Roberto Mancini sprung a surprise with a more attacking line-up and reaped the rewards with a five goal victory over struggling Sunderland. There was no joy for Gyan this time in his battle against Joleon Lescott and Joe Hart.
It turned out Pablo Zabaleta hadn’t made it back in time and Dedryck Boyata came in at right-back. Even more surprising was the sight of Ryan McGivern on the bench, and the left-back came on at right-back for the final quarter.
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Hart – No Gyan induced concern for Joe in this match as Kompany and co prevented Sunderland from having a shot on target until the 77th minute. 6
Boyata (McGivern 70) – A superb return bearing in mind it was only his second ever appearance at right-back. Comfortable on the ball and didn’t over-complicate his play. 7
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City return to Premier League action on Sunday with a point to prove following the defeat to Chelsea. The two week break has been a welcome one, with several players getting the chance to recover some freshness.
Hopefully Carlos Tevez and Adam Johnson will be fit to face the Wearsiders. Yaya Toure also skipped international duty to regain his fitness. Italian manager Cesare Prandelli kindly elected not to select Mario Balotelli after his red card against Dynamo Kiev.
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City’s impressive run of victories against Chelsea came to an end when David Luiz headed home a Didier Drogba free-kick and Ramires added a late second with Roberto Mancini’s side chasing an equaliser. After playing for an hour with ten men on Thursday, it was no surprise to see us fade after a decent opening period.
When City beat Chelsea earlier in the season, we were the first team to match them physically throughout the game. After a run of 11 games in the last 36 days that wasn’t the case here. Aside from Nigel de Jong, City’s midfield didn’t have the legs to compete with Chelsea over 90 minutes.
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