Against Newcastle, Pellegrini's men attacked with flair and intent. They looked as though they could score at any moment and in truth, the 4-0 scoreline didn't really reflect the dominance that the home side had. Dzeko, Aguero, Silva & Navas all linked up brilliantly and carved their way through the Toon defence with ease. The key difference between this victory and the defeat in South Wales was the space that City were allowed; Newcastle seemed absent across the park, but Cardiff defended deep and in numbers. The key indicator to the effectiveness of Cardiff's game-plan was Jesus Navas. The winger had to drop back or drift centrally in order to involve himself in play, whereas against Newcastle he simply hugged the touchline and waited for the ball to be pinged through. He'd then use his pace to beat the full-back and deliver a cross into the area. Onto David Silva; he was played out of position, occupying a more left-sided berth than the central role that he prefers and whilst this can affect his impact on proceedings, it shouldn't really affect his passing ability. However, the pint-sized Spaniard was way off his game. It wasn't just him though, Fernandinho and Yaya Toure were both as bad when it came to retaining possession and carving openings I lost count of the amount of hopeful punts which strayed harmlessly over the top of the defence. Finally, when a team is parking the proverbial bus, sometimes the best bet is to have a pop from distance. It took until Dzeko's opener, shortly after the interval, for City to realise this. However, it wasn't really followed up much thereafter and the team continued to mostly run into a brick wall.
Originally from Manchester, I'm currently residing in Melbourne as part of a round the world trip that I embarked on in November 2011.
I primarily write on football and I'm a lifelong Man City fan and current season ticket holder. I'll try to share my views from an unbiased perspective, but I can't promise anything.
