MAN CITY 2 – 0 Chelsea – MY THOUGHTS

What a turnaround in a couple of weeks! Then, following Chelsea’s thoroughly deserved victory in the league encounter, there was a sense of despondency at City’s insipid performance and the ease with which Jose Mourinho’s side cruised to the three points. Now, a measure of revenge has been achieved, optimism surrounds the Etihad and confidence is high once more ahead of the tantalising Champions League encounter with Barcelona. What a thrilling game that could be, but first a reflection on Saturday’s hugely impressive and controlled masterclass.

The contrast with the previous meeting with Chelsea couldn’t have been more marked. On that occasion, Mourinho out-thought Pellegrini tactically and his players out-fought and out-played those in a City shirt. Not that Pellegrini agreed, however, as he argued in his pre-match press conference for this encounter how tactics had not contributed to the result, merely a number of poor performances from his stars. The Chilean’s belief in his preferred style of football – a relentless attacking system which can produce exhilarating displays but can also suffer from an absence of balance – is admirable and he claimed how he would not alter this style, irrespective of any opponent. Yet for all that insistent rhetoric, he did just that on Saturday.

Crucially, Pellegrini introduced an element of pragmatism. That is not to say he drastically adapted his tactics and deployed a defensive line-up whose aim was to contain, but to the base of attacking fluency provided by the likes of David Silva, Stevan Jovetic and Edin Dzeko, the manager made a series of subtle and hugely effective changes.

Both fullbacks, Pablo Zabaleta and Gael Clichy, operated in a more restrained manner than often seen. Due to the way we play, the onus is regularly on them to inject some width to our attacks and their bursts forward to join our more advanced players can create vital overlaps, but they both reined in their natural instincts and sat that touch deeper. They still managed to offer a useful outlet at times, and Clichy’s role in Jovetic’s opener should not be overlooked, but with both of them more positionally stable, they prevented Chelsea’s principal attacking weapon, namely the pace of Eden Hazard and Willian on the counter-attack. That duo, especially Hazard, had been tremendous in Chelsea’s 1-0 victory but their considerable threat was thwarted by a combination of Pellegrini’s pragmatic approach and our fullbacks’ intelligent awareness.

Just ahead of Zabaleta was a player whose presence was another sign of the manager’s flexibility, James Milner. The England man will never attract many positive headlines, such is his reputation in the eyes of critics, but he proved once again what a valuable member of the squad he is and the impact he can have in both nullifying the opposition and adding variety to our own play. He was deployed on the right, seemingly to aid Zabaleta in thwarting Hazard by denying him the time and space he craves. And, unsurprisingly, Milner did his job efficiently.

It was noticeable how little threat Chelsea’s Belgian winger posed and as he drifted from wing to wing in the hope of wriggling free, it was testament to Milner’s selfless spirit in his defensive doubling up. It wasn’t a glamorous job but it was essential in securing the victory. Throw in his decoy run to aid Jovetic for the goal and his general all-round positive contribution and it was yet another reminder of how crucial the likes of Milner are in the squad to complement our more creative talents.

In the centre of midfield, Yaya Touré was another whose attacking surges had been restrained to some extent, as he adopted more defensive responsibility and sat deeper to support Javi Garcia and help control the midfield battle. In the previous encounter, Martin Demichelis had been overwhelmed through no fault of his own, but here Yaya was both a delicate menace with the ball and willing and secure without it. That has not always been the case but his acceptance of defensive duties meant he was an important cog in yesterday’s victory alongside the impressive Garcia.

Those last couple of words have hardly gone hand in hand since Garcia joined the Blues but his display on Saturday merited a certain degree of praise. In his first season at the club, last year, he was inept. This season has seen an improvement, albeit one not great enough to suggest he has a future in Manchester. Against Chelsea, however, he produced the near-perfect holding midfield showing. He flirted in the background of the game, prodding, probing and intercepting the visitors’ endeavours. Without being flashy, he was effective in shutting down the opposition and starting our own moves. It was a performance reminiscent of those Gareth Barry produced every week.

In harness with the dominant defensive displays of those mentioned above, there was still plenty of creativity and silkiness in attack. David Silva wove his magic with grace, invention and poise whilst Stevan Jovetic was full of ideas and trickery and could well be the star of the second half of the season as he looks to make a post-injury impression.

And that was that. Chelsea, so powerful, organised and dangerous just a couple of games ago were reduced to impotent bystanders as City swarmed to the next round. Next to visit the Etihad are Barcelona in the Champions League. It’s the stuff of dreams.

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