City Win on Penalties

by BosnianBronco on Jul 24, 2011 11:40 PM BST in Manchester City: Match Reports

Manchester City won on penalties 7-6 with the last shot going to Joe Hart.

A nice note on an otherwise heavily frustrating game.

City dominating the first half entered the second half having a goal on LA and holding possession 60% of the time.

This however diminished very quickly.

Shaun Wright Phillips replaced David Silva and Kolarov came in for Clichy at halftime.

The change with City's mentality could easily be felt.

At the 53rd minute a wonderful strike by Galaxy's Mike Magee went over Joe Hart and into the netting. Immediately after kickoff another chance came for Galaxy with a breakdown in the defense which allowed Galaxy to do a bit of nice passing and get off two separate shots on the goal, both however were shutdown by Hart and the defense.

In the 61st minute Savic came on to relieve Kompany for he was experiencing difficulties with his knee, he was shown on the sidelines later with an ice packet over his knee.

It seemed the entire game; including the first half, that City was playing a me first mentality.

The passes and first touches got rougher and rougher as the game went on and it seemed that City we're being intimidated to the point where they could not advance forward. There was a bright spot later in the game around the 80th minute which SWP lobbed a beautiful ball to Dzeko and due to his positioning was not able to knock it in.

Something that irked me was how Silva did not pass the ball to Dzeko not even once in an opportune area. Prior to the play in which Balotelli attempted a fancy shot on goal, Silva had passed the ball to Balotelli when in fact Dzeko was in a much more advantageous position.

Now I understand I have a bit of bias, however it seemed as if there was zero effort to bring Dzeko into the game. At one point in the game, I believe it was SWP, attempted a shot on goal or so it seemed at first but then it turned into an extremely sloppy pass that Dzeko was not expecting at all and could not pounce on the opportunity. The only good chance he had on goal was the lob from SWP late in the game.

If Mancini doesn't want to waste 100k a week in wages he better find a way to utilize Dzeko. I saw flashes of Silva last season where he would play a two faced game during this game and I don't like it.

The team played much better in my opinion in the previous two games against Vancouver and Club America. Both those games Yaya was playing Silva's position.

Overall I think this game was extremely frustrating however I tend to be more optimistic and there were plenty of positives.

SWP was not as impressive today but showed a good amount of effort which could mean he is back in the City fold, Savic had a couple of mistakes however he also had an average game which is nice, the more he plays the more he seems like a solid pickup, and Hart was looking very good apart from the one goal in which he could do nothing about, not to mention he took the last shot on penalties which won us this friendly and completed a sweep of the North American tour.

Now to look forward to the Irish XI!

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! Cheers!

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Comments

New to bitter and blue. . .

I have expected much more from City on this tour of the US. During the Vancouver game, I felt that YaYa did a decent job controlling the midfield, but to me when Silva plays the squad looks much closer to a world class team. The attack is limited with to many diagonal balls played to the forwards who don’t have the speed or aren’t willing to use it to break and shoot the easy shot. Balotelli today had a chance on the left wing to use a burst of speed to pass the defender and instead he tried to use too much technique.
This team is built around the defense as evidence by the over abundance of backline defenders and the purchase of Savic and Clichy. When Kolo returns along with Zaboleta, City will be able to send out a starting XI of defenders (which may be more effective in the attack than what seams to be used now). Mancini needs to figure out a way to manage the talent on the defense while getting the ball forward and through to Dzeko and Balotelli.

by D-fence on Jul 25, 2011 12:33 AM BST reply actions

The problem today was that the forward who spent 87 minutes on the field received 4 passes all game.

That is not good. Silva needs to learn how to pass instead of running around in circles and shoot one off. Granted good accuracy but neither of them went in.

Any movement in history which attempts to perpetuate itself, becomes reactionary.

- Marshal Broz Tito

by BosnianBronco on Jul 25, 2011 12:50 AM BST up reply actions

I agree

Dzeko needs to be more involved in the attack. Balotelli may have just played himself into Mancini’s doghouse, so Dzeko will have to be used more. I’m a big Silva fan, seems to me the team players better when he is in, but I did notice that he seemed to be passing toward AJ and Balotelli more. Dzeko kept starting runs, but the ball just didn’t seem find him or he wasn’t even looked to. I’m still looking for Dzeko to impose his game on the defender.

