First Half: Aguero has a shot from long range parried away. Goal! 0-1, Sunderland take the lead as Johnson plays a long ball into Borini who outmuscles Kompany before scoring with a low shot into the far bottom corner. Borini has a volley from the edge of the box deflected over the bar. Brown puts a header over the bar following a corner. Nasri has an effort saved.
Half Time: 0-1.
Second Half: Silva has a low shot from long range saved. Goal! 1-1, City equalize as Yaya Toure scores an absolute screamer from long range into the far top corner. Goal! 2-1, City take the lead as a Kolarov cross finds Nasri who strikes a sublime shot into the far side. Nasri misses with a curling shot from the edge of the box wide of the far post. Alonso has a free kick parried away. Fletcher has an effort saved. Kompany volleys wide of the near following a corner. Goal! 3-1, A fast break from City ends with Yaya Toure playing in Navas who coolly slots home into the near side.
Full Time: 3-1.
My Opinion:
My man of the match was Nasri. Manchester City win the first cup of the year, defeating Sunderland in a thrilling encounter. It was a nervy and tepid first half for City who couldn't find their feet. They conceded an early goal which really shook them up and it badly affected them for the rest of the half. However, an absolute wonder goal from Yaya Toure in the 55th minute completely changed the tone and flow of the game around. Suddenly, City were fired up and raring to go and it took less than a minute for them to take the lead as Nasri scored an absolute peach of a goal to turn the game around. It was relatively comfortable for City from there on out and they sealed the cup with a late counter attacking goal from Navas. This will be a big boost for City's confidence after winning in the fashion they did today. The first cup of a possible quadruple comes to the Etihad in thrilling style.
Sunderland are no strangers to beating City and it looked like they were going to cause another massive upset in the final when they took an early lead through Borini. It was a brilliant goal and put Sunderland on the front foot. They were very impressive throughout the first half and were good value for their half time lead. However, they were just undone by two world class goals from City and in a flash, fell behind within the space of a minute. They were hard pressed for an equaliser but it didn't look like coming. As a result of pushing for a leveller, Sunderland were caught on the break by City in the final few minutes and conceded a third which all but ended the match. A commendable cup run from Sunderland, who knocked out both Chelsea and Man United on the way, didn't end in the fairytale way they had dreamed of and they will now have to concentrate on avoiding relegation from the premier league.
Best Goal: Yaya Toure
Follow me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/mattaylott
No comments:
Post a Comment