Manchester City played as though affronted
by Roberto Mancini's suggestion that they
might be only third or fourth favourites for
the title. They were devastating during a
second-half blitz when everything clicked
and all the damage was done against a
Chelsea side who must have found the
experience alarming in the extreme.
Those were moments when Roberto Di
Matteo's side were reminded why there
were 25 points separating these teams last
season and, on this evidence, we should
probably see beyond whatever message
Mancini was trying to send to the people
above him about City's chances of a
successful title defence, particularly now
they have started their summer spending
with the acquisition of Jack Rodwell from
Everton, for an initial £15m.
At least one more signing should arrive
before the transfer window closes and even
if Mancini remains dissatisfied, this was a
performance that suggests a confident and
strong team going into the new season.
Their squad is not flawless, something
brought home by the erratic goalkeeping of
Costel Pantilimon, playing in place of the
injured Joe Hart. But the point about this
City side is that they can menace even the
most accomplished defences, especially now
Carlos Tevez appears to be playing with a
clear head.
Chelsea, in truth, got off lightly just to lose
by the odd goal in five. To give them their
due, they had mitigating circumstances in
the form of Branislav Ivanovic's red card
late in the first half. Fernando Torres,
showing encouraging flashes, had opened
the scoring two minutes earlier but
Ivanovic, sliding in to challenge Aleksandar
Kolarov, was guilty of lifting his foot and
his studs went high into his opponent's shin.
It was reckless and foolish and his team
suffered the consequences.
For the first half an hour of the second
period City were magnificent, attacking
with width and penetration, scoring three
times in 12 minutes through Yaya Touré,
Tevez and Samir Nasri, and so dominant
they should probably have made it even
more of an ordeal for their opponents.
Touré and Nasri were the driving forces,
showing flashes of brilliance in a new
3-4-1-2 formation. James Milner subjected
Ashley Cole to one of his more difficult
afternoons and for John Terry in particular,
it was a demoralising experience. Terry's
weak clearance had given Touré the chance
to equalise but the Chelsea captain was also
subjected to chants about his recent court
case. They were loud and sustained and
could conceivably be the soundtrack to his
season.
City were a sight to behold once Touré had
buried an emphatic right-foot shot past Petr
Cech and, in the process, they made the
backs-to-the-wall defending that helped
Chelsea overcome Barcelona and Bayern
Munich in last season's Champions League
feel a distant memory. City's second goal, in
particular, was a beauty, Nasri slipping a
pass to Tevez who ducked along the edge of
the penalty area and evaded David Luiz and
Terry before firing into the top corner. Six
minutes later, Tevez released Kolarov on
the left and Nasri jabbed out a foot to
divert the cross past Cech. Rarely have
Chelsea been made to look so ordinary and
vulnerable.
The disappointment for City came in the
80th minute when Pantilimon lost the flight
of Daniel Sturridge's shot and allowed the
ball to dribble out of his hands for another
substitute, Ryan Bertrand, to score. Briefly,
there was the sense of an improbable
comeback, but there were only a few
anxious moments in front of the Romanian
goalkeeper. City, in fact, should have made
it four when Sergio Agüero turned wide the
easiest chance of the match and the
afternoon could have ended in ignominy for
Chelsea, with the referee, Kevin Friend,
deciding to be lenient when Frank Lampard
and Ramires committed fouls that might
ordinarily have enticed second yellow
cards.
Chelsea had their own grievances, not least
because City's Stefan Savic could have been
shown two yellows in the first half. Mancini
substituted the young centre-half at half-
time but Chelsea would be unwise to dwell
on Friend's officiating. The simple truth was
that City had passed the ball with much
greater incision and could regard
themselves as unfortunate to be losing at
half-time.
Torres took his chance well, collecting
Ramires's pass and scoring with a left-foot
shot inside the penalty area, and the
Spaniard's sharpness does at least
encourage the sense he might have an
improved season. Eden Hazard, however,
had an undistinguished introduction to
English football, notable mostly for an early
dive that should have seen him booked, and
then a comedic attempted backheel that
saw him miss the ball and fall over. He, like
Chelsea, will almost certainly improve.
Worryingly for the other title contenders,
so should City.
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