Manchester City – AS Roma 1-1 Match Report

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Att: 35,709
Goals: City: Aguero (pen) 3. Roma: Totti: 24

Ratings:

Hart: Anybody can slip. Hopefully he had the correct length of studs on to deal with the dampening conditions. He made two very good blocks to keep us in the game. Distribution erratic: 6
Zabaleta: One superb block cut out a Maicon cross in the second half. Almost set up the winner at the end: 7
Kompany: Competed well with the wily Totti, who was allowed to get away with some backing in: 7
Demichelis: Struggled with Gervinho’s pace at times. Otherwise solid: 6
Clichy: Could have protected Demichelis better against the pace of Gervinho and Maicon in the first half. Decent enough in defence and supporting the attack after the break: 6
Navas: Struggled to make an impression, and this was not helped by a lack of service. He could not dominate the experienced Cole and his 45 minutes was summed up when he was muscled off the ball as he took a defender on: 5
Yaya: His final ball lacked quality. Worked hard in defence and attack, and had to make a crucial tackle to thwart a dangerous Roma breakaway late on: 6
Fernandinho: Was forced to work very hard due to being outnumbered for almost an hour. Should have shot first time when played through by Yaya in the 2nd half, but hesitated and was tackled: 7
Silva: Invariably our most creative influence, and he went very close to scoring himself. Never stops trying to create openings. If only he would have had more support in midfield from the start. The result may well have been very different: 8 (Man of the match)
Dzeko: Worked hard to hold the ball and link play. Was clearly disappointed to be subbed in a tactical switch and shook his head as he left the field, but he shouldn’t take it to heart. He was starved of service, and his night was summed up when his shot was blocked by his strike partner: 6
Aguero: Converted his penalty well. Bright and lively, he strove to create and find openings before visibly tiring: 7

Subs:

Milner (for Navas HT): Our midfield was stronger and more creative for him being in it: 7
Lampard (for Dzeko 58): On another day he might have bagged a brace. He is such an important goal threat with his clever movement and quintessential knack of arriving late in the box. This loan may well need to be extended beyond January: 7
Jovetic (for Aguero 84): His shooting was understandably lacking accuracy after his injury lay off. Almost created a winning opening at the end, though: 6

Best Oppo: Pjanjic: A clever, mobile playmaker, who went close to scoring himself. Roma’s chief creator, and always a threat: 8

Refwatch: Bjorn Kuipers (NL): Where in the laws of the game does it state that more than one penalty cannot be awarded to a team? He should have awarded two more clear penalties to City in the first half. He fell for Totti’s backing in and amateur wrestling tactics too often. What’s the Dutch for “mug”? Or are we better asking if he knows what the Dutch word for even handedness is? If you’re reading Mr Kuipers, it’s “onbevooroordeeldheid”.