Reaction, stats & ratings: Chelsea 6 City 0

I really want to believe this piece of gossip which claims that six or seven City players were shaking off the flu on Saturday, but I suppose the reality is that this type of result has been on the cards all season.

While the bones of this game have already been thoroughly picked over, the moral of the story is pretty clear: when you're visiting a team that cost a net £257m to assemble and has won two titles in three years it's probably not a good idea to try and out-attack them. Particularly if your two left-sided defenders fall asleep on the job.

It reminds me of a story from Joe Royle's Autobiography, where he describes his debut for City at Anfield on Boxing Day in 1974:

How vividly I recall meeting the City squad at the Lord Nelson Hotel before the match. I knew several of their players from England squad get-togethers and so I felt quite at ease. That encouraging feeling was strengthened by the team talk from manager Tony Book, who adopted a totally positive approach to one of the toughest challenges in the fixture list. Book - 'Skip' as he was known because he had captained City for many years - sat us down and lifted us up with the words, 'Every team goes to Anfield to defend, and loses anyway. So we are going to attack.' Stirring stuff! He went on to tell Denis Tueart and Mike Summerbee they were to stretch Liverpool on the wings and instructed me and Rodney Marsh to play as twin strikers and 'really have a go at 'em'. I thought, 'Great stuff. This is what I want to hear.'

There was just one problem. During half-time I sat in the visitors' dressing-room at Anfield, graveyard of so many teams' ambitions, reflecting on the fact that I had had only four touches of the ball, all of them from kick-offs. We were 4-0 down!

I should really feel more downbeat about this performance, but for some reason it has merely added to the sense of unreality that has taken hold of the club since the takeover. Two pieces of news last week also help to put this setback into perspective, and remind us of how truly awful this season could have been. Not only did the appointment of Gary Megson as Bolton boss, and the fact that even Graeme Souness turned down the job, indicate the type of manager you can expect nowadays if you don't have the necessary funds, but the news that 'secretive' hedge fund Sisu and their front-man Ray Ranson are behind a bid for debt-laden Southampton suggests another bullet successfully dodged.

Well, we're not owned by a hedge fund, run by the guy who helped bankrupt Leeds or have a manager whose only season in top-flight football ended in relegation. We're third in the table with more than a quarter of the season gone and with the exception of the United game every one of our points has been deserved.

But now come a tough couple of months. Here are the league games between now and Jan 1:

Sunderland (H), Portsmouth (A), Reading (H), Wigan (A), Tottenham (A), Bolton (H), Villa (A), Blackburn (H), Liverpool (H) and Newcastle (A).

The last four fixtures are over the 10-day holiday period and have 'winless streak' written all over them, but then who knows? There have been so many twists and turns already this season I really don't have a clue what's coming next.

I'm just enjoying the ride.

~ A video nasty
~ Sven's post-match interview
~ Getty Images photos
~ Latest Premiership table.


Match stats

The stats (below) are compiled from a live commentary. For more detailed stats, including a breakdown of each player’s passes and tackles click here (and trawl to the bottom of the page), while you can also find match details at the BBC and Sky.






Player ratings

A few of the ratings were all over the place for this game, though I suppose that's to be expected when emotions run so high. Most out-of-whack were the scores at Man City Mad, which awarded Garrido a 6. Ireland's individual ratings have one of the biggest spreads I've seen, which probably reflects the ongoing (and often heated) debate about his value to the side.

Ratings come from (in order): Fidel Castro, xavi6, DidsburyBlue, ross.mcfc, Grob (+ roadkill2487 & Niall Quinns Discopants) (Mancityfans), Father Dougal MaGuire (Bluemoon), MEN. Man City Mad, BBC, Sky and Sky Your Rating.

Hart: 7, 5, 4, 5, 4, 4, 4, 6, 5, 5, 6, 6, 6, 3.8, 4.7 (av: 5.0)
Not at fault for any of the goals and might have expected better of defence. Likely to be rested on Wednesday. (MEN)
Despite conceding 6 goals, I thought he had quite a good game. Wasn't to blame for any of the goals and made a few good saves. (Fidel Castro)
A few decent saves but he could've narrowed the angle for the first one and to be nutmegged 4 times is ridiculous. (xavi6)
Lacked presence and looked very nervous, is good on crosses but not as good at commanding the area and coming off the line as Schmeichel. Both youngsters whilst good prospects need a good season in the Championship a la Carson/Kirkland. It's time for Isaksson to step up to the plate.
(DidsburyBlue)
Poor kid wasn't at fault for any of the goals but was thrown to the lions ye Micah and co in front of him. If I'm being harsh 3 of the goals went through his legs and I'm sure if Kasper had conceded those goals we'd all be baying for blood. If Isaksson doesn't start next game then you know he's a goner at Xmas. (ross.mcfc)
Few good saves. (Father Dougal MaGuire)
Any keeper that conceeds 6 doesn't deserve much of a score no matter how many good saves he made as well. (Grob)

