Sheikh Mansour, City’s fabulously wealthy owner, has waited two years to make his first visit to Eastlands, and read the message of thanks strung across the East Stand by grateful City fans.
His brief visit was a low-key, top-secret affair – even some of City’s top brass had been told to prepare for ‘Garry Cook and A Guest’.
And dressed in a dark suit rather than his traditional flowing white robes, he blended into the West Stand crowd, until announced over the public address system.
Poor James Milner got a rousing reception from the Blues faithful, but the noise went up several decibels for the man who bought him.
The Sheikh can certainly pick his games. The Blues were keyed up for a big start to their home campaign, but no-one suspected they would tear into Liverpool in that fashion.
The critics have been out in force lately, led by chief sniper Alex Ferguson, who described their summer spree as “kamikaze spending”.
The literal translation of kamikaze is “divine wind”. And it was certainly a divine wind which blew through the rattled ranks of Liverpool.
There had been fears that the recent tradition of City and Liverpool serving up bore draws might continue, with two pragmatic former Serie A managers in charge of the two teams.
Mancini went for a starting line-up which looked defensive, with Yaya Toure, Nigel de Jong and Gareth Barry forming a solid barrier across midfield.
And with James Milner surprisingly replacing David Silva on the left, even the “front three” he formed with Adam Johnson and Carlos Tevez had a more cautious look about it.
Mario Balotelli failed a late fitness test to miss his home debut, but Liverpool had an even bigger shock when Javier Mascherano was left out of the squad amid talk of him leaving to join Barcelona.
Micah Richards reclaimed his right back spot, no doubt to combat the muscular qualities of new Liverpool midfielder Milan Jovanovic, and Joleon Lescott continued at left back.
That team sheet brought a few groans around the stadium. Three of the previous four Manchester meetings of these two clubs have ended goalless – and, on the face of it, it seemed this one was heading the same way.
But that reckoned without the talent of Adam Johnson in extracting a mile from an inch of space, or the dynamism of new boy Milner.
Yaya effect
It also ignored the fact that, with Yaya and de Jong alongside, Barry is much more able to stride forward with confidence.
Those factors combined beautifully for the opening goal on 13 minutes.
Johnson probed down the right and cutely slid a pass through the legs of Jovanovic for the roving Milner. He looked up and picked out the run of Barry, and the finish was expert.
Liverpool were chasing shadows. It was sweet possession football, spiced up by precise incision at the right times.
And when Liverpool superstars Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres DID get the ball, they were running into a brick wall. A brick wall built in downtown Amsterdam and named Nigel de Jong, who was ably assisted by Barry and Yaya and backed up by a tuned-in and toned-up defence.
City had been slammed for their approach at Spurs last week, as containment appeared the order of the day, and a 0-0 draw the aim. But there were signs in that game that City were starting to piece it together. They bossed possession on the day, and the statistics from the game show that the midfield trio barely put a pass wrong.
Those signs translated themselves into a reality in the space of 90 minutes.
For a brief few moments at the start of the second half, there was a fear the Blues might retreat into their own half and present the impetus to Hodgson’s shell-shocked side.
But they came up with a setpiece second goal on 52 minutes, Milner’s corner powerfully headed goalwards by Richards and Tevez adding the touch which slipped the ball through Pepe Reina’s legs.
That sparked Liverpool into life and when Gerrard smashed a trademark shot against the post, it was all hands to the pump. Defenders hurled themselves bodily in front of the ball, and then Joe Hart produced two magnificent saves from David Ngog and Fernando Torres as the ball ricocheted around the box.
Liverpool had a bigger share of the game in the second half but City piled on the agony with a third, thanks to the dancing feet of Johnson on the right.
He jinked past Daniel Agger and teased Martin Skrtel into a clumsy challenge and a clear penalty. Tevez swept his spot kick home.
Hart again hurled himself to his right to flick Ngog’s deflected shot round the post.
Last season saw City finish above Liverpool for the first time in 18 seasons. The trick now is to stay above them – and on this evidence, that should be no great problem.
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Just one negative from last night! After a performance like that from every single player in a blue shirt, they deserved to be applauded off at the end by the whole crowd. It beggars belief that so many fans start to leave before the end during a game like that. A fourth goal was always a possibility and then at final whistle chance to show your appreciation, instead of heading off early into the rain. Come on blues support your team for the full 90+ minutes
One thing I noticed last night is that we look like we have more then ten outfield players on the pitch. The way we passed the ball around the park with no signs of any pressure was so reassuring. We were told by the gutter press that it would take weeks to gel, well if we're playing like this now I am salivating thinking about how we will play then. Andy Gray had the temerity to defend the bin dippers, when it was plain for all to see, that we played them off the pitch for long periods of the game. Seige mentality is what we need and when the press start to cosy up to us, which they will, we should flood every radio phone-in, t.v. phone-in, internet forum etc with questions as to why we are now flavour of the month. Can't wait for the glory it's been too long in the waiting. After crying my eyes out when we were first relegated from the prem, and again in 2008 at stoke I have felt all the pain as much as any city fan. We are heading for an amazing future and I'm glad I kept the faith. C.T.I.D!!!!
Someone should have told Carlos that his former boss was sat in the stand,then when he had scored his second goal he could have run to the in front of the halfway line and indicated to him how many goals he had just scored!!!
SHEIK MANSOUR...
LIVING LEDGEND...
CTID..
what a performance! I was nervous at the beginning, but the longer it went on, the more i thought, wow, we are beyond good. Ok, it wasn't the best Liverpool team, and it's only the 2nd week into the season, but it bodes well! Can't believe how good Yaya is, I mean did he play Gerrard off the park or what!?!
Can someone tell me why Skyrtel escaped a sending off? There was a challenge he got booked for, then another he should have, then the foul for the pen.
On another note, is Platini running a hate campaign against City? I read in the guardian that we may be banned from the Champions League if we get there just because the club is not self sustainable (at present i might add). I think it's time now for our beloved Sheikh and the accident prone Cook to go on a charm offensive with UEFA and get rid of that clown who has no idea what he's doing!
fantastic result all round.......car nt wait to see what we do with Kolorov,Boateng and Balotelli in the side.......hammer everyone I would say.....!!!!
Do the Sheikh Mansour and bring the football back
Do the Sheikh Mansour and bring the football back
I'll get my coat!
Shake and Vac anyone.
it was also really good to see 6 englishmen play for city last night. united fans say we are killing football? yet they only had 1 play against fulham.
MANCHESTER CITY, PROUDLY KILLING FOOTBALL SINCE 2009
Wonderful and a bit surprising last night because in truth we didnt know what to expect,but as the game progressed the players and the crowd became more confident.The foreign players were excellant,but to see five England full Internationals in the Sky Blue and play so well was the highlight for me.On the night I first went to Maine road in 1958 my all time hero Bert Trautmann was in goal and I can pay no greater compliment to Joe Hart than to say how much he reminded me off Bert,apart from great abitily they share one vital ingredient for a goalkeeper and that is Bravery, to dive in when the boots are flying,and last night and against Spurs Joe showed that vital quality in abundance.
Lets have a CITY fan writing CITY articles please.
CTID
Mr Brennan, for once I fully agree with you, but only on the basis of the last half of your final sentence!
TTFN
jesus BRENNAN where did that come from ? a fair,well thought out report,
the real mark jones
Was taggert ill? He sure looked pretty sick last night!!! Thank you sheikh mansour. I have watched city from the late sixty's And at last. Feel we can finally ram the rags taunts back down there throats.. so come on city let's tear down that banner and. Replace it with one of our own. Let's. Leave the rags trophy less for the next thirty years don't we just love kamakazi spending! !!! .
Agree but my 6 year old was knackered and really wanted to go, which is fair enough. Maybe some other people had valid reasons also. I did tell him outside the ground that we wouldn't be leaving early again!
Fantastic performance last night from back to front.
Most of us have got accustomed to the constant sniping, bitterness and negativity from the press regarding our club. However, there was an article in Saturday's Daily Mail - headlined "Liverpool v Man City, It's King Kong v Mickey Mouse" - which was so derogatory it just about finished me off. Resisting the urge to dive in with both feet (a la the superb De Jonge) and fire off 100's of comments, I decided to wait, bide my time and see what Monday night would bring. Revenge, as they say, is a dish best served cold !
King Kong run ragged by Mickey Mouse and the England captain receiving a lesson in midfield play from Nigel De Jonge - absolutely brilliant !
Every single player did their bit,we actually looked and played like a team on the up.
It's early doors but the signs are very promising,keep the faith fellow Blues.CTID
To all the RED media out there:
1) That's what kamikaze spending brings you a great team.
2) Only 1 out of a centre midfield partnership of De Jong, Barry & Yaya actually operates as a holding midfielder. Barry & Yaya can actually be quite attacking when they put there mind to it.
3) Look, Milner started and deserved to start.
4) Milner is a way better player than Ireland and represents far better business for City than Villa.
5) That looked like a pretty good "TEAM" performance to me!!!
