I'm watching the game again, and just seen the own goal by Lescott. It was a pretty poor attempt at clearance, but it looked like he lost his footing. He'll be kicking himself for allowing that goal to happen though, especially since the end result meant that his mistake cost us 2 points. And I really felt sorry for Joe Hart as I watched him move to one side and then scramble to the other in an attempt to reach the ball. The look on his face showed that the pain he felt in letting a ball go past him. World-class GK
I hope Lescott learns from his mistakes, because he's been on form in most of the games this season, at some places where even Kompany faltered...But is there really a problem with the boots our players wear? there's been lots of instances of players slipping this season...
Overall, I agree that the referee was shite. For a normally reserved Mancini to come out and say that the referee was influenced by the Liverpool players, especially while handing out a red card to Balotelli, is telling..
Tactics-wise, I felt Mancini should have put Dzeko in at the 60th minute itself, when he decided that City was to defend and play long-ball. Johnson should also have had a look-in as an impact sub. I can only sympathize with Balotelli as it can clearly be seen that referees are biased against him even before the game. What's the point of refraining from tackles/going for the ball if anything you do will result in a card.. Some poster said that we need to bring neutral referees for these games, and I agree. FIFA does it for the World Cup,and i think so does the UEFA for Champions League, so why not the FA?