It was hoped that City would continue from where they left off against Notts County and so they did. Edin Dzeko bagged an early brace to set Roberto Mancini’s side on the road to a comfortable victory which was sealed with a deflected second half strike by Yaya Toure.
Mancini deployed Tevez, Dzeko, Balotelli and Silva for the first time and the results were impressive. Those who believe Mancini has been overly cautious in not deploying them before are guilty of overlooking Balotelli’s injury problems.
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City continue their run of cup games with a finely balanced second leg against Aris Salonika. Roberto Mancini previously sent out a strong line-up in Greece with the intention of killing the tie and enabling him to rest players ahead of Sunday’s Premier League clash with Fulham.
That win failed to materialise with a subdued performance from several players, following the derby defeat to United. Tonight, Mancini’s selection options are reduced by injuries and the need for victory.
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After a poor start City eventually cruised to victory and looked able to score at will by the final whistle. As much as the victory, the confidence boost of scoring a few goals was particularly timely after a difficult week.
The final score was harsh on County who had looked like taking the lead initially. City made arguably their slowest start to a game this season, with a spectacular shot by Karl Hawley rebounding off Joe Hart’s post being required to stir us.
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Hart – Normally copes well with a player in front of him at corners. Not this time as Joe came and flapped a couple of times. Produced a top quality diving tip-over in the second half – one for the cameras. 6
Richards – Not quite so solid defensively as of late. Otherwise this was another powerful performance down the right flank, continuing his good form. 7
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