Corluka: 6, 5, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 7, 5, 5, 6, 6, 5, 3.8, 4.9 (av: 5.6)
Might have been stronger for the third goal but by then the game had gone beyond Blues. (MEN)
This will sound strange after conceding 6, but he was quite solid in defence. I don't think any of the goals went over his side actually. (Fidel Castro)
Did ok but he needs to realise he can't beat players for pace or skill. (xavi6)
Best defender today by a country mile, over eager at taking players on, but was solid defensively. All the goals came through the middle or from the left. Needs to be in CB. (DidsburyBlue)
Our best defender, only because I don't remember him being at fault for any of the goals. (ross.mcfc)
Was never under pressure but did well. (Father Dougal MaGuire)
Our most consistent defender this season held his corner up well and tried to get forward. It's time he was moved to the centre. (Grob)

Dunne: 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5, 6, 7, 6, 4.2, 5.2 (av: 5.0)
Stemmed the tide as best he could for half an hour but even he was washed away by Chelsea brilliance. (MEN)
Wasn't too bad, but his passing is the shittiest. Ever. In the world. The two Sommeil wannabes to the left of him made him look worse. (Fidel Castro)
Couple of important clearances but an off day.
Days like this make me wonder is he as a good as the top defenders in the premier league and games like this say no. He just wasn't a presence. He was pulled all over the show and was slow to react. (DidsburyBlue)
Whilst he didn't get as owned as much as Micah he is the experienced member of a defence that embarrassed itself today. (ross.mcfc)
Distribution was shocking. (Father Dougal MaGuire)
Misses Distin like he would miss having a hole in his arse. Micah's positioning problems has Dunne worrying about doing 2 players jobs when he's got enough on his plate just doing his against Chelsea. (Grob)

Richards: 4, 4, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 6, 5, 3.8, 4.8 (av: 4.0)
Caught out of position a couple of times and got involved in unnecessary argument with Lampard. (MEN)
Positional sense of a pisshead and gave Chelsea players far too much space (see first 2 goals). (Fidel Castro)
Lost the head with the fat cunt Lampard and didn't look as commanding as usual. (xavi6)
Showed his inexperience today and got owned by Drogba. Needs to be at RB for a while. He is international class but not world class yet, and it showed. Was completely off today. (DidsburyBlue)
Worst performance by a City centre half I'd ever seen. At fault for 4 goals. (ross.mcfc)
Awful, posistioning was shite, was at fault for the first two goals, today he looked liked the kids he was. (Father Dougal MaGuire)
That was truely awful. Its time to drop him back into right back. He has neither the composure, maturity or the positional sense to be a regular centre half yet. Played too much with his heart and not enough in his head. He looked ready to cry during the second half. (Grob)

Garrido: 3, 2, 4, 4, 2, 2, 2, 5, 4, 4, 5, 6, 4, 3.0, 4.7 (av: 3.6)
Exposed as he never has been before but wasn't the only one. (MEN)
Don't think I've seen anyone play so shit since Charvet. Never was anyway near the player he was supposed to be marking, made stupid runs and then didn't track back. Notice all the goals came from their right??? (Fidel Castro)
He was shocking. Never seen a player ball watch so much in my life. You can say he had no cover but to be unable to glance over your shoulder and see who's behind you is criminal. Ball for left back. (xavi6)
His defensive frailties were ruthlessly exposed today. His passing was off and for me is a WB in a 5-3-2 formation. It was like we were playing with 3 at the back a lot of the time. (DidsburyBlue)
We got fucking owned down the right hand side, and Chelsea had unlimited success between him and Richards. (ross.mcfc)
Got torn to shreds by Cole. (Father Dougal MaGuire)
Powerless to stop Cole and was invisible for 90 minutes. It was like playing with 10 men. Had no help from Petrov though. He was another who looked close to tears at time. He gave up after the 3rd. I never want to see that from him again. (Grob)

Ireland (Vassell 63): 7, 1, 5, 4, 3, 3, 3, 6, 5, 5, 6, 6, 6, 3.9, 4.7 (av: 4.6)
Didn't offer much in way of defensive cover and missed great first half chance from 18 yards. (MEN)
Looked very lively and the only City player who even tried to do something in attack. (Fidel Castro)
Can't cross, can't pass and certainly can't fucking shoot. That miss was disgraceful. (xavi6)
Tried to get forward and probed and looked good on occasion, but drifted out of the game when the chips were down. Should have scored, which could have turned the game. (DidsburyBlue)
Annoying. Did a lot right in the first half then undid a lot of good work by pointlessly giving the ball away. The second goal came from him giving the ball away under no pressure. Don't think we'll be seeing him for a few weeks. (ross.mcfc)
Was the best player in the first half, second half hardly had a touch. (Father Dougal MaGuire)
Shocking. Wasted our best chance, the give away for their second was awful, couldn't find a blue shirt all afternoon, ran around a lot without getting anywhere. (Grob)

Hamann (Ball 66): 5, 4, 5, 5, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5, 4, 6, 5, 3.7, 5.7 (av: 4.6)
Plenty of hefty tackles but there was a lack of coordination in City side and he suffered too (MEN)
Off the pace today I'm afraid. (Fidel Castro)
Lucky not to give away that pen and his old legs showed today. (xavi6)
Complete passenger today, and the game was just too quick for him. Was not the consistent ball winner we are used to. Showed his age. (DidsburyBlue)
Left exposed by Ireland and Johnston. Fairly anonymous but on days like this his role is pretty pointless. (ross.mcfc)
His worst game for us. (Father Dougal MaGuire)
Outclassed and out athleticised by Lampard, Essien and Mikel. Didi and his rookie partner were powerless to stop it. (Grob)

