After the match away at Saint James Park against Newcastle United, Manchester City played well but did not look to be firing on all cylinders. They tended to give the ball away far too cheaply, with Fernando still trying to get in sync with Yaya Toure in the midfield. City were also missing the fantastic Pablo Zabaleta due to some much needed rest from the World Cup. Manuel Pellegrini opted to place Gael Clichy on the right side of defence with solid results.
Going into the match it looked like it was going to be a low scoring draw, simply because while Liverpool got the win at home against Southampton, they looked sluggish. The offense was missing the link of Luis Suarez and the midfield, and Steven Gerrard continues his form from the World Cup. Yet, Liverpool still collected a hard fought three points after a collapse by the Saints in defence led to Daniel Sturridge opening his account for the season.
At the Etihad things have always been different for City. No matter what has happened in the last three years, City have always gotten the result at home and yesterday was no different.
Capitalizing on Loose Liverpool Back Four
City looked like a revitalized side in comparison to their away trip. Zabaleta taking his spot back on the right flank while Fernando finally gelled into his midfield role. These two additions were critical, Fernando was able to keep pressure off of the back four and retain possession, with Zabaleta now bombarding down the right flank to overload Alberto Moreno. Not only that but the paper mache man Stevan Jovetic bagged two delightful goals that left Liverpool reeling.
City’s midfield now looked like they had a plan. They were constantly barreling down Liverpool’s left, up to 51% of their attacks began on that side. City’s goal was to force Philippe Coutinho in between Dejan Lovren and Alberto Moreno. This would tax Martin Skrtel to try and command his back four with poor results leading to a back four that would not rotate to fill holes. They were loose, allowing Jovetic room to begin his runs deep and end in the box. They had poor communication with Sergio Aguero scoring a goal in 23 seconds that will give Brendan Rodgers nightmares for time to come.
David Silva and Samir Nasri were constantly switching sides into those two narrow gaps, which worked not only for goals, but to keep the back four near their goal. Not only that but with Silva and Nasri attacking those two holes, that forced Gerrard deeper to try and grab the ball, but forced Jordan Henderson into attempting to shield him from Toure and Fernando. It was a mixed bag of results and forced a new back four into positions that they should have handled easily.
In Liverpool’s defence, they did play well. Liverpool looked much the more dangerous side for a good portion of the first half and almost was a goal away with ten minutes to go. The problem was that they did not really look like they were going to score, because Vincent Kompany was orchestrating the defensive effort. The one lapse in defense that they shamefully did not capitalize on was the poor Gael Clichy clearance.
What Liverpool can take away from this game though, is that Daniel Sturridge is going to be their star for the future. Bringing in Mario Balotelli already does not seem to be the missing link for the team but who knows under Brendan Rodgers. Balotelli is too selfish a player, and he does not play well when not being the central focus of the attack. Then again Liverpool will need another proven striker if they wish to challenge on all four fronts this season.
Both teams have a long way to go in terms of peaking. It is a long season and early results like here while important for the three points, do not necessarily completely predict where a team will fall on the league table. City will need to look to make sure that their retention of the ball is key with Chelsea growing stronger, and an Arsenal side that does not look ready to die.
Thank you for reading. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport – and “liking” our Facebook page.
For more on sports injuries, check out our friends at Sports Injury Alert.
Feel free to discuss this and other footy related articles with thousands of fans at/r/football.
Have you tuned into Last Word On Sports Radio? LWOS is pleased to bring you 24/7 sports radio to your PC, laptop, tablet or smartphone. What are you waiting for? GO!
Main Photo:
