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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After a promising first half, City allowed Sunderland to take control in the second period and paid the ultimate price with a last minute Darren Bent penalty conceded by Micah Richards. It could all have been so different had Carlos Tevez not spurned an open goal in the first half.
The Tevez miss will dominate the headlines after the match, and questions will also be asked of Micah Richards. The England U-21 player blotted an otherwise decent defensive performance by allowing Bent to get goalside, giving him the opportunity to crumple to the floor when Micah tried to jump over him. It showed Micah hadn’t learnt from a similar offence commited at White Hart Lane last year.
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