps he’s been given’ squad-wise. But to my impartial eyes, it did look like the usually thunderous Man City midfield looked out-of-sorts. The seamless link between defence, midfield and attack looked fractious. The Citizens dependable fulcrum of mass-energy equivalence, taking shape in a (usual) partnership of towering powerhouse Yaya Toure and the yin to the Ivorian’s yang, in the shape of the energetic Brazilian perpetual-motion-machine Fernandinho, was not afforded to Manuel Pellegrini. The Brazilian midfielder picking up an injury prior to the game with Mourinho’s Chelsea, who were looking up at the Blues, snapping at their heels. All E=Mc2 analogies aside, neither the author of this article, nor any pundit or writer needs to point out to even the most casual observer that Mourinho’s Chelsea were worthy victors at the Etihad on Monday evening. A clash, rightly lauded as a game with big stakes did not disappoint. Unless of course you’ve an affiliation and/or affection with the sky blue half of Manchester.
Much analysis of Mourinhos ‘tactical victory’ has ensued and it’s very clear that to a man, Chelsea were relentless, rigid in defence and practical in attack, earning the seemingly impossible right to walk away from the Etihad with a peacock-style strut and what may end up being an invaluable three points in their back pocket. I’ll leave the pontificating about tactics, systems and individual performances to the stat-men. What I will touch on, is the fact that for all of Man City’s millions spent and the incredible squad that’s been assembled by proxy of this over time, with a vital cog in the wheel of the BIG SKY BLUE MACHINE removed, all was not well in Toy Town.
Of course you have to attribute much of the City’s midfield endeavour being stifled, to the tactical approach employed by Chelsea and even more so, by the discipline and energy they had to ction the said tactical ethos in a high profile game of such importance.
Prior to the January transfer window being slammed shut, there was much talk on the vine of Pellegrini identifying central midfield targets. And with Javi Garcia a subject of scepticism by many of the Man City faithful, Jack Rodwell more familiar with the treatment room than the turf of the Etihad and Argentine journeyman Martin Demichelis arguably not quite a perfect bedfellow for the frenetic nature of the Premier League, you can maybe see why Pellegrini has eyes for a more ‘suitable’ folly to either Toure or Fernandinho.
There’s obviously a reason that in spite of Pellegrini having an embarrassment of options to pick & choose from squad-wise, he will almost ALWAYS play Toure & Fernandinho together when both are available for selection. In Fernandinho’s absence, Chelsea saw an inevitable chink in the usual flawless armour of Man City and at times in the game, chipped away at the said ‘chink’, making it a chasm!
All’s fair in love, war & football and the ever magnanimous Mourinho (I jest) took the plaudits and the spoils back to West London, with a sky blue feather in his cap. Meanwhile, the wily Chilean (Pellegrini) will surely waste no time crying over the spilt milk of a Monday evening, where he was undone, out thought by his counterpart (Mourinho) and his team outfought by it’s opponents.
The ‘tactical victory’ scored will rightly be remembered as another memorable notch on Mourinho’s bedpost, but no one will realise the inalienable reality that having a vital cog removed from the wheel of such a free-flowing intricate machine as Manchester City, has cost the Citizens vital points and served to only further add to the excitement and high drama of what has thus far been an explosive, unpredictable and undeniably brilliant Premier League Season.
Thank you for reading. Please take a moment to follow me on Twitter – @MoistFooball. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport – and “liking” our Facebook page.
Interested in writing for LWOS? We are looking for enthusiastic, talented writers to join our Footy writing team. Visit our “Write for Us” page for very easy details in how you can get started today!
Feel free to discuss this and other footy related articles with thousands of fans at r/football.
