City secured third place thanks to goals from Joleon Lescott and Edin Dzeko in a game which saw Joe Hart keep another clean sheet despite a casual first half performance. Bolton failed to take their chances early on and City grew in stature during the second period.
At the outset there were some unexpected changes in the full-back positions. Kolarov wasn’t there and Zabaleta was initially set to start on the bench with Boyata as left-back.
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Hart – Dropped the ball in one momentary lapse, but made a couple of excellent saves to earn another clean sheet. 6
Boyata – A surprise starter and looked initially nervous. Put over an excellent cross from which Barry ought to have scored, but this shouldn’t disguise the fact he needs to play more games at centre-back. 6
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A triumphant and exhausting season reaches it’s finale at Bolton with City needing only to do as well as Arsenal (away to Fulham) to secure third place. If Roberto Mancini’s side can maintain the momentum generated from beating Tottenham and Stoke, then victory could be secured.
The players were buoyant against a deflated and injury ravaged Stoke on Tuesday night, but Bolton are likely to be a tougher test despite their recent poor run of form. It might have helped had the speculation around Carlos Tevez’s future waited until the end of the season, but that’s not the way with modern media.
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City moved up to third in the table with a confident and professional defeat of injury ravaged Stoke. Carlos Tevez was the hero with two contrasting goals of the highest quality, while a Joleon Lescott header was sandwiched inbetween.
Afterwards Mancini claimed Tevez is set to stay with the club. It’s to be hoped he is, but one can’t help but feel the captain’s future is a story that is set to run for a while yet.
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