Ranking every game of the 25/26 season (Part 3: 40-31, pg1)

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youngbob

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Just a bit of fun. Let's look back over the season.

This isn't just based on which results were better/worse, it's more based on a bunch of factors including the overall performance, the vibes afterwards, how costly or important certain games were, expectations before the game vs the outcome etc. A whole bunch of factors.

Unfortunately we have to start with the bad games.

60. United (A) Premier League, lost 0-2
Shit game. Shit performance. Shit afternoon all round. For once, it's them who could have scored 10. Carrick's first game in charge, our ailing and depleted defence - made mostly of people under 21 - was ripped apart. Only Donnarumma prevented a massacre. Throw in Dalot avoiding that red card despite crocking Doku in the first half and you can pretty much write this one off.



59. Bodo Glimt (A) Champions League, lost 1-3
As a fanbase, we'd looked ahead to this one as a potential banana skin for a few weeks. Norway and the Arctic Circle, in January. Nasty. Plus, Bodo play in yellow. An astro-turf pitch, another patchwork defence owing to the numerous injuries we'd picked up in that phase of the season, maybe the 3-1 result wasn't a surprise. Ait-Nouri playing at RB and Rodri being sent for an early bath summed it all up.



58. Bayer Leverkusen (H) Champions League, lost 0-2
Pep, desperate to give some fringe players a chance, starts too many B-teamers at once. Leverkusen bide their time and pick us off on two occasions. The cavalry comes on at half-time but it's already too little too late. One of the most baffling nights of the season and would have been a little lower in the list if we hadn't managed to sneak into the top 8 of the Champions League group phase anyway.



57. Real Madrid (A) Champions League, lost 0-3
The Champions League was always going to be beyond us this season, and truthfully this game was only lost in a mad 20 minutes from Valverde, but this defeat essentially confirmed our early exit from the competition for the second year running, had fans questioning Pep's starting XI again, and was incredibly frustrating to experience in the moment having beaten Madrid at the Bernabeau earlier in the season.



56. Tottenham Hotspur (A) Premier League, drew 2-2
A promising first half, that saw City take the lead through Rayan Cherki and then extend that lead via Antoine Semenyo, collapsed as the worst Tottenham team in living memory rallied to bring it back level and force City to drop crucial points in the title race. Add in the foul on Marc Guehi before Tottenham's first goal, and Rodri's referee rant after the game, and you have one of a few frustrating nights this season.

 
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55. Chelsea (H) Premier League, drew 1-1
A flat performance in January is hardly a surprise. Seasons are long and difficult. And City looked to be doing just about enough to get a 1-0 win in second gear against a managerless Chelsea team. That was until Gvardiol picked up a season-ending injury and Dias ended up crocked 15 minutes later as well. City were plunged into a defensive crisis and Chelsea nicked a frustrating point at the death thanks to Enzo Fernandez.



54. Tottenham Hotspur (H) Premier League, lost 0-2
A bad day at the office for sure - and you could argue that it should be lower than a draw in the list - but this was very early in the season and came long before Pep had come close to settling on any established XI. It did at least force City to act and sign Donnarumma, though, as a young James Trafford showed promise and nerves in equal measure, gifting Spurs one of their two goals that afternoon.



53. Nottingham Forest (H) Premier League, drew 2-2
Looking back, this was probably the night that City officially gave themselves far too much to do in the title race. Leading through an Antoine Semenyo goal, City went flat and Forest pegged them back. Rodri nodded City in front again from a corner, but again the performance went flat and Forest equalised once more. Late pressure couldn't force an injury time winner for City and they lost important ground yet again.



52. Everton (A) Premier League, drew 3-3
A dominant first half saw City take the lead through Jeremy Doku, but wasted chances soon forced them to pay. Everton responded at half-time by pressing City higher up the pitch and the Blues collapsed. A mistake from Marc Guehi and yet another missed red card from a referee summed up a bad night. City did rally though, and showed tremendous fight to bring it back to 3-3 - it was all just too little too late.



