The first 5 minutes were phenomenal. The speed at which we played and the movement of the ball was impressive, with Richards and Barry standing out. How Balotelli missed that chance in the first few minutes, only he can tell us. As has been common for many of our games, it was very comfortable without us creating much after that, until the Balotelli sending off. I will talk about that later. Yeah, Kolarov's goal had an element of luck about it, but that is the kind of thing you need when you are two goals down. What we needed to do was take that momentum through half-time and come out like we started the first half. Completely blitz them, have them all over the place and hopefully nick a goal.
Chances wise, the second half was disappointing. The urgency from the first period was gone, and we were at pedestrian speed again. Was that familiar feeling of the others waiting for somebody else to step up and drag us through it. As try as he might, Tevez isn't quite on form, and no amount of running and effort will create a goal, he has to rely on the other players to contribute. David Silva was similar; there was plenty of effort, but today his en product was non-existent.
Positives:
There were hints of us playing excellent, quick football
Tevez looked like he was playing for the shirt
We can concentrate on the other competitions, and that precious fourth spot.
The performance was generally quite good
AJ and Milner are back.
Negatives:
Distinct lack of clear cut chances.
Now, for Balotelli. I am not defending his performance today. The kid just didn't seem to do anything right. His miss, his block from David Silva's shot, his running with the ball.... it was all below standard. And of course, there was the sending off. Yes, it was a sending off, it shows what frustration can do to you.
But instead of getting on his back, why don't we try something new and actually support the player? I know it sounds absurd, but hear me out:
Whenever he picks up the ball at our next home game, it isn't going to be encouraging for him to hear groans is it? He is a young lad, and his ability to pull something out of the bag in good situations is going to be invaluable for the rest of this season/next season. Just look at the Fulham game. We were void of ideas. He picks up the ball on the edge of the area, turns and scores. Just like that. Imagine if he did that in the last minute against Chelsea on Sunday? Or in the cup semi against the Rags? Or in the vital game against Spurs? I'm not saying he will definitely do this. But one thing that IS definite is the negative effects the witch-hunt will have on him. Getting on his back can only be counter-productive. Get BEHIND our player, for fuck's sake, instead of sending out a head-hunt!
