Man City boss Manuel Pellegrini insists his side’s loss to Middlesbrough wasn’t due to the trip to Abu Dhabi.
There’s something about Middlesbrough that will send a chill down the spine of many a Manchester City fan.
Whether it was their surprising 3-0 win over Arsenal in 2001 that pretty much put the death knell on City’s Premier League survival chances, or their 1-0 win at Eastlands — achieved without having a shot on target — in 2003, or them pipping City to a UEFA Cup place in 2005, or the 8-1 drubbing they inflicted in 2008, there’s just something about them and the trend continued with their 2-0 FA Cup fourth-round win on Saturday.
A lot will be said about a needless friendly in the midweek before Saturday’s match and more will be made of the late return the squad made from Abu Dhabi but that’s an excuse that doesn’t wash. Travel is a part of the game, and the players weren’t flying economy class. Middlesbrough were just better.
Unless Manuel Pellegrini is able to instill some confidence into this team before next Saturday evening, the season could start to fall apart. As it stands, you don’t see City picking up any Premier League points at Chelsea and, in their current form you don’t see them closing that gap anytime soon, either.
There’s a lot of work to be done.
Player ratings (1-10; 10=best; players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating):
GK Willy Caballero, 6 — It was something of a mixed afternoon for the goalkeeper. There were some good saves, especially as City pushed for an equaliser, but he was left hopelessly exposed for the two goals. His kicking was largely good, but suspect at times under pressure.
DF Aleksandar Kolarov, 5 — The Serbian produced some good crosses, but there was little going his way and he was lucky to get second chances to tackle a man he’d let go on a number of breakaways. The left-back was also unlucky not to win a penalty for a blatant handball.
DF Vincent Kompany, 5 — There’s something about the captain recently that seems to be stopping him hitting his peak. City fans know how good he can be, but he’s taking risks that are putting his teammates in trouble — one on Saturday came inside the opening two minutes. The Belgian needs his form back and looked well off the pace.
DF Dedryck Boyata, 6 — He was by no means solid, with a few mis-kicks and slices, but this was a display that saw him put in a number of decent challenges and clearances. He was unlucky from a first half corner to sky a good chance, too.
DF Pablo Zabaleta, 5 — There was no lack of effort from the Argentine, but this was a tired-looking full-back in a game in which the bounce of the ball just didn’t go his way. He won several headers that deflected to leave him out of position and looked frustrated by the end — a bad day at the office.
MF Fernando, 4 — It’s starting to look like Fernando’s early-season good displays were an anomaly, as his stock fell further with another poor showing. He sold his goalkeeper short for the opening goal and struggle to break up play ahead of his back four. He’s looking more like a downgrade on Javi Garcia as the weeks go by.
MF James Milner, 5 — Given the chance to show what he can do in the centre of midfield, he was pretty good in the first half. But after the break, his influence faded and he ended up being moved wide. A frustrated kick on the post summed up his afternoon.
Manchester City are winless in their past three games in all competitions.
MF Jesus Navas, 5 — Like most of the team, the Spaniard showed well in the first half but struggled as the game wore on. His deliveries were better than his previous showing in the defeat to Arsenal … but they were still below par.
MF David Silva, 6 — Perhaps the only City player who looked likely to cause Middlesbrough problems, the Spaniard found a lot of space in between the lines. Unfortunately for him, there seemed to be a lot of static on the wavelengths to the rest of the team — the link-up with him was unusually poor.
FW Stevan Jovetic, 5 — The Montenegrin looked lively at first but struggled to find the room to shoot. By the time he was substituted, he was struggling to find a blue shirt and his passing and influence on the game was as good as zero.
FW Sergio Aguero, 5 — It will please City fans to see the Argentine striker complete another 90 minutes after injury and get into some good shooting positions, but he’s still feeling the effects of his recent lay-off. He’s getting there but is nothing like the player he was before he departed against Everton in December.
Substitutes
MF Fernandinho, 5 — The Brazilian replaced Navas and did little to shore up the midfield after his introduction and looked to be lacking confidence.
MF Frank Lampard, 5 — This was an unusually ineffectual introduction for the veteran, who replaced Jovetic, which was summed up by some wayward passing on the edge of the box. However, he did come the closest to equalising, with a deflected effort in the closing stages.
FW Edin Dzeko, NR — The Bosnian replaced Fernando and joined a desperate attack but didn’t get much service to change the game.