Thanks for the welcome. I’m excited to have a place to talk City soccer with other fans. Can’t wait for the season to start.

by D-fence on Jul 25, 2011 1:27 AM BST up reply actions

Didn’t watch the first half so I can’t comment on it but if anything, Silva’s best attribute overall is his passing/creativity. Learning to adapt to a certain forward is not the same as suddenly being a bad passer. And he has hardly ever been known as someone who looks for his own shot.

Big players make big plays

by sonics097 on Jul 25, 2011 1:50 AM BST up reply actions

Chemistry

I’m a big believer in players working well together and having a natural chemistry. I really believe that Silva is the key to the season. Toward the end of this last campaign I was worried that Silva was going to get hurt and put CL out of reach. I really hope that our next signing is another distributor in the middle to help Silva.

by D-fence on Jul 25, 2011 3:48 AM BST up reply actions

BTW Welcome to Bitter and Blue!

Any movement in history which attempts to perpetuate itself, becomes reactionary.

- Marshal Broz Tito

by BosnianBronco on Jul 25, 2011 12:50 AM BST up reply actions

I can’t believe they allowed Cliche to continue after that knock he took.

by peppersquad on Jul 25, 2011 5:31 AM BST via mobile reply actions

And Micah is so ripped. Dude looks like he put 5-10 lbs of muscle this summer.

Hopefully City go somewhere besides the Wes coast next year.

by peppersquad on Jul 25, 2011 5:36 AM BST via mobile reply actions

I bloody hate babytelli. what a fucking joke. he’s like a high schooler.. saw that UAE guy do that back heel penalty kick a few days ago.. probably talked about it with the lads all week, and then when the opportunity presented itself couldnt help himself from trying it. treated this very important tune up game like a total joke. he knew he wasnt offside, there was no whistle, that was just his crap excuse. he basically pissed away a scoring opportunity that should have seen city win the game in regular time.

believe me I dislike the american commentators and they butcher city player names and have obvious bias against us but they were right on two important fronts: Clichy shouldve been out of the game asap, and Balotelli is a disgrace. Even if you believe he really thought he was offside, his behavior after being taken out was appalling.

I agree with you guys that Dzeko doesnt seem to be getting the service he deserves..

On to the good stuff: Hooray for AJ starting (though I think yaya mightve been there if not for the injury), Silva is amazing, Micah is a beast (still a few mistakes, but not insurmountable), and I was really pumped on the starting 11 (with the exception of you-know-who.. but imagine that starting 11 with Sergio A. in his place and its pure class). I’m starting to think SWP will be a super-sub this year: energy and pace and annoying the other team’s defenders late in the game.. I could get used to it.

by green pennies on Jul 25, 2011 7:55 AM BST reply actions

This Balotelli stuff is being overblown. You can tell from the replays that he thought he was offsides because he doesn’t even look where the ball goes after he kicks it. If he thought he was onsides, you can say he’s a prick but if he thought he was offsides, its dumb for him to think that but i’ll excuse the backheel (players do those sort of things all the time on dead balls). The way he acted on the bench was disrespectful, sure, but it seems like this could all have been avoided. Say it was Silva that did it instead. Or Yaya. Or Barry. Or anyone, would we be talking about this? No. Its all the ridiculous spotlight and stereotyping that is shown towards Balotelli. Everyone WANTS to hate him, no matter what.

Big players make big plays

by sonics097 on Jul 25, 2011 12:02 PM BST reply actions

so he thought it was offside and was just trying to get himself a yellow, which he would have gotten for kicking away the ball away long after the whistle had it really been offside? yes it seems like the world is picking on him, but you don’t think this is all because city fans so desperately want him to realize his potential and not wasting away his talents?

perhaps mancini was furious over such seemly small incident because of all this after they just spent all night talking about how balotelli would cut the bulls and stay focus on becoming the best striker in the world? so mancini benched him and remind him to be serious about his commitments?

at the very least, mancini was protecting him by removing him. LA players would love to “accidentally” bust his pairs had he stayed in the match.