6) 4 clean sheets on the bouce says Hart and some superb performance to boot says Hart warrants his place ahead of Shay
Maybe by the end of the season, even Andy Gray may have to admit City are the real deal!!!
watched game from a pub in Dublin surrounded by lpool fans, very satisfying evening,
Great performance and great result we played the bin dippers off the park
They laughed, tormented at us for years, but it is going to be so hard for them to take now. He who laughs last laughs the loudest. The fat lady is singing.
We should all take a lot of confidence from that performance, i dont mind saying that at the end it was a real emotional night for me, the sheilk turning up & to cap with a top class performance at the end i stood with tears rolling down my face, the only thing missing was my old man, he would love this right now thanks dad for bringing me to support this great club, i just wish you could be here to stand next to me to witness our great future !!! CTID BELIEVE.
The first half was a revelation. For the first time we really played that formation the way Mancini wants it played.
In other words ignore the fools who keep criticising us for having three holding midfielders. We don't. We have one. He is called Nigel de Jong and he was magnificent at protecting the back four. He was helped enormously by the complete narrowness of Liverpool but he enabled Barry and Ya Ya Toure to drive forward and completely boss the midfield in an offensive, not defensive manner. Some of the passing was sublime, first touch, lay offs without even looking up, straight to feet, short triangles, cross field thirty yarders, twenty or so passes on the spin without even looking like conceding possession. It was great football to watch. And showed what a class player Ya Ya Toure is at all times. Defensive midfielders are not found in the opposition area at all whereas he and Barry caused havoc in Liverpool's several times. There's a team not far from us who play a very similar system and have been very good at it for quite a while. We might just have the antedote.
It would appear that Mancini has had them practicing tackling and closing down space because whereas last season, with the exception of de Jong, we used to cover space and just try and prevent players moving forwards against us and stand off, there is none of that this time around. That always got us in to trouble and has been a negative part of the culture of the club for years. Not with Mancini it isn't. The tackles were flying in. Anyone in a Liverpool shirt who had the ball was tackled within three seconds most of the time and not just the one. We hunted them down in packs with de Jong, Barry, Tevez, Milner, VK, both Toures, |Richards, Lescott all terriers around a terrified Liverpool. It wasn't that they were poor. They were simply outfought and that was the platform to win the match. Not only that but the challenges were superbly timed tackles unlike the hopeless Skrtel's mis-timed challenge on AJ or his reckless lunge that ultimately cost them the game. And if we couldn't get in a tackle, we got in a block as at Spurs so it was rare that any decent long range opportunities got more than a yard before piling into a City body thrown in front of the ball as if lives depended on it. This is the stuff we have rarely seen in Sky Blue shirts.
And when they finally got a breakthrough, Hart finger-tipped a shot on to the post and in the ensuing melee was quick enough and good enough to make a brilliant double save which ensured the win.
The tackling and passing in the first half was outstanding from City. And in the second, when we didn't have as much possession we showed equally competently that the system we played can be extremely effective on the counter attack too which is excellent news. The replacements for the injured players were all excellent on the night (and it is very rare that I attribute any accolades to Richards but he really was very very good) and the result was thoroughly deserved. The press can say what they like but you can only play as much as the opposition let you and a good enough Liverpool side never got a sniff against us. We were superior in every position on the pitch and I doubt many of us have seen such a comprehensive dismantling of the reds as was seen last night in our life times. I certainly haven't.
I think the real key here is City managed to maintain possession and concentrate. If they work that hard for every game - they will be amazing.
I loved watching the way the Yaya, DeJong and Barry controlled the entire match.
To say Adam Johnson was a steal at 7 Million is a drastic understatement. He might be the best creative Mid in England - He and Milner have the potenitial to knock both Gerrard and Lamps a few pegs down the England Depth Chart - and they are both still young and improving!
All in all a great display!!! Well don City - Thank you Sheik Mansour!!
I see we are wearing the exact same coloured socks that we wore when we last won the league
wonder how bacon face feels this morning
I was priveleged to be a season ticket holder in the days of Book, Pardoe, Oakes, Doyle, Watson, Bell etc.
However the current defence/midfield on last night's display and potential yet to bolstered by Kolarov and Boateng is massive.
This midfield is even better.
Yaya Toure's strength, engine, talent and 'can play anywhere' will be a huge influence and Milners skill and engine will be a great double act. Added to which Barry and Johnson had 10/10 performances - sublime.
Add to that Kompany, Kolo Toure and de Jong on last night's performance were invincible.
Furthermore, there are now a core of really good players who can play in several different positions/roles.
AND up front the kid Super Mario's potential link with Carlito could be mouth watering
More to Bobby Manc than first thought eh?
Il Futero e Blu