Johnson: 5, 4, 5, 4, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5, 5, 6, 6, 3.8, 5.1 (av: 4.7)
Anyone would have looked distinctly average against Lampard on this form. Tried until the end. (MEN)
Outclassed. Didn't even notice he was playing, never had the ball and didn't get anywhere near their midfielders. (Fidel Castro)
Offered nothing. Essien pissed all over him. (xavi6)
Frustrating day for him as the midfield was overrun, tried to get stuck in and his passes always found a blue shirt, but just didn't have enough support either going forward or defending. (DidsburyBlue)
Most disappointing aspect of the day is the way he reacted when the chips were down, for our supposed engine room to stop running at 3-0 was shocking. (ross.mcfc)
His worst game for us. (Father Dougal MaGuire)
A boy against men. If we want to compete with Chelsea now, we need a better player because Johnson isn't good enough at the moment. Tomorow maybe, but today, never. You can't fault his effort though, he was just playing against superior players. (Grob)

Petrov: 5, 7, 5, 5, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5, 6, 7, 6, 4.4, 5.8 (av: 5.2)
Couple of free kicks provided off-key City's best threat but Cech denied him a consolation. (MEN)
Never even had the ball so no chance to perform. (Fidel Castro)
Best player for me. Wanted the ball a lot and ran his bollox off. Nice free kick in the first half. (xavi6)
Offered no defensive cover down the left side but did try to make things happen. Passing was still a bit off and didn't get stuck in when needed. (DidsburyBlue)
Nice free kick at 1-0. Went missing at 3-0. (ross.mcfc)
Superb free kick but that was it, never saw him at all in the game. (Father Dougal MaGuire)
Had little or nothing to work with and when the ball came to him he was positive. His inability to track back is a bit problem and needs eradicating right now this week Sven. (Grob)

Elano (Bianchi 73): 6, 5, 6, 4, 6, 6, 6, 6, 5, 6, 6, 7, 6, 4.7, 5.8 (av: 5.7)
Some elegant touches but didn't see anywhere near enough of the ball to worry the home side. (MEN)
Couldn't create anything. Tried to but nobody was making the right runs and there was no movement upfront to help him out. (Fidel Castro)
Tried a few flicks. Some came off, most didn't. Got kicked around a bit too so sensible decision to take him off. (xavi6)
Tried to make things happen and ran at the Chelsea defence, but was trying to force the game. If we were going to score Elano would have had a hand in it. Kicked off the park. (DidsburyBlue)
Totally owned by Essien. Gave up at 3-0 and shamefully was looking to be subbed. I will hold back on my hero-worshipping for a while. (ross.mcfc)
Only threat but wasn't his usual superb self. (Father Dougal MaGuire)
Outhustled by Mikel but showed his class to get away from his markers on occasion. Tried to create but hadn't the support. (Grob)

Samaras: 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 5, 4, 4, 5, 6, 5, 3.8, 4.7 (av: 5.4)
Asked to lead the line but not yet physically ready for job. Ball came back too quickly and too often. (MEN)
Worked his socks off and actually got into a few good positions but lone striker role isn't made for him I'm afraid, not enough pace for that. (Fidel Castro)
Did ok on his own up top but his shooting got progressively worse and the first volley. Didn't get much service. (xavi6)
Showed a good turn of pace and was willing to shoot. Isolated upfront and was a game where 4-4-2 was needed. Toiled until the end. (DidsburyBlue)
Did all that could possibly asked of one man up front while his defence and midfield and shooting themselves in the foot. Looks more committed and had a few decent efforts at goal. (ross.mcfc)
If we are going to play one up front we need someone who can hold it up and bring others into play, he simply didn't do that. (Father Dougal MaGuire)
Worked hard but isnt a lone striker. Needed to stay central and provide an out ball when we were under the cosh. Showed some promise though, he's resurrection has begun. (Grob)


Subs:

Vassell (Ireland 63): 5, 5, 4, 5, 5, 5, 5, - , 5, - , - , 5, 5, 3.6, 4.1 (av: 4.7)
Used pace when he could. (MEN)
Didn't make any difference. (Fidel Castro)
Didn't do much good or bad. (xavi6)
Pointless introduction, is a poor RW and was completely anonymous for the half hour he was on the pitch. It's a sad day when you know Vassell is your RW alternative. (DidsburyBlue)
Never got into the game but it was too late when he came on. (Grob)

Ball (Hamann 66): 6, 5, 5, 5, 6, 6, 6, - , 5, -, -, 6, 5, 3.4, 4.3 (av: 5.2)
Looked sprightly enough. (MEN)
Did his job well. (Fidel Castro)
Not a centre mid. In for Garrido at left full next week. (xavi6)
Is not a defensive midfielder, highlights that our squad depth is not great enough. Game was long gone by the time he came on. (DidsburyBlue)
Added some grit that we were lacking. He'll be in contention for a start somewhere in the side on Wednesday and should he impress, he'll be in on Saturday. (Grob)