by themiracle18 on Jul 25, 2011 1:30 PM BST up reply actions

He wouldnt have gotten a yellow, this is a friendly and players do things like that all the time after the whistle. Balotelli thought he was offsides, which he shouldnt have thought, then did this little backheel, Mancini takes him out for showboating (he should have taken him off for losing his concentration instead) and meanwhile the world over berates him for the like 32nd time. This could have been easily avoided.
And yes, if this was anyone else, you would instantly think to yourself ‘thats strange, oh wait, he thought he was offsides’. But since its Mario everyone instantly thinks ‘What an a**, he is the biggest jerk in football, disgrace to the game, he should never play again’… blah blah blah. It’s all so hypocritical.

Big players make big plays

by sonics097 on Jul 25, 2011 2:15 PM BST up reply actions

Ha, please, what an apologist

I’ve never seen in the history of soccer a time when a striker was the only person in the world who thought he was offside and didn’t follow through on the play.

Yeah, this could have easily been avoided… if Balotelli wasn’t an idiot. Seriously, how hard is it for this guy to just stop doing stupid things. I know you love to play the victim card on Balotelli, but it’s not about the media. It’s not about people reacting to him. It’s about HIM.

by Joamiq on Aug 2, 2011 2:37 AM BST up reply actions

I am going on record and saying I love Balo.

If Dzeko tried to pull a stunt like that I would have ripped him a new one.

However, since it was Balo I accept his shenanigans.

It’s weird but I can’t stay mad at Balo.

Also as a side note to Sonic, yes Silva is good at passing however from what he displayed today in the first half was irritating. Hopefully it would change by Irish XI and it was only one half that he played.

SWP seems to have broken Mancini’s squad. That’s always good, I feel SWP plays better with Dzeko.

Any movement in history which attempts to perpetuate itself, becomes reactionary.

- Marshal Broz Tito

by BosnianBronco on Jul 25, 2011 3:59 PM BST reply actions

As far as I am concerned: I was ecstatic when I heard City had signed Balo.. other than highlights and one or two games, I hadn’t seen that much of him but I knew he was a great player. I almost bought the guy’s fucking jersey that day! nobody wanted to like him more than me. my opinion of him is based solely on what I have seen of him on the pitch since his arrival at City. I want to like him, not hate him, but his actions are absolutely what stir up these feelings in people. I mean, if you like him, that’s fine, you are obviously making a judgement based on what you see, but don’t tell me I am using prejudice in evaluating what I see.

sonic; as far as him thinking he was offside, I will throw my lot in with his coach, and this is what his coach said: “Mario knows that it wasn’t an offside”

Also, City are fining him for this incident. I’ll throw my lot in with them as well.

The team and the coach are right.

by green pennies on Jul 25, 2011 7:18 PM BST reply actions

But how is Mancini to know what Mario was thinking? The replay says it all, he completely decelerates, and after he backheels it he doesn’t even look where it ends up because he is thinking it doesn’t count. Then when Dzeko talks to him you can see the look of confusion on his face and he also looks at the referee.
It was dumb of him to believe that he was offsides, but I think thats really the only thing he did wrong here. Just because it is Mario it is being turned into everything else. If it was anyone else we wouldn’t be talking about it in this light. Hell, if it was Micah, for example, we would be thinking he was just having a laugh because that’s ‘how he is’.
I would have fined him too had he done this in a game and he thought he was onsides. His showing on the bench was disgraceful and what the fine should be for. But not the backheel. I really think this is being treated unfairly because it is Mario and incidents should be treated on a case by case basis regardless of who it is. Everyone knows that because it is Mario certain conclusions are jumped to very, very quickly and much faster than any other footballer. And that part is unfair.

Sure, Balotelli does some stupid things but a lot of things are hyped by the media and speculation of things is catalyzed by the media. The fact that this ‘incident’ got more headline play than the Copa final says it all, people would rather read about controversy than actual football, its what fuels society and Balotelli is a contributor to it, but also one of its greatest victims in relation to football.

