Blues cruise to victory against ten men
FA Premier League
Saturday 21 March 2015, 12.45 KO
City: Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany, Mangala, Clichy, Fernando, Lampard (Jovetic 65), Navas, Silva (Milner 82), Bony (Dzeko 78), Aguero
Unused: Caballero, Sagna, Demichelis, Fernandinho
Goals: Bony (27), Fernando (40), Silva (78)
Booked: None
Referee: Neil Swarbrick
Man of the match: David Silva
After consecutive defeats against Burnley and Barcelona, Manchester City looked to get back on track as they hosted West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League.
Following the midweek defeat in Catalonia, Manuel Pellegrini insisted his side wouldn't give up on retaining the Premier League trophy, and would fight until the end in the hope of catching league leaders Chelsea.
The champions started quickly out of the blocks, and the Baggies were soon down to ten men after Wilfried Bony was brought down on the edge of the box. In yet another refereeing blunder, Gareth Macauley was sent off, despite Craig Dawson being the man who committed the foul.
With a man advantage, City asserted complete control on the match, and were soon ahead through Bony; the Ivorian lashing a volley into the top corner for his first City goal. The Blues continued to press the West Brom back line relentlessly, and Manuel Pellegrini's side doubled their advantage before the break. The much maligned Fernando pounced on some horrific defending from a corner to double the lead, and effectively kill off the game as a contest.
The second half followed a similar pattern to the first, with David Silva at the heart of everything for the hosts. The mercurial Spaniard was afforded too much space, and terrorised the West Brom defence. The midfielder got his reward twelve minutes from time, albeit somewhat fortuitously, as he defelected Steven Jovetic's scuffed drive in.
It was a good response from Pellegrini's side, although it was difficult to gauge the quality of the performance given the early red card. However, there apprared to be a better balance to the side, and the defence was well marshalled by Vincent Kompany and the ever improving Eliaquim Mangala. Tougher challenges lie ahead, of course, but City go into the international break on the back of a much needed victory.