Manchester City Should Not Panic After Defeat to Aston Villa

Jan Kruger/Getty Images

“Panic on the streets of Birmingham.”

Those words from Morrissey have rarely been as relevant as they were on Saturday leaving Villa Park. City fans who had been riding the crest of a wave after a week which saw three comfortable wins in three competitions, were reduced to moaning wrecks after 90 minutes which defied belief. But should we draw too many harsh conclusions from such an odd game?

City were very unfortunate to lose. They enjoyed 67 percent of the possession, had 27 shots and 13 corners, yet still came away with nothing. For over 60 minutes, the game was played inside the Villa half and there looked to be only one winner, but some cruel luck and a lapse of concentration saw City punished in the harshest possible way.

Villa’s first goal was offside, despite the BBC’s John Motson attempts to redefine the rule in his commentary of the game. Karim El Ahmadi was stood in an offside position—it’s clear for all to see. Their second, a brilliant free-kick scored by Leandro Bacuna, should never have been given, either. It was a game to forget rather than dwell on.

That’s not to say they didn’t make mistakes. Villa’s winner saw a long ball beat both City centre-backs and their onrushing goalkeeper—a truly dreadful goal to concede. Quite what Matija Nastasic and Joe Hart were doing is anybody’s guess and it left City with too much to do. A game that should have been won after an hour had slipped from grasp.

Their play in the final third often wasn’t incisive enough either. Too often, City’s attacking players took the wrong option with the final pass, meaning their domination wasn’t rewarded as it could have been.

As I pointed out on these pages after the match, City’s away form is undoubtedly a concern, but the Villa match can be consigned to the “bad day at the office” category. Whereas the Cardiff and Stoke games saw City at their most lethargic and cagey, here they moved the ball well and played some excellent football. Placed in the context of the previous three matches which City won comfortably, the doom-mongering seems misplaced.

However, the one player that left with more soul searching to do than most is Edin Dzeko, who continues to frustrate with his lacklustre displays. He must improve if he is to stay at City beyond this season because right now he is on the periphery of matches far too often.

Dzeko’s poor form goes back quite a long way. He’s a player who has struggled to nail down a first-team place since arriving at the club, and for good reason. His goals too often mask otherwise poor performances in which he doesn’t offer City enough presence, skill or, well, anything really. He’s very often a non-entity and he was again in this match. A fortuitous goal which went in off his back can’t cover the fact that he goes missing for long periods. He should watch back Alvaro Negredo’s performance in the derby—a masterclass in how to bully defenders and make life difficult for the opposition.

City would be well advised to move on quickly from this defeat. Analysing the deficiencies in their previous away games was a must, whereas this one is best forgotten about.