Dangers in City's UCL Group

This thursday Manchester City once again got dealt a rough hand in the Champions League with the likes of last years finalist Juventus, Borussia Mönchengladbach, and Europa League champions Sevilla as their opposition. Who are the most dangerous players of these teams to face?

Thorgan Hazard, Borussia Mönchengladbach

Hazard is a Belgian football player who just like his brothers Eden and Kylian is playing attacking midfield. After struggling to break into Chelsea's first team after a set of loans to Zulte Zagrem and Borussia Mönchengladbach he decided for permanent move to Germany. 

He has a average shot accuracy of 47% and a average pass accuracy of 79%. His biggest strengths are key passes and taking set pieces not to mention that he is quick over the first few yards.

Denis Suarez, Sevilla

Former City player and academy graduate Denis Suarez who left City for Barcelona is a Spanish Youth international who is highly rated in Spain. After opting for more playing time Suarez was loaned out for two season to Sevilla. 

He has a average shot accuracy of 42% and a average pass accuracy of 81%. His biggest strengths are  his key passes, crossing and taking of set pieces.

Paulo Dybala, Juventus

City fans may remember Dybala after they were offered him while he was still playing in the Argentine League before moving to Palermo later that summer for whom he played until this summer when he was brought in to replace a former City striker Carlos Tevez. Dybala has in the past been likened to City's own Sergio Aguero.

Playing as a false nine, Dybala has a average shot accuracy of 42% and a average pass accuracy of 82% and a average of winning headers of 52%. Last year in Serie A he scored 13 goals and managed to get 10 assists.

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Manchester City vs. Everton

After two impressive efforts against West Bromwich and Chelsea, City travelled to Goodison Park to extend their 100% record start of the season. Pellegrini kept the same starting XI on the field as he did against Chelsea the previous week.

The first half is underway at a rapid pace and it is City who holds the baton. Aguero kept stressing Everton in the penalty area, and it resulted in some really good chances. Aguero forced Howard to make several impressive saves in the Everton goal and Silva conjured a chance for Sterling which Sterling unfortunately missed.

City's back line was not entirely comfortable with the speed Everton came at them with will and both Mangala and Fernandinho gets yellow cards because of some less well-timed tackles. Lukaku is a constant threat and and he managed to score but the goal was correctly flagged for offside.

0-0 at halftime.

The second half begins as intense as the first ended and the game keeps on going back and forth although City has most of the ball. Eventually City scores and it is Sterling who is behind it. After making it into Everton's penalty area with speed from the flank he passed to an overlapping Kolarov who shoots from a low angle to make it 1-0 for City 60th minute.

After the goal it is still mostly City who dominates but while the City takes it easy and does not stress, it becomes all the more intense when Everton has the ball. Occasionally they put a little pressure on City and after a miss by Hart on a corner Everton almost scores.

They didn't get any other chance to score and in the 88th minute Yaya, and Nasri offered the fans some footballing candy when Yaya bends the ball into the penalty area and Nasri scores easily with careless a lob over Howard and into the top corner and it's 2-0 to City. In summary, a good performance by City.

Nicolas Otamendi is a Citizen

Manchester City confirmed their third purchase this Thursday of the club's summer in 2015. The Argentine center-back Nicolas Otamendi has been bought from Valencia. Otamendi is a name that have been seen and heard all summer during the silly-season soap opera. Now it turns out that Otamendi instead choose light blue before red and thus he becomes a Manchester City player.

During the last season Manuel Pellegrini and Manchester City had big problems at back. The fans shouted for reinforcements, preferably at fullback as Kolarov and Sagna aren't youngsters anymore.

The executives negotiated a good deal and the other clubs that were interested Otamendi were set aside. Otamendi choose Manchester City and the expected transfer feet is 28.5 million pounds.

Otamendi was named one of La liga`s best central defenders last season. Manuel Pellegrini says he was the number one defender in La Liga last year. Nicolas Otamendi, who was born February 12, 1988 in Buenos Aires has previously played for Porto, which may be considered to be the club where he blossomed into a world class player.

With the purchase of Otamendi the competition gets significantly tougher for Manchester City's defenders. The club is currently sitting on Kompany, Mangala, Demichelis, Otamendi, and Denayer. Rumors say that Denayer is set to be loaned out, or, as it has been speculated in the media today, that Demichelis would move back to Argentina.


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Manchester City vs Chelsea

Last season there were signs indicating that Manchester City was facing a re-building period in the summer. The team looked like they were going through a tough time last spring and gave up early in the title battle against Chelsea. Moreover, City had the highest average age of all the teams in Europe's top five leagues while stars like Vincent Kompany and Yaya Touré had off seasons.
After two rounds there is a rekindled Manchester City. City is out for revenge.

