Only a day ago, Manchester City manager had claimed that the side was as good as Barcelona. Many would have scoffed at such an idea, but at least for this weekend, the side played like a champion team. Manchester City slammed in five goals against a hapless Tottenham Hotspur, who returned feebly with one goal of their own and notched up their third win in as many games to go to the second spot in the points table.
It was Edin Dzeko, who ensured that Mancini’s men would get a move on to the second place in the table with such a big win. Dzeko scored four of the goals including a hat-trick with Sergio Aguero contributing the fifth to win the game 5-1. Hotspurs, who have begun this season with two successive losses now, have taken the early position in the relegation zone and were only propped by Younes Kaboul in the game, who scored the side’s lone goal.
Samir Nasri, who had only recently shifted out of Arsenal to play for Manchester City, got his career at Manchester off to a good beginning with the win. He played a fine supporting cast in his support of the goal-scoring duo. On the other, Crouch was played in front as a striker, with van der Vaart and Bale featuring on the two flanks, even as Luka Modric was given a start, despite his injury issues.
It was a poor game from the Hotspurs unfortunately. They barely had the odd opportunity but for the rest of the game, Manchester City dominated the proceedings through Silva, Nasri and Toure Yaya, who supported the pair of Dzeko and Aguero rather well.
Manchester City took the lead just above the half-hour mark through Dzeko, who was passed the ball by Nasri and he scored. Nasrik passed again to Dzeko, seven minutes later, who slammed in the second before Toure Yaya helped Dzeko complete his hat-trick in the second half and effectively sealed the game in the favour of Manchester City.
The listless Tottenham Hotspur failed to either score or prevent City from going 4-0 up, when Aguero drilled in his first goal of the game in the 60th minute.
Kaboul finally managed to pull one in 68th minute but by then it had been too late for the side. The final rites were performed by the hat-trick man, Dzeko, who left-footed the ball into the corner to get his fourth goal in the dying minutes of the game while the side went on to win the match 5-1.
Squads:
Tottenham: Corluka, Friedel, Kaboul, Dawson, Lennon, Assou-Ekotto, Kranjcar, Modric, Crouch, Bale, van der Vaart.
Manchester City: Zabaleta, Hart, Lescott, Kompany, Barry, Clichy, Silva, Toure, Dzeko, Nasri, Aguero.
Match Referee: Phil Dowd