Bianchi (Elano 73): 6, 6, 5, 5, 6, 6, 6, - , 5, - , - , - , 6, 4.1, 4.7 (av: 5.4)
Needed the run out. (MEN)
Obviously a great player, his flicks and touches ooze class. (Fidel Castro)
Should've been on at the half. Some lovely control and touches. Needs to start. (xavi6)
Looked good and should be starting in a 4-4-2 against Bolton. God touches and again willing to shoot on sight. Should have come on at half time with Ball replacing Garrido and Hamann. (DidsburyBlue)
Nice touches, lay offs and quality movement. Impressed in his cameo, its time for him to play. (Grob)

Subs not used:
Isaksson, Onuoha.

Match reports

Chelsea 6 City 0
High-flying Manchester City suffered a reality check at Stamford Bridge where they were comprehensively outclassed by Chelsea.


Drogba stars as Chelsea hit Eriksson for six of the best (Steve Tongue)
Outnumbered in midfield, they were overrun by Grant's central triumvirate of John Obi Mikel, Michael Essien and Frank Lampard, the latter pair regularly taking out Micah Richards and Javier Garrido with diagonal passes that better covering might have smothered.


Rampant Chelsea condemn Manchester City (Roy Collins)
This was another spoonful of reality for high-flying City; no, make that a ladle, and an even bigger one than they got in their first visit to London this season when beaten 1-0 at Arsenal. There really is no place like home for City, who have won all six league matches at Eastlands but have now lost three times on their travels, or should that be travails?
All afternoon, City, who have earned praise for their attacking football, found Chelsea players running through huge gaps to run at their young goalkeeper, Joe Hart, much to Eriksson's disgust. He said: "We completely failed to defend today. If you do that against Chelsea, they will kill you. And they killed us.


Sven hit for six by new-look Chelsea (Duncan Castles)
This was an exhilarating encounter: Chelsea powerful, coherent and swift in their attacking; Manchester City precise on the counter and real contenders for 45 minutes. If both defences were ragged and rarely capable of shutting opponents down, it only added to the enjoyment of a game that matched Avram Grant against form opposition for the first time since usurping Jose Mourinho last month.


Sven-Goran Eriksson’s latest six scandal (Joe Lovejoy)
City arrived full of hope after a promising start to the season but left with tails lodged firmly between their legs, nursing the most comprehensive defeat of Sven-Göran Eriksson’s long managerial career. “I have never lost 6-0 before,” the former England coach said.
“The worst result until this was when I was at Gothenburg, many years ago, and we were beaten 5-1 by Arsenal in the old Cup Winners’ Cup.” Eriksson bemoaned the fact that five of the six goals came in the inside-right channel, with the scorer one-on-one with the goalkeeper. “Our defending was awful,” he said.


The Chelsea view

Bluechampions.com
cfcuk.net
Chelseablog.com

Player ratings: first 10 games

Here are the ratings for first ten league games. The scores are compiled from the average ratings on talkboards and in the media after each game (substitute appearances are in italics and bold denotes Man of The Match).





I've been comparing these scores to the latest Actim Index, which currently has five City players in the top 25 - Elano (3rd), Petrov (5th), Richards (12th), Garrido (22nd) and Johnson (25th). Arsenal also have five in the top 25, Portsmouth have four, Villa, Everton and Newcastle have two and United and Chelsea both have one. Also featuring in the top 100 are Dunne (28th), Corluka (35th), Schmeichel (68th), Hamann (74th), Ireland (78th) and Mpenza (91st).

I've always been curious about how good a guide the Actim scores are. The Index was created in 2004 by Dr Phil Scarf and Dr Ian McHale from the University of Salford's Business School. The pair have have co-authored papers with titles such as 'Modelling soccer matches using bivariate discrete distributions with general dependence structure', so I'd imagine there's some pretty hardcore mathematics involved here.

Although details of the formula remain secret there's a general guide to how it works at PA Sport, which helped create the Index. Last season points were introduced for clean sheets and assists and my guess is that the new formula has a bias against midfielders who play deep, which might explain their absence from the top places as well as Hamann's surprisingly low ranking.

Not doubt the Index will be tweaked and improved, but my belief is that football fans will always be a better judge of a player than a mathematical formula.

~ The player ratings are now filed in the Stats & Squad section, which also includes details of when the contracts come up. Links to more player and team stats can be found here.

Reaction, stats & ratings: City 1 Birmingham 0

Well that has to go down as a thoroughly successful week.

No injuries from the mid-week internationals and three points gained despite the lack of time to prepare. Birmingham can probably consider themselves a little unfortunate not to get something from this game, but then they weren't the ones having to contend with tough mid-week games and long-haul flights (details lower down the page).

There's been a lot of talk of historic dates recently. The first is 1957, which was the last time we won our first six home games (though we also lost our first five away that season), while Sky Sports pointed out last week that this has been our best start to the season since 1970-71.

And now we can delve further back in time. The win against Birmingham means that City have never had a better start to a top flight season.

