Everton 1 Manchester City 2     Toffees Chewed Up
25th April 2009 : Martin Austwich at Goodison Park for GYKO

It was a scene that displayed all of football's essential cruelty. Phil Jagielka, whose penalty in the shoot-out against Manchester United had taken Everton through to a desperately anticipated FA Cup final, was carried away on a stretcher with a serious knee injury six days later.

Jagielka wiped something from his eye as he was taken off to a standing ­ovation; his participation in the grand event in question. It might have been sweat or it might have been a tear.

With his manager, David Moyes, having made a triple substitution in an attempt to claw back a two-goal deficit, Everton finished with 10 men. Moyes turned 46 yesterday and he has had ­better birthday presents.

You could see the perversity of the game in the result. Everton, seeking their eighth straight win at Goodison, went down to a Manchester City side whose last three points away from home had come at Sunderland on 31 August – the day before the men from Abu Dhabi took over and paid £32.5m for Robinho.

Maybe it is the sunshine on his back. Perhaps it is because he can now almost taste the end of the season. It could be, as the player has suggested, because the allegations of sexual assault against him have been dropped, but the ­Robinho who is ending the season finally ­resembles the player City thought they had bought. He scored the first, created the second for Stephen ­Ireland (pictured above) and forced a superb one-handed save from Tim Howard.

This slight, wonderfully talented but mentally fragile footballer from Brazil has ­performed when City most had need of him and had he not done so against ­Hamburg, ­West Brom and now Everton, Mark ­Hughes's ­position would be ­parlous this ­morning.

Everton have enjoyed the kind of ­season City's owners might have expected – comfortable qualification for Europe and a big showpiece final – but seventh place and the Europa League is not beyond Hughes's reach with Robinho and Ireland in this kind of form.

There was one of the seven minutes of stoppage time remaining when Dan ­Gosling finally broke through for ­Everton and the turning point was probably the outstanding save made by Shay Given as Marouane Fellaini teed up a volley on the six-yard line, turned and shot.

For all the home pressure, City's first victory at Goodison since 1992 was ­merited and followed what was described as a "training-ground bust-up" between Hughes and his full-back, Micah Richards. "These things happen regularly on a training ground," said Hughes. "It is just unfortunate that ours is fairly open to long camera lenses. It wasn't a serious thing and, if it had been, he wouldn't have played."

These spats will be forgotten when set alongside the two pearls of the afternoon – the chip from Robinho that sent Ireland clear and the long pass from Elano that set up City's first. You could describe it as a punt upfield, but that would be like calling Bobby Moore a stopper.

Everton: Howard, Hibbert, Yobo, Jagielka, Baines, Osman, Neville, Castillo (Gosling 60), Pienaar, Fellaini (Cahill 60), Saha (Vaughan 60).
Subs Not Used: Nash, Lescott, Rodwell, Baxter.

Booked: Neville.

Goals: Gosling 90.

Man City: Given, Richards (Fernandes 57), Onuoha, Dunne, Bridge, De Jong, Kompany, Elano (Evans 88), Ireland, Robinho, Caicedo (Petrov 84).
Subs Not Used: Hart, Bojinov, Garrido, Berti.

Booked: Onuoha, Elano, Fernandes.

Goals: Robinho 35, Ireland 54.

Att: 37,791

Ref: Alan Wiley (Staffordshire).

Manchester City 4 West Brom 2        Progress?
Sunday 19th April 2009 : David Whiteside for GYKO at the COMSTAD

A double dose of Brazilian magic pushed West Brom closer to the Coca-Cola Championship at Eastlands.
Elano converted a penalty after Robinho had opened the scoring with his first goal of the year.
But this was a far from routine win for Manchester City as they were pushed all the way by the bottom club.

With Nedum Onuoha also on target they made the perfect start but a brace from Chris Brunt gave West Brom hope. However, they ran out time - with Daniel Sturridge scoring in stoppage time - and their survival hopes look bleak. City took their foot of the pedal after racing into a two-goal lead in the first 20 minutes through Robinho and Onuoha. Robinho went close in the seventh minute before making the breakthrough a minute later. He sent a sweet volley beyond goalkeeper Scott Carson after Ireland had carved out the opening. Considering it was his first league goal in 12 games and his first this year, there was no lack of confidence in the finish from the Brazilian.

City, however, still looked vulnerable at the back and Jonas Olsson and Abdoulaye Meite squandered good chances in quick succession. But they extended their lead in the 20th minute after Elano swung in a corner from the right. Meite only succeeded in heading the ball up in the air and Onuoha headed in his first goal of the season (pictured above). Carson complained about being impeded and was booked for his troubles.

West Brom almost pulled a goal back in the 31st minute, only for Felipe Caicedo to clear Robert Koren's header off the line. This was a good little spell by West Brom and James Morrison tested Shay Given in the 35th minute following a deep cross from Paul Robinson. They got their reward two minutes later with a crisp finish from Brunt for his fifth goal of the season after he was set up by Fortune.

City were stung and Marc-Antoine Fortune again caused them some difficulty with his movement in the 42nd minute. He was able to deliver a good cross that was scrambled away to safety by Onuoha. West Brom maintained their momentum and almost drew level in the 50