Despite already defeating Manchester City at the Etihad this season, the optimism from that game was gone and negativity was looming over the Geordie nation. It had every reason to be there, in all honesty.
To start, the XI which John Carver released one hour before was guaranteed to cause some frictions among Newcastle fans. Vurnon Anita started in midfield ahead of Mehdi Abeid, who had previously marked a certain Yaya Toure out of the game in the League Cup. Yoan Gouffran starting is always a decision which will upset fans. With all of our available defenders starting, one of them being Mike Williamson, you could easily predict the outcome of this game.
26 seconds into the first half and Newcastle had given away a penalty. Mike Williamson tackles Sergio Aguero in the corner of Newcastle’s half and instead of clearing the ball to safety, he puts Vurnon Anita under a huge amount of pressure. However, Anita did not deal with it well with a poor touch which Edin Dzeko latched onto and Anita reacted by bringing him down. Of course, Aguero converted.
The awful football didn’t stop there. Newcastle did string a few passes together and managed to gather a few shots in the direction of City’s net.
Within 12 minutes it was 2-0 when Samir Nasri fooled three defenders with one jolt of his leg and blasted the ball into the roof of Tim Krul’s goal. Game over.
Newcastle didn’t really get into the game, City could have been three or four up if it wasn’t for a few lucky blocks and Tim Krul, surprisingly, racing off his line.
It was 3-0 by 21 minutes when David Silva provided a sublime assist to Edin Dzeko who magically brought the ball down onto his chest and curled it past Krul. He was really showing that Wilfried Bony wasn’t going to walk into the starting XI.
Another blow for Newcastle was the yellow card for Jack Colback who is now banned for two games (Aston Villa and Manchester United).
Going into the second half, Mehdi Abeid was brought on for Vurnon Anita which was only 2 hours late. Newcastle seemed to come out better and threatened early when Moussa Sissoko provided a cross to Papiss Cisse who caught the ball well on the volley who forced a save from Joe Hart.
Despite an early chance for Newcastle, Man City didn’t stop. David Silva found himself space in the area and calmly slotted the ball beyond Krul. Then, only minutes later, Toure lobbed a pass onto the chest of Aguero and Silva powered it home. 5-0 within 52 minutes.
With Newcastle already 5-0 down, Manuel Pelligrini decided to bring on Jesus Navas and Wilfried Bony and rub salt into the already deep wounds of the Tynesiders. The only positive Newcastle could take from this game was seeing Ryan Taylor back on the pitch wearing the black and white. However, he showed a bit of rustiness when he tried to pass the ball back to Krul, only to see Dzeko latch onto the ball.
To make things even worse, Daryl Janmaat went off injured. The game could have been six or seven by the 75th minute if it wasn’t for Tim Krul. Bony had a big chance to get his first goal for City which was saved by Krul’s feet. One shot on goal all game.
Gary Neville during the game: “When your game plan goes out the window within the first minute.” What game plan? Newcastle doesn’t have a game plan.
Remi Garde was in attendance working for French media. Garde has been frequently linked with the manager’s role at Newcastle. Maybe he could see the job a challenge or just realise he isn’t a God.
This performance perfectly represents the tactical talents, or lack of, of Newcastle’s coaching regime and also highlights the decision making of the hierarchy to get rid of our best players for no apparent reason. Davide Santon, Mapou Yanga M’Biwa, Hatem Ben Arfa and Sylvain Marveaux were all shipped out despite being some of our most talented players. No passion, no talent, no enjoyment. A complete mess. The Manchester City players probably got bored of playing this game.
