Pantilimon – Did better with crosses than against Birmingham in the last round. Here the concern was how shots tended to come back off him into open play. 6
Zabaleta – Against Hunt we needed someone who was going to remain committed and focussed throughout. Pablo was the man. 7
Continue Reading →Amidst all the jubilation after Sunday and todays papers being full of Tevez once again, it’s easy to forget that City have a Carling Cup game tonight. Fortunately Roberto Mancini isn’t one to be distracted from the job in hand.
It’s a real shame that Owen Hargreaves has picked up a calf strain as it would have been great to see him feature both tonight and on Saturday. Maybe Mancini will now give de Jong a run out to improve his match sharpness.
Continue Reading →No doubting the headline maker in this Carling Cup victory. Owen Hargreaves capped his City debut with a sweetly struck opening goal from outside the penalty area.
A second from Mario Balotelli ensured Roberto Mancini’s side enjoyed a comfortable evening. Birmingham clearly had other priorities this season than defending the trophy they won against Arsenal.
Continue Reading →Pantilimon – The Romanian giant is surprisingly known for shot stopping rather than catching crosses and this is an area the coaching staff need to work on. He’ll also need more games against English opposition before we can be confident of him as a deputy for Joe Hart. 6
Onuoha – Welcome back Nedum. Strong in defence but lacked the deftness of touch required in the attacking third. 6
Continue Reading →