Special: City's Monthly Review - March 2015

Another month has come and gone. March is very nearly behind us, so it is safe to look back upon it, complain about it, and let all the frustrations out before this one goes into the books. Let’s have a look at all the games and what we should take away from them:

Sunday, 1^st: Liverpool 2-1 City

A wee four hours into my March and I was up, half awake, to watch the Blues take on Liverpool. Stumbling to the sofa I was confused by the team selection: a 4-4-2 at Anfield? Ah, well.

City more or less stumbled into the match. Despite having the better of the early exchanges a Vinny Kompany mistake at the half-way line led to a wonderful Jordan Henderson goal. Curling efforts into the far corner was Liverpools signature move back then, and City was on the end of one once again.

Straight from kickoff Sergio Aguero hit the post, continuing his unimpressive run of form that will run through the entire month. A neatly worked David Silva move, however, found Edin Dzeko via an Aguero defense-shattering ball and the Bosnian slotted home his 50^th career Premier League goal right around the half-hour mark. He would not find the net again this month.

City continued to become brighter and brighter before the break and the optimist inside of me thought that we were on course to win this game. However the team didn’t look the same after coming out of the tunnel. We were sloppy in possession and lacked urgency off the ball. The team’s midweek exploits against Barcelona were beginning to show, even though Liverpool played Besiktas a day later and didn’t arrive in England until Friday. Philippe Coutinho eventually put City out of their misery with another spectacular effort and rounded off a disappointing display by the title-chasing champions.

Wednesday, 4^th: City 2-0 Leicester

Coming off a rough day at Anfield, the Citizens next hosted Leicester. Having not been able to watch the game I can only provide a shallow insight into the game. Leicester came into the game playing five at the back, with two up top. The Premier League’s bottom side was impermeable at the back for most of the first half until the very end of the period. Wanting to have one last hurrah before the break, City launched an attack. A flurry of shots blocked and deflected eventually left Silva wide open with the ball at point blank range with a considerable amount of the goal to aim for. El Mago didn’t miss and we crushed the Midlands side’s hearts at the dearth.

The second half was an equally dominant by the Citizens. Chances came and went for City, but Leicester grew as time wore on. They had a couple good penalty shouts and (I believe) Riyad Mahrez had a shot ricochet off the post, setting up a nervy last 20 minutes. Fresh legs did the trick, however, as James Milner came into the game late, and feeding off a (I believe) Jesus Navas cross, he poked home from close range to shut off hopes of a Leicester comeback.

Saturday, 14: Burnley 1-0 City

Travelling away up to Turf Moor City had what looked like an easy trot in the park. It wasn’t the case.

In a dour first half that saw the Turf Moor floodlights be turned on (so I can clearly see the David Fishwick adverts), there were little clear cut opportunities. The Clarets held strong at the back and tried to hit City on the counter, to no avail. Come the 2^nd half, City continued to dominate, although Vincent Kompany (who was dropped in the Leicester game due to lack of form) and Martin Demichelis (who recently signed a new one-year deal) continued to disappoint at the back. A rare maroon and blue counter resulted in a free kick right on the edge of the box. A disappointing ball in was cleared by the skipper but fell right into the long-haired George Boyd’s cradle. He sweetly smashed a first time volley down low into the bottom corner, a sort of finish that would leave Manuel Neuer gaping. It certainly left Joe Hart gaping, and that shot sent City into a frenetic chase for – I can’t believe I’m saying this – an equalizer against *expletive* Burnley. It was to no avail, despite Aguero having late penalty claims for a foul inside the box. The referee, as is so often the case, blew the whistle for diving. Since when has City become diving scum?

Wednesday, 18: Barcelona 1-0 City (3-1 agg.)

Somehow a team that lost at Turf Moor had to dust themselves up and face the mighty FC Barcelona just four days later. Needing two goals to at least force extra time, manager Manuel Pellegrini finally grew a brain and named a five-man midfield – as opposed to a flat four-man midfield that the Chilean likes. City started on the back foot, Neymar inexplicably smashing onto the post after six minutes. City grew when on the ball and looked somewhat promising, yet failed to create anything clear cut. Barcelona looked venomous on the break, and Lionel Messi continued to nutmeg the likes of James Milner and Fernandinho.

Messi finally struck on the half-hour mark, with him chipping the ball over the back line, leaving an unmarked Ivan Rakitic only having to lob the ball over a completely outstretched Joe Hart. Despite leading the way for player of the month award, this time the England No.1 could do nothing.

What followed was weird. Joe Hart continued to bail out his disappointing back line by making a staggering 10 saves. Going forward we had determination, but lacked the final finish. Chances were being created. Then came the defining moment in the match: Aguero missed a penalty with 10 minutes to go. It was a tame penalty at the perfect height for Marc-Andre ter Stegen to parry away. That sucked the life out of City’s play, and after a few more Messi nutmegs, brilliant Joe Hart saves, and commentator mentions of how far away the travelling Blues seems, City’s Champions League campaign was down the drain.

Saturday, 21^st: City 3-1 West Bromwich Albion

At this point City desperately needed a boost. Having suffered back-to-back 1-0 losses – albeit against opponents of vastly different caliber – a victory was what the doctor ordered. If we failed to pick up all three points in this one, I have a feeling I’d be writing about the dismissal of Pellegrini on WashSB.

No need for that, though, as the Blues turned in a thoroughly convincing display at the Etihad. 88 seconds in Wilfried Bony pounced on a loose back pass by Gareth McAuley, and Craig Dawson committed a foul that denied Bony a clear goal scoring opportunity. A red was shown – to McAuley, the wrong man – but that set the tone for a game which saw the Citizens rack up a whopping 43 shots.

The 80% possession that City had was located right around the Baggies’ box, as you would expect. Frank Lampard came close, whacking one inches wide, before Bony opened his City account with a rifling shot from a ball that dropped from an attempted Fernando shot from distance. The Brazilian then put home the second from a corner (we hadn’t scored from one of those for a long time) minutes before the half, after a string of Bromwich defensive errors. Saido Berahino came close, somehow diverting a point-blank header onto the bar, before El Mago killed the game with the deftest of touches from a goal-bound Stevan Jovetic shot. It was a brilliant game that reminded us of last season’s December.

Overall, it was an underwhelming March for City. Any hope of silverware is pretty much gone, but knowing City, don’t bet on it. Right now it is all about finishing the season on a high, securing second place, and getting ready for a period of rebuilding. Let’s hope that April will bring us some better results and performances, and lift the mood in the Blue Half of Manchester.

COME ON YOU BLUES!

By Rob Ming