Monday 17 August 2015

What to take away from City's dominant win

In one of the most important battles for the crown of England, the dethroned king of last season that is Manchester City slayed the team that took their throne, Chelsea, 3-0. In a first half that Manchester City showed their determination to put last season behind them, Begovic kept out Aguero twice with great saves. Aguero would finally get the better of the Bosnian in the end though after a counter attack led by Raheem Sterling would lead to City patiently carving open the Chelsea defence with Yaya Toure and Aguero combining at the edge of the box. Vincent Kompany would then hurt Chelsea's chance of a comeback with a header from a corner late in the second half. Fernandinho put the sword through Chelsea's heart late on when David Silva closed down Ivanovic's clearence and it fell to the Brazilian who finished first time.

1. City show desire and passion missing from last season
The main difference in this performance and that of last season's matches against Chelsea was City showed the desire to leave their blood, sweat and tears on the field. Vincent Kompany and Elaqium Mangala both showed a great understanding and were warriors willing to battle to the end with the brute Diego Costa. Aleksander Kolarov bombarded forward and whipped devilish crosses all game, while Bacary Sagna was a shield blocking all of Eden Hazards quick stabs trying to get to Joe Hart. Yaya Toure and Fernandinho never stopped running, covering every blade of grass on the field. They were also combatant with all their tackles in their personal battle against the duo of Cesc Fabregas and Nemanja Matic. The wide players of Raheem Sterling and Jesus Navas were always tracking back and closing down the opposite wide players, and when in attack ran directly at their man. David Silva showed that he can match his poetic nature with a darker aggressive side, and Aguero challenged for every aerial ball although he was most likely to lose out and also chased onto every through ball.

2. Raheem Sterling adds another dimension
In his home debut, Sterling showed why City invested so much in him. He adds another dimension to City's attack in the form of a direct and counter attacking option as shown in City's preseason and their opening goal. Sterling ran from his own half into Chelsea's defensive third gliding past players. From there City's attack carved open the Chelsea defence with Silva, Toure and Aguero combining before Chelsea could recover their shape. This goal was a mix of the patient, elegant City fans have come to love and a direct style that Raheem Sterling brings from his days at Liverpool.

3. With Otamendi, City's defence will be world class
With Manchester City seemingly taking the lead in the race to sign Otamendi, Mangala showed no sign of being affected by the news during the game against Chelsea. Him and Kompany were both world class in the game against the champions and shut out one of the Premier League's best in Diego Costa. With the addition of Nicolas Otamendi, City's defence will be world class and can rival that of Chelsea's. Otamendi had a spectatcular season with Valencia and helped them achieve a Champions League qualifying spot. He will add experience and composure to Manchester City's back four, and will be able to replace Kompany should he struggle like he did last season, or Mangala if he shows a lack of composure. Also with the addition of the Argentine, Pellegrini has the option to play Mangala at left back, a position he played along with centre back at Porto. 









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