Big players make big plays

by sonics097 on Jul 25, 2011 7:30 PM BST up reply actions

And I’m not here to defend Balotelli for who he is per say, rather sharing my point of view on something that I think is a misunderstanding, and something that happens quite often to athletes, in this case Balotelli. When I first saw the play I thought he was being obnoxious as well, but then upon watching the replay I changed my mind since it appears that he thinks he is offsides. Everyone’s entitled to their own opinions though, as always

Big players make big plays

by sonics097 on Jul 25, 2011 7:33 PM BST up reply actions

Why do you focus so much on the media?

No one cares about the media. Whether or not there are headlines is a completely separate and irrelevant matter. Balotelli does stupid things. End of story.

by Joamiq on Aug 2, 2011 2:38 AM BST up reply actions

Balotelli

Mancini’s stance is tough but fair.If we assume Balotelli believed he was offside then He has to be more professional. That means don’t get kick the ball away and leave yourself open to punishment as RVP found out vs Barcelona. If Balotelli believed he was onside he has to score and that means shooting accurately not with a low % backheel.

Mancini is clearly trying to install on field professionalism into Balotelli hence the subbing. I know it’s a meaningless friendly, but good habits are good habits. That includes training, 5 a sides, friendlies, games where MCFC are 3 goals clear. It means all the time.

As per The Dzeko question posed by Bronco, I didn’t see the first half so I wont comment on Silva, but Dzeko receiving only 4 passes is way too low. If you recall there was a Guardian chalkboard stat on how infrequently Tevez passed to Dzeko last season. There will come a time when we don’t blame Dzeko’s team mates and start to wonder if players of the caliber of Tevez and Silva can’t find him with a pass, then should the question be, is Dzeko doing enough with his movement, mobility, availability to receive the ball?

by shuddertothink on Jul 26, 2011 12:40 AM BST reply actions

Thanks for the picture Danny!

Or whoever it was. Much appreciated.

As for shuddertothink’s question of is Dzeko doing enough to get open my answer is YES!

I would not have blamed Silva had Dzeko not been open, however on the backheel play by Mario, Dzeko was on the opposite side and in a much better position. a forward pass by Silva or a lob would have done quite a nice bit for him and he would have broken free. You can tell Dzeko was frustrated with Silva on that play when he turned around and put his hands up to Silva asking ‘Why did you pass to him?’.

When Dzeko is slouching you will see me attacking him quite fiercely as I have done in the past.

At the end of the day I hold Dzeko more accountable then Silva or anyone else no the team for two reasons.

1. He was hand picked by Mancini not because of his Youtube highlights but because Tevez was leaving and he was a deadly striker for Wolfsburg. He has always talked about having his chance and this is it!

2. He represents my national team and I want him to live up to the bar held as the ‘Bosnian Diamond’.

My bias is clearly there but so is my criticism. Hence I believe I create a pretty fair judgement of him.

Towards the end of the previous season when Tevez was injured, it seemed that Silva got more comfortable with Dzeko and was not passing to him when there were 3 defenders surrounding him.

I was disappointed that the chemistry did not materialize on Sunday against L.A. hence my blame on Silva.

Any movement in history which attempts to perpetuate itself, becomes reactionary.

- Marshal Broz Tito

by BosnianBronco on Jul 26, 2011 3:42 AM BST reply actions

I thought Dzeko was just mad at Mario haha. I mean, can’t blame Silva for that pass, it was beautiful, too bad Mario had other ideas

Big players make big plays

by sonics097 on Jul 26, 2011 3:58 AM BST up reply actions

Initially that’s what I thought, but Dzeko turned around and looked at Silva holding his hands up and THEN he had a talk with Mario.

i watched the play a couple of times and that’s what I got out of it. Had he been looking at Mancini it would have been more turned to his left.

Any movement in history which attempts to perpetuate itself, becomes reactionary.

- Marshal Broz Tito

by BosnianBronco on Jul 26, 2011 4:09 AM BST up reply actions

To me he just turned and threw his arms up but then quickly turned to Mario.. maybe Dzeko thought he had a better opportunity to score but can’t blame Silva for that pass.. should have resulted in a goal too

Big players make big plays

by sonics097 on Jul 26, 2011 5:02 AM BST reply actions