Manchester City was dominant today in the win against Chelsea. During a strong first half, it was City who had the momentum. Their performance was a clone of Pellegrini's debut season. Sergio Aguero, who started on the bench in the premiere, created four or five chances. His 1-0 goal was a masterpiece of its kind, where he with minimal space, turned and finished off the attack with a low shot that crept its way into the low corner.

David Silva has moved into the number ten role and there he is completely magical. He played brilliantly against West Bromwich and he was extremely good again against Chelsea. Raheem Sterling ran away from Branislav Ivanovic and over again and he has already given the City a new dimension. Fernandinho is another player who dipped last year and now looks to have found 2013/14 form. Eliaquim Mangala also looks more stable. Manchester City now appears as "the team to beat".















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How City benefits from a partnership with Girona

It has recently been rumored in Spain that Manchester City CEO Ferran Soriano has made an offer for a 80% share in Girona FC on behalf of Manchester City. What could it possibly bring to Manchester City as an organization except maybe some support in Spain?

• A higher level of football for City's young players as they can be sent on loan to gain valuable experience.
• Higher Profile in Spain
• If the City youngsters manage to get Girona promoted they would get more experience since they could ultimately play in La Liga on loan.
• Access to a spanish academy.
• A first-hand scouting network in Spain.

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Match Report: Manchester City vs West Brom

This year's premiere was played at The Hawthorns where West Bromwich stood as the opposition. It was a fine first game. After total domination City was the victorious team with 3-0 as the scoreline when the referee blew the final whistle. The goals were scored by Yaya Toure and Vincent Kompany.

City supporters only had to wait eight minutes before the 1-0 goal was a fact. Navas found Yaya Toure, who just outside the penalty area fired a shot that might have/have not touched Silva and then the WBA central defender Dawson, to finally roll slowly into the goal behind a bewildered Myhill.

WBA parked bus á la Tony Pulis and Mourinho. It is usually difficult to open up a tight defence but when Yaya Toure is on the right all bets are off. After 23 minutes, Bony laid the ball off to Yaya, who let off a curling shot that was bombed into the top corner behind a chance-less Myhill. 2-0 to City was a fact.

The last chance of the first half went to City and a fantastic Silva laid off a sharp through ball to an onrushing Kolarov who fired the ball over the goal.

The second half did not start unexpectedly with a goal scoring chance for City.

In the 58th minute the game was settled. From a corner kick delivered by Silva reached Kompany who headed the ball into the far corner for a 3-0 lead. They subsequent scenes when Kompany ran up to the happy City supporters behind the goal and celebrated already feel classic!

The last half hour was relatively uneventful as City was already winning and they kept WBA at bey. However, with three changes were made as Bony, Sterling and Yaya were substituted for Aguero, Nasri and Demichelis. However, Myhill finished the game with two fine saves after Aguero and Kolarov tested him in the final stages of the game.

Final Result: 3-0 Victory for City.

Kompany's Epic Celebration.

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3 Things before the season starts

At the moments there's just a couple of days left before City kick off their season against West Bromwich and it shall be honored by bringing up three hot topics that are worth thinking about during theses coming days.

Will the new SAS conquer the Premier League?

Sterling's transition to the light blue part of Manchester has been well documented. But maybe it is the beginning of something special? 2013/14 season, Liverpool were close to winning the Premier League with their SAS (Suarez and Sturridge) and last season Barcelona won the Champions League with MSN (Messi, Suarez, Neymar). Perhaps it is time for the City to create success with their own version of SAS (Sterling, Aguero, Silva)?

Silva and Sterling has shown potential of a fine collaboration during the preseason. Silva benefits balls forward and Sterling running deep. If their collaboration has seen promising so far, what happens when we add Aguero? It could get interesting.

Will this season the beginning of the end for Kompany and Yaya?

Vincent Kompany and Yaya Toure have been two of the team's key players during the period that might possibly be City's most successful ever. But last season they were not up to par. Kompany is now 29 years old and critics argue that he has lost speed as he does not fit in Pellegrini high defensive line. Yaya is now 32 years, and last season he was severely criticized by both journalists and fans, especially when he seemed to lack the proper motivation. In fact, both key players need to perform the upcoming season if City are to have any chance of the title - and above all to silence their critics.

Is it finally time for young people to have the chance?

City during recent seasons have not been known to unleash the youngsters into the first team. But this season they might do just that. 20-year-old Jason Denayer is believed to be one of four central defenders in the squad, so he'll have a fighting chance. Worth pointing out is that Denayer recently signed a five year contract with City.

With Jovetic and Dzeko out, no striker seems to be close to be enlisted as their replacement, so perhaps this will be the season when 18-year-old Kelechi Iheanacho get the chance? In the current situation, it feels like the most likely option. It has also been speculated that the 19-year-old Marcos Lopes'll get the chance, but in the current situation it seems that his hottest option is a loan or a sale to a French club because he would otherwise have to compete with Silva, Sterling, Nasri, Navas and possibly De Bruyne.














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