Filed under: Blackburn Rovers, Manchester City, Premier League, Football, Match Reports
Manchester City brushed aside all talk of Carlos Tevez and ended a difficult week on a bright note with a convincing win at Ewood Park thanks to goals by Adam Johnson, Mario Balotelli and substitutes Samir Nasri and Stefan Savic.Balotelli stepped forward and reminded City fans that at least one controversial striker is still willing to do the business in a light blue shirt, as Roberto Mancini's side kept pace with rivals United at the top of the Premier League.
THE GOALS:
56 mins: Aleksander Kolarov's corner is headed out by Gael Givet, but only as far as Adam Johnson, who bends in a superb opener with his left foot.
59 mins: Sub Samir Nasri finds space on the right and whips in a cross which is expertly touched in at the near post by Mario Balotelli.
72 mins: Silva launches a City counter-attack which ends with Nasri cutting in from the left and drilling a deflected third past Paul Robinson.
87 mins: Another corner from the left by Kolarov was met powerfully by the head of sub Stefan Savic, who had been on the pitch for just eight minutes.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS:
10 mins: James Milner pulled the ball back for Mario Balotelli, who blazed over from 12 yards to the delight of the home supporters.
27 mins: Sergio Aguero limps off and is replaced by Samir Nasri.
37 mins: Balotelli gives Rovers keeper Paul Robinson a scare by bending in an effort which lands narrowly wide of the right hand post.
50 mins: Balotelli works another opening and this time curls a superb strike beyond Robinson and against the upright.
76 mins: Mauro Formica shows his quality by shooting ferociously at goal from 25-yards to force a fine save from City's Joe Hart.
REACTION:
Kean insisted he will battle on:
"After the Arsenal game, most of the fans went home happy. Today is different and the supporters aren't happy and nor are the players or me.
"But let's put into perspective -- we minimised the chances for City. David Goodwillie couldn't get to Adam Johnson's shot quick enough and before we knew it we were behind.
"They made lots of changes from midweek and had a freshness about them. After falling two behind I felt we started feeling a bit sorry for ourselves.
"I am 100 per cent determined to carry on. I'm disappointed in the manner of the goals we conceded but there are good hard-working guys in our dressing room who need support."
The Scot maintains the club's owners are still behind him:
"I would rather the fans vented their anger at me. It's certainly not enjoyable but these are my players -- even the ones I didn't bring in.
"When we get a good result I'm not the sort to take the credit for myself. I make sure the plaudits are passed on to my players.
"The owners have backed me since day I got here. I would ask the supporters who are outside holding up banners to bear with us because we can turn it round."
Coach David Platt feels the performance shows the strength in depth City possess:
"It was the result we wanted and that's what we prepared for from Thursday onwards when we returned to training after putting the Bayern game to bed.
"We know what we're blessed with.
"One of the hardest things for us is picking a starting eleven. When we have everyone fit we are still sending top players into the stands.
"It's important that we don't lose the quality of performance and we haven't."
On Aguero's groin problem:
"Sergio has a groin injury but we're not sure how bad it is. If we had a game imminently then he wouldn't play. I think we're looking at a couple of weeks out least."
On Balotelli:
"Mario has shown consistency in his performances and in his training. He's had a lot of column inches in last 12 months and all the criticism he's had is one thing, but he also deserves credit for what he does right. He showed great maturity today.
On Johnson's goal:
"Adam Johnson's goal was great -- in fact, I was right behind it. As soon as it left his foot I knew it was in. We spoke at half-time about players stepping forward to join the attack instead of playing into their hands.
"In the first half we felt there wasn't a sustained period where we thought a goal was coming, but that changed after the break. When Adam scored we felt we were getting up a head of steam and creating things."
WHAT IT MEANS: Time will tell us whether Kean is right to feel that the board are still behind but five defeats in seven matches tells its own story. City remain in ominous form, with just two points dropped in the league so far this season and 23 goals. They are only off the top of the table on goal difference.
BLACKBURN ROVERS 0 MANCHESTER CITY 4 (A Johnson 56, Balotelli 59, Nasri 73, Savic 87)
PLAYER MARKING:
Blackburn Rovers (4-3-2-1): Robinson 6; Lowe 6, Dann 6, Samba 6, Givet 6; Petrovic 5, Nzonzi 5, Pedersen 5; Goodwille 4 (Formica 61, 6), Hoilett 6; Yakubu 5
Subs: Bunn, Slew, Rochina, Vukcevic, Roberts, Hanley
Manchester City(4-4-2): Hart 7; Zabaleta 6, Kompany 7, Lescott 7, Kolarov 7; A Johnson 7 (Savic 79, 7), Milner 6, Y Toure 6, Silva 7; Balotelli 8 (Dzeko 88, 6), Aguero 5 (Nasri 27, 7)
Subs: Pantilimon, Barry, Clichy, De Jong
No comments:
Post a Comment