A look through the excellent MCFC stats reveals that the only season to compare with this one is 1912-13, when we also started with seven wins and a draw.

A win a Chelsea on Saturday would make this the best start to a season ever, beating the seven wins and two draws from the first 11 games in 1929-30.

~ Another historic date that became significant on Saturday was Nov 20th 1982 - the day that a group of Birmingham fans christened themselves the Zulus during a goalless draw at Maine Road. There's a thread about it on this Birmingham talkboard, while one of the mancityfans owners, King Kev, started this thread on Tuesday warning that the Zulus were planning trouble.

~ Here are the City players who were in action on Wednesday: Elano (late sub in Brazil), Petrov (90mins in Albania), Richards (90mins in Moscow) and Samaras (31mins in Turkey).

~ Sven's post-match interview
~ Video of goal
~ Getty Images photos
~ Latest Premiership table

Match stats

The stats (below) are compiled from a live commentary. For more detailed stats, including a breakdown of each player’s passes and tackles click here, while you can also find match details at the BBC and Sky.

Also worth checking out is the nerdic indicator over at Wookie's Lair.





Player ratings

Ratings come from (in order): Grob, King Kev, Blue2 (Mancityfans), Father Dougal MaGuire, alib, Richard, Danish Blue (Bluemoon), MEN, Man City Mad, Sunday Times, Subday Mirror, The People, BBC, Sky and Sky Your Rating.

Hart: 8, 7, 7, 8, 7, 7, 7, 7, 6, 6, 7, 6, 6.3, 6, 7.0 (av: 6.8)
Plenty of work all afternoon and made fine saves from Kapo and Muamba to keep lead in tact. (MEN)
Good stuff in general. 2 poor decisions with balls into the box but 2 top quality saves. My gut instinct says he's just keeping the shirt warm for Issy. (Grob)
Good handling and looked calm and confident. (King Kev)
Great saves when needed, took pressure off by coming out for stuff. (Father Dougal MaGuire)
Solid and comfortable. (Richard)
Rode his luck at times but made some good stops. (Danish Blue)

Corluka: 7, 8, 8, 8, 9, 8, 8.5, 8, 7, 6, 7, 7, 6.9, 7, 7.4 (av: 7.5)
Deceptive style but effective at both ends of the pitch. Some of his footwork was excellent. (MEN)
Some fine play mixed in with some slip ups. Dodgy moments involving his control in the City box. Good going forward but had his hands full with Kapo. Can hold his head up high. Seems much more suited to a central role but being a multi discipline player has its advantages. (Grob)
Brilliant performance from the young Croat, he just gets better and better, if he was made Man Of The Match I wouldn't be surprised. (King Kev)
Best game yet for us. (Father Dougal MaGuire)
Best City performance yet, as smooth as a Rolls Royce. (Richard)
Best game for City. (Danish Blue)

Richards: 7, 8, 7, 7, 8, 7, 7, 6, 7, 6, 7, 7, 7.3, 7, 6.0 (av: 7.0)
No Moscow hangover but he was made to work hard by the ever mobile Jerome and Kapo. (MEN)
Had a good tussle with Jerome and was the best of the back 4. Positional sense still a worry. (Grob)
Outshone his captain with a very strong performance in the centre of defence, if it was in the air Micah won it! (King Kev)
Solid. (Father Dougal MaGuire)
Very solid, never looked troubled. (Richard)
Pace got him out of trouble a few times. (Danish Blue)

Dunne: 6, 7, 6, 7, 7, 6, 6, 6, 7, 6, 7, 7, 6.8, 7, 6.7 (av: 6.6)
In the wars early and like the rest of the defence began slowly and got better as game wore on. (MEN)
Did some flapping today, not comfortable and won barely anything in the air. Passing was poor as well but he helped us through our shaky spells. Not at his best. (Grob)
Went back to his old ways of hoofing the ball up field a bit too often for my liking but defensively he was pretty solid. (King Kev)
Solid. (Father Dougal MaGuire)
Solid at the back, but distribution was poor. (Richard)
A few lapses but ok. (Danish Blue)

Garrido: 7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 5, 7, 7, 5, 7, 6, 6.6, 6, 6.5 (av: 6.5)
Got forward and supported Petrov when he could and untroubled by any of Birmingham forwards. (MEN)
Was flawless until De Ridder came on, then he looked vulnerable. Did well when he went into midfield. (Grob)
Did well, was kept busy but passed very well, his link-up play with Petrov will only get better. (King Kev)
As impressive as ever. (Father Dougal MaGuire)
Only a matter of time before he gets called up for Spain. (Richard)
Not at his best. (Danish Blue)

Ireland (Ball 80): 6, 5, 4, 5, 3, 5, 3, 6, 6, 5, 6, 5, 6.4, 6, 5.7 (av: 5.1)
Started quietly after excelling in training but got better as the game wore on. Possesses classy feet. (MEN)
Passing was poor in the first half, he brightened up towards half time and the disappeared in the second half. Corluka produces more on the right than Ireland. (Grob)
Dreadful distribution, the lad clearly has issues that he needs to address before playing for the first team again. (King Kev)
Nothing went right for him, was a poor game. (Father Dougal MaGuire)
Never got into the game. (Richard)
Very poor. Did any of his passes in the first half reach their target? (Danish Blue)

Johnson: 6, 7, 7, 6, 7, 7, 7, 7, 6, 6, 7, 7, 6.7, 6, 6.7 (av: 6.6)
Dogged determination to the fore in creating the goal and no ill-effects from groin injections. (MEN)
Didn't notice he was on the pitch until the end. Didn't get forward often and he just didn't get into the game. (Grob)
Good performance from Jonno. Tackled well, got forward well, passed well and defended well, what more could you ask!? (King Kev)
Great work for the goal but was quiet again. (Father Dougal MaGuire)
Reliable and energetic as usual. (Richard)
Nothing outstanding but did a lot more defending that usual. (Danish Blue)

Hamann: 8, 8, 8, 7, 7, 8, 7, 6, 6, 6, 6, 7, 6.7, 8, 7.9 (av: 7.1)
Even his usually reliable passing radar was off beam early on but tackled well and soon warmed to his task. (MEN)
Did all the dirty jobs in midfield well and covered for Corluka, Dunne, Richards and Johnson on various occasions. Great performance. (Grob)
Another one who could have been Man Of the Match, broke up their play time after time after time, brilliant display from the German. (King Kev)
Another great game, are you sure he is 34? (Father Dougal MaGuire)
Kept things ticking. (Richard)
Did a good job as always (this season). (Danish Blue)

Petrov: 7, 7, 6, 7, 7, 6, 6, 7, 6, 6, 7, 6, 7.2, 6, 7.6 (av: 6.6)
Never known a player like a shot at goal as much as `Marto' and boy it makes life more exciting. (MEN)
Terrific outlet on the left, he makes things happen. Didn't have his shooting boots on today but he's becoming a vital member of the side. (Grob)
He needs a goal doesn't he. Brilliant to see a City player running with the ball and taking players on but I sometimes I wish he would pass rather than going for the spectacular shot. (King Kev)
Constant threat and two funny awful shots into the north stand. (Father Dougal MaGuire)
Threat on the left, but wasted too many opportunites. (Richard)
Promised much, delivered little. (Danish Blue)

Elano (Gelson Fernandes 89): 8, 8, 8, 7, 8, 7, 8, 8, 8, 7, 8, 8, 8.7, 8, 8.4 (av: 7.9)
Jet lag, what jet lag? Looked sharper than most of his teammates as his well-taken goal proved. (MEN)
Usually class from God. Nice finish and some stunning skills. Didn't dominate as he has done but he's top quality. (Grob)
He makes scoring goals look easy, I don't know how else to explain it, he just does! What I love about this man is his work rate and willingness to defend as well as his amazing creative flair. Got little protection from a weak referee against the brutality received from the Birmingham thugs. (King Kev)
Quiet in the first half until he sprang into life with 10 minutes to go, second half was the usual. (Father Dougal MaGuire)
Not at his best, but still scored. (Richard)
Came in for some rough stuff but dealt with it and still made the difference. (Danish Blue)

Mpenza (Samaras 65): 6, 7, 5, 6, 7, 6, 6, 6, 5, 6, 6, 5, 6.5, 6, 6.8 (av: 6.0)
It's hard work up front on your own in this system and sometimes there are few rewards. (MEN)
Worked hard but had his boots on the wrong feet. Reminds me of a modern day Wanchope. It must be almost time for Bianchi?? (Grob)
Works incredibly hard doing a very difficult job. I reckon his performances will be more appreciated by fellow players and those who really understand the game. (King Kev)
Did ok but we do need a goalscorer. (Father Dougal MaGuire)
Poor performance, but didn't get any support. (Richard)
Quiet, lacked support. (Danish Blue)

Subs:

Samaras (Mpeenza 65): 7, 7, 7, 6, - , - , - , - , 6, 5, - , 6, 5, 6.5, 6, 6.8 (av: 6.2)
Didn't see much of the ball. (MEN)
Worked hard, showed a good touch and won many headers. Then when his big moment game, he totally fluffed it! Much better though, showed some strength. (Grob)
Good defensive header near the end and great run to get through to a one-on-one with Taylor, desperately short of confidence. (King Kev)
Worked hard. (Father Dougal MaGuire)

Ball (Ireland 80): 7, 6, 6, 6, - , - , - , 6 , - , - , 6, - , 6.1, 6, 5.7 (av: 6.1)
Helped steady the ship. (MEN)
Held up his corner well when he came on. He's a vital squad member. (Grob)
Did what needed to be done, wasn't on long enough to make any impact. (King Kev)
We are lucky to have another top left hand sided player on the bench, he is a class player, didn't have much to do but the things he did he did right. (Father Dougal MaGuire)

Gelson Fernandes(Elano 89).

Subs not used:

Isaksson, Geovanni.


Match reports

The reports are listed in no particular order apart from the Sunday Times, which is listed last on account of a rather glaring mistake.


City 1 Birmingham 0
City maintained their 100 per cent home record with a hard-fought victory over Birmingham.
The visitors played with a lot of spirit and will feel they deserved at least a point.


Flying Elano sends City's hopes soaring (Ian Herbert)
City's ability to emerge with the points from a relatively indifferent display like this – the true sign of class, as Sir Alex Ferguson likes to say – revealed as much about their potential as the way the same players dispatched Newcastle and Middlesbrough in previous weeks.


Eriksson awaits the Chelsea test to judge his City experiment (Richard Rae)
Is it time to start taking Manchester City seriously? Ten games, generally considered to be the first point at which it is reasonable to make some sort of judgment, have now been played and the knowledgeable - and to some extent patronising - smiles which greeted their initial burst of form are beginning to fade with every match they win.
The answer is "not yet", according to Sven-Goran Eriksson. The Swede not only looks like a benign science teacher but gives the impression of a man conducting an experiment. "Chelsea next Saturday will be a very good test for us and I'm curious to see what happens over Christmas and the NewYear," he said, with characteristic mild detachment.

Elano keeps Manchester City flying high (Derick Allsop)
Appropriately, though, it was his most eye-catching player, Elano, who made the difference. The midfield man modestly describes himself as "a battler" but then that is a Brazilian interpretation. Others may choose to call him an artist.


Elano strikes again to keep Eriksson bandwagon rolling (Spencer Vignes)
This was City's sixth consecutive home league victory of Sven-Goran Eriksson's reign and it came without the panache of the previous two, against Newcastle and Middlesbrough. Not that the Eastlands faithful will mind. After the dross of last season, their team have rediscovered the art of winning - and scoring - in Manchester.


Elano strikes again to maintain Manchester City’s momentum (Richard Rae)
Forty years after they won the then First Division for the first and only time in their history, Manchester City’s impressive supporters are daring to dream, after victory over Birmingham made it six wins out of six at home, and for a few hours at least, lifted them into second place in the Premier League.
On this evidence, the realists among them will know a dream is what it is likely to remain. Four of those six wins have been by a single goal to nil, and while sometimes that scoreline can disguise a considerable supremacy, it did not do so yesterday.

Reaction, stats & ratings: City 3 Middlesbrough 1

It seems that with every game now a fresh treat is served up. Yesterday it was having the luxury of switching off with ten minutes to go and coasting home.

Once again we played with the skill and composure you'd expect from a side in the top four. And as the belief grows among City fans, other supporters are starting to sit up and take notice.

You never know, it might even start infecting the sceptics at Sky Sports News before long. "Let's see how they cope with the British winter", was one comment directed at Sven's signings on Soccer Saturday this weekend. Well, having endured temperatures of minus 23 degrees playing in the Ukraine last season, somehow I doubt that Elano will be broken by a bit of drizzle and the customary two days of snow.

And now, in keeping with the spirit of the game, I'm going wrap up the summary early and get to bed - and maybe even dream about a title challenge.

~ Video of goals
~ Sven's post-match interview
~ Getty Images photos
~ Latest Premiership table.


Match stats

The stats (below) are compiled from a live commentary and can differ from the stats at Sky and the BBC.

You can find more comprehensive match stats at the Daily Telegraph.





Match reports


City 3 Boro 1
Most pundits have reacted to the Blues' impressive start to the season with a mixture of admiration for Eriksson, whose tarnished reputation is being restored by the week, and belief that it cannot last.
Yet those anticipating a big bubble bursting over the City of Manchester Stadium might be in for quite a wait.


Elano shows his elan (By David Miller)
Two aristocratic goals, a rifled drive 11 minutes before half-time and a geometrically measured free-kick in the second half which would have made Pythagoras proud, maintained the momentum with which Sven-Goran Eriksson's various purchases, initially seemingly random, have redecorated this club.
City's authority, going forward, stems from a functional if unspectacular midfield of Stephen Ireland, England Under-21 prospect Michael Johnson, Dietmar Hamann and Martin Petrov. Behind them the vigorous Richard Dunne and burgeoning Micah Richards yield little.


Elano inspires City to dream of a title challenge (Steve Bierley)
The style of City's Elano-inspired attacking play has gripped the club's fans and critics alike, and it has all happened in such a short period of time. Not only has Eriksson bought well but he has melded the side together with such speed, too. For that he can be given unstinted praise. "They are happy to let you have the ball, and then hit you very quickly," said Gareth Southgate.


Superb Elano fits the bill for Sven-Goran Eriksson (Jeremy Cross)
“The big difference between him now and when he first arrived is his fitness,” Eriksson, the City manager, said. “He’s much stronger now and we don’t have to teach him how to play football. He won’t be able to keep this standard up all the time, but you are seeing the best of him at the moment. He can keep the ball, see things around him and is starting to score goals. You can’t ask for much more. He’s a top-class player.”

The Boro view
Boro Nation


Player ratings

Ratings come from (in order): King Kev, Grob (Mancityfans), MEN, Man City Mad, Setanta, BBC, Sky and Sky Your Rating.

Hart: 8, 7, 7, 7, 6, 6.5, 5, 5.9 (av: 6.6)
A relatively easy afternoon for the England under 21 ace who produced one fine first half save. (MEN)
As daft as it sounds he saved us a few times towards the end when our defence decided to knock off 10 minutes early. Felt sorry for him when we conceded, he didn't deserve that. (King Kev)
Some great saves but his penchant for parrying rather than catching worries me. (Grob)

Corluka: 7, 8, 7, 7, 8, 7.1, 7, 7.9 (av: 7.4)
His football brain is there for all to see and he even found time to ride shotgun for Elano. (MEN)
A giant in terms of physical presence and ability. He is still so young and will get better and better. (King Kev)
The best of the back 4. Put Downing in his place in the first minute and was defensively perfect from then on. (Grob)

Dunne: 8, 8, 7, 7, 7, 7.1, 7, 7.9 (av: 7.4)
Some of his play on the ground belies his size and shape and he remains inspirational skipper. (MEN)
They credited him with the goal at the match and he deserved to have it. An immense performance from the captain, loses a point for clocking off after 80 minutes though. (King Kev)
Best game for a while. Dominated. (Grob)

Richards: 7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7.5, 7, 8.0 (av: 7.2)
Not one of his more prominent displays but it didn’t have to be against a poor strikeforce. (MEN)
Great first half, faded in the second, also finished his shift early for some reason! (King Kev)
Some top class stuff with some poor positional play. (Grob)

Garrido: 7, 7, 7, 6, 7, 7.0, 7, 7.4 (av: 6.9)
Showed more of his attacking instincts though Blues were relatively quiet on left flank. (MEN)
The more I see of this fella the more I like him, he reads the game well, tackles well, passes well, and likes to get forward too! (King Kev)
Slightly less involved than in recent weeks but solid defensively. The quality in his left boot is astonishing considering he only cost £1.5 million. (Grob)

Ireland: 8, 8, 8, 7, 8, 6.8, 7, 7.1 (av: 7.5)
Went close with second half volley and played his part in some fine flowing efforts. (MEN)
Was impressed with his defensive work, especially in the first half. His flicks and tricks are great to watch too. (King Kev)
Great all-round performance. More of these please Stephen. Looked up for it for the first time in ages and his energy showed. (Grob)

Hamann: 8, 8, 7, 7, 7, 7.0, 7, 7.7 (av: 7.3)
Won his usual share of free kicks, tided up when needed and produced odd decent shot.(MEN)
He controls the midfield and allows Elano and Petrov to show what they can do, without Didi our creative players couldn't express themselves like they do. (King Kev)
Ran the midfield. (Grob)

Johnson: (Ball 60): 6, 7, 8, 6, 7, 7.2, 6, 7.2 (av: 7.1)
Went off early but not before he had produced wonderful invention for Elano’s first goal. (MEN)
My fault, I backed him to score, sorry! Not bad in the first half but couldn't get near the ball in the second, Sven was right to replace him. (King Kev)
Some lovely touches mixed in with a few schoolboy errors. Looked laboured when running and I wish he would add some aggression to his game. (Grob)

Petrov: 7, 7, 7, 7, 8, 7.8, 7, 8.0 (av: 7.4)
Much quieter than he was in win over Newcastle but still a danger to nervous Boro defence. (MEN)
He's a pleasure to watch isn't he! Very fast and direct, has the ability to get decent crosses in when it doesn't look possible! (King Kev)
Was in the supporting cast rather than the lead role this week but used the ball well, gave us balance and is a wonderful weapon on the left. (Grob)

Elano (Geovanni 78): 9, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9.5, 9, 9.5 (av: 9.1)
Two early passes went astray and thereafter foot perfect including two wonder strikes. (MEN)
We have found our new crowd favourite, he is a magician on the ball and his goal from the free-kick just looked so easy! Great reception when he went off, well deserved. (King Kev)
What more can you say that hasn't already been said. Magnificent. (Grob)

Mpenza (Samaras 74): 7, 7, 7, 6, 8, 7.2, 7, 7.6 (av: 7.1)
Ran himself into the ground for the cause without reward of the goal he probably deserved. (MEN)
Works very very hard off the ball and creates space for others, I think he was replaces because he ran himself into the ground. (King Kev)
Ran his tripe out, linked play well but missed a good chance. Needs to be more prolific in front of goal. (Grob)

Subs:

Ball (Johnson 60): 6, 7, 6, 6, 7, 6.1, 6, 6.6 (av: 6.3)
Didn’t look out of place in midfield. (MEN)
Clearly not a midfielder!? (King Kev)
Shored up the midfield with an energetic supporting role. Impressed. (Grob)

Samaras (Mpenza 74): 7, 7, 6, - , 6, 6.2, 6, 6.7 (av: 6.4)
A few eye catching gallops. (MEN)
Where did he find his pace?? (King Kev)
Some great little bits of play mixed in with some poor bits. Looks much better than last season but still a couple of levels short of where this club is going. (Grob)

Geovanni(Elano 78): 7, 7, 6, - , 7, 6.4, 6, 6.6 (av: 6.6)
Took over Elano role. (MEN)
Not much time to make an impact. (King Kev)
Another excellent little cameo. I would love to see him play from the start but who could you drop now Ireland's found some form? (Grob)


Subs not used:

Schmeichel, Onuoha.