51. Brighton & Hove Albion (A) Premier League, lost 1-2
A bright start from City saw them take the lead through Erling Haaland, and City were mostly in control of the game for long stretches, but a second half collapse brought on by four Brighton substitutes at once and the Blues' failure to react took the game away from them. This is saved from being lower in the list by James Trafford who produced a stop that would eventually be nominated for Save of the Season.



50-41 to come tomorrow!...
 
I don’t want to relive any of those shit games! A lot of frustration in our league performances this season. Hopefully we’ll be more ruthless from now on. Never should be dropping points from winning positions against teams like Spurs, Forest and Brighton.
 
Definitely agree with the bottom 4, although I'd argue that the bottom 3 have extenuating circumstances; defensive injuries and a fully rotated side, still they were dreadful.

Madrid just battered us.
 
BlueMerlin said:
Wow, you must be bored already. But good job.
Click to expand...
Yes, very good work Young Bob. A marked improvement on last year and shows you are putting in the effort required to do well in your exams.
However, a cautionary note on detail, the standout part of the Forest game were the nailed on penalties we didn’t get. Also, I make it that 40% of the 10 games you have covered had absolutely obvious VAR howlers/corruption. I think this is a key factor
 
Part 2.

50. Aston Villa (A) Premier League, lost 0-1
A decent performance in all honesty, just one that lacked a finishing touch and saw City sucker punched by a set-piece routine. Perhaps the game that started the myth that the Blues would always draw or lose in their "rain kit", when in actuality the "rain kit" was worn during some of City's best moments of the season - as you'll see.



49. Brighton & Hove Albion (H) Premier League, drew 1-1
Hit by injuries in defence, it was another patchwork back four that faced Brighton. City took the lead thanks to an Erling Haaland penalty but missed a host of gimme chances to make it 2-0. Mitoma pulled one back for Brighton as City continued to push for a second goal, but the Blues missed another run of sitters as the three points slipped away.



48. Newcastle United (A) Premier League, lost 1-2
A good run of form for City came to an end during a frustrating afternoon at St James' Park. City were never outplayed in this game, but Newcastle gave Donnarumma quite a bit to deal with. So too did VAR, who missed a big penalty shout on Foden before missing an offside for Newcastle's winner. Early enough in the season to be overcome.



47. West Ham United (A) Premier League, drew 1-1
A game City dominated throughout, peppering the West Ham goal with 28 shots. But they didn't win despite limiting West Ham to one attempt - the header they scored from. Ironically, despite all the shots, City's goal came from a chipped cross that drifted all the way into the net from Bernardo. Another costly draw in the title race.



46. Bournemouth (A) Premier League, drew 1-1
City's Premier League season did unfortunately end up being defined by disappointing draws when they really needed the three points. And this draw at Bournemouth proved to be the one that finally handed the title to Arsenal. A late fightback from 1-0 down almost secured a win, but Haaland's solitary goal wasn't quite enough.

 
45. Burnley (A) Premier League, won 1-0
Despite the win at Turf Moor, this ultimately ended up being a frustrating night for the Blues. Much like the West Ham game a few weeks before, City dominated the match and Haaland scored early on, but they failed to take almost all of the chances they made afterwards. A feeling of "after the Lord Mayor's show" descended on proceedings.



44. Salford City (H) FA Cup, won 2-0
City expected to sail through this game after the hammering they handed out to Exeter and the 8-0 battering they'd given to Salford 12 monts earlier, but League Two side Salford proved to be stubborn opponents as the Blues laboured their way to a flat 2-0 win. Marc Guehi did score his first goal in a City shirt in a match short of real highlights.



43. Monaco (A) Champions League, drew 2-2
Erling Haaland continued his incredible autumn scoring form as City went away to the southern tip of France in the Champions League. The Blues should have scored far more than they did, though, and kept leaving Monaco alive. A controversial penalty was then given to the hosts very late in the game and more points were dropped on the road.



42. Sunderland (A) Premier League, drew 0-0
A frustrating game on the night, but it's worth remembering that Sunderland were unbeaten at home as late as January. City did everything but score in one of the more exciting 0-0s you'll see. Perhaps the performance that confirmed (to me at least) that City were going to be fighting for the title come the business end the season.



41. Wolverhampton Wanderers (H) Premier League, won 2-0
A solid first half saw City stroll into a 2-0 lead, thanks to goals from Marmoush and Semenyo, and the fans at the Etihad spent half time wondering how many the Blues would rack up against the bottom team in the league. An atrocious second half followed, however, as the visitors created some dangerous chances from set pieces.



Part 3 (40-31) on Monday.
 
Part 3.

40. Aston Villa (H) Premier League, lost 1-2
A game that literally meant nothing in terms of its result followed the same pattern of a lot of games this season. A dominant first half that saw City take the lead was followed by a flat second half that ended with Villa taking the three points. Of course the stadium - all 60,000 strong - was only focused on the departure of Pep Guardiola that day.



39. Brentford (A) Premier League, won 1-0
Another game this season that looked as though City were going to walk away with it - Haaland scoring an amazing solo goal after nine minutes was followed by City creating a host of chances - but soon went flat before the Blues' opponents went up a gear. Thankfully on this occasion Donnarumma was on hand to prevent a Thiago equaliser.



38. Huddersfield (A) League Cup, won 2-0
City's League Cup journey began in West Yorkshire as Phil Foden took centre stage. City's most successful academy graduate opened the scoring before Savinho added a second later on. Pep Guardiola was so sure of the win that he even sent on Kalvin Phillips as a substitute to make his only appearance for the Blues in the entire campaign.



37. Real Madrid (H) Champions League, lost 1-2
3-0 down from the first leg and then reduced to 10 men after Bernardo Silva was sent off, City fans feared the worst. Instead, the 10 left on the pitch produced a rousing display that kept the score respectable and kept Madrid keeper Courtois busy for most of the night. The 5-1 defeat on aggregate was still a disappointing showing, however.



36. Swansea City (A) League Cup, won 3-1
It took City a while to get going in this one, with Championship side Swansea taking the lead in the first half. An XI comprised of academy players and B-team members slowed City down at first. But an equaliser from Jeremy Doku, a fantastic finish from Omar Marmoush, and a tricky display from Rayan Cherki eventually showed City's superiority.

 
35. Fulham (A) Premier League, won 5-4
Just before half-time, this game didn't look like it would turn into the crazy contest it ultimately did. City were 3-0 up and cruising as Erling Haaland hit 100 Premier League goals. In the second half City stretched their lead again to 5-1. Cue a Fulham comeback that pulled the scoreline all the way back to 5-4 and nearly saw the Blues drop points.



34. Villarreal (A) Champions League, won 2-0
A comfortable night in the Champions League group phase saw City stroll into a 2-0 lead. Haaland opened the scoring with yet another goal in the autumn before Bernardo Silva made the game pretty much safe before half-time. A spirited effort from the hosts in the second half nearly cost City a clean sheet, but Donnarumma held firm again.



33. Brentford (H) League Cup, won 2-0
A comfortable night in the League Cup meant that City got a step closer to eventually winning the trophy this season. A fine goal from Rayan Cherki, as he rifled in from the edge of the area, and a deflected goal from Savinho made the evening a simple one for the Blues. Brentford pushed to get on the scoresheet but Trafford more than held his own.



32. Fulham (H) Premier League, won 3-0
Antoine Semenyo continued an excellent start to his City career on this night, scoring the opening goal by pouncing first in the box and laying on the assist for Nico O'Reilly to lighten up a rainy evening at the Etihad. With the game wrapped up City retreated into themselves a little, but Fulham offered little or no threat for most of the night.



31. Newcastle United (H) League Cup, won 3-1
Another League Cup night. This time , the semi-final. With City 2-0 up from the first leg, Omar Marmoush and Tijjiani Reijnders ran riot as Newcastle pushed up the pitch to find a goal only to be repeatedly cut apart on the counter, sending City to Wembley. The game may well have been closer, however, if James Trafford hadn't produced a great display.

 
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