No-one can ever accuse me of being biased so I can give my opinion as objective and impartial, but I thought City played very well on Sunday at the back and in midfield, but Chelsea also played well in defence. Aguero and Dzeko were dealt with very effectively by Cahill, Terry et al, but we have to acknowledge that this involved one rugby tackle on Edin by Costa and this would have probably decided the game. Vinnie and Eli never let Costa get into the game and he only had one shot on goal when a ten man City struggled to get men to the ball, but even then James managed to put him off at least. If Costa gave the impression of influencing the game more I think it's in part at least because he reacts very physically and quite angrily and he looks a handful when he really isn't. He didn't "draw the foul" from Zaba, but his reaction did get Zaba sent off. Is that what you pay £32 million for?
I think Durham's rants about City kicking Chelsea off the park are the usual anti-City bull that has earned that radio station its unsavoury reputation. City's aggressive pressing took Meringueho by surprise and Chelsea couldn't break out so they were forced to defend, and they did it well, but not by choice. As Gary Neville said, the game was at such a pace that some tackles were bound to be mistimed by a fraction. Some were "for the team", but on both counts Chelsea were as guilty as City and the only malicious ones were those from "the pure artist" trained in the art of the "tactical foul" by that preacher from across the Channel.
