So this is the Champions League. An exhilerating game where City went for the win, ran out of steam, then came back to claim a draw thanks to a perfectly executed Kolarov free-kick.
If City were the team in the third pot whom everyone wanted to avoid, then Napoli were surely the fourth pot equivalent. Both sides were victims of their poor UEFA co-efficients and consequently Group A is looking to be of a particularly high standard.
Continue Reading →Hart – Grateful to his crossbar in the first half but suffered the indignity of a shot through his legs in the second. Also grateful to the captain for one goal line clearance. 6
Zabaleta – A steady, if unspectacular return. Levazzi never gave him chance to rest. 7
Continue Reading →City take on Napoli in the Etihad Stadium’s first ever Champions League game. It promises to be a special night both on and off the pitch with Roberto Mancini’s in-form team taking on an impressive Napoli attack.
One of the few concerns against Wigan on Saturday was the lack of a genuine holding midfield player as both Yaya and Milner frequently left a space between midfield and defence. Mancini is hoping Gareth Barry can return to help fill this gap. There’s no doubt either de Jong or a fully fit Owen Hargreaves would be preferable against European opponents.
Continue Reading →Hart – Caught in no-mans land for Wigan’s one chance of the first-half, and the hardest save of the second-half was straight at him. A comfortable afternoon. 6
Richards – Martinez tried to catch City out by stationing Rodallega on the wing but Micah was wise to it, and up for the physical challenge. Unlucky not to score when played in by Tevez.
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