Taylor – Nightmare. Needless concession of a penalty when failing to deal with a backpass; followed in the second-half by gifting another chance when failing to hold a cross. An excellent stoppage time save was a crumb of comfort. 3
Trippier – The former youth team skipper showed plenty of endeavour, but to many long balls failed to reach a target. 5
Continue Reading →With Sheikh Mansour picking up the tab for a seven star hotel in a way that Darius Vassell could do with right now, City repaid this generous hospitality by allowing the host nation victory via a first-half penalty calamitously conceded by Stuart Taylor.
In many ways it was what we’ve come to expect under Mark Hughes’ tenure. Plenty of professionalism and organisation in the build-up to the game, followed by a disjointed performance once we go out on the pitch.
Continue Reading →Given – Produced an excellent reaction save to a flicked header just prior to the second goal. The Irishman couldn’t be faulted on a bad day elsewhere for the defence. 7
Zabaleta – A decent performance even if the Argentine didn’t manage to supply any of the quality crosses of which he’s capable. 7
Continue Reading →Another draw that felt like a defeat, where ‘great game for the neutral’ was a description that Mark Hughes could have done without. After falling two goals behind, then storming back to take the lead, before conceding a late equaliser – all against supposedly weaker opposition – this game deserved another old cliche: ‘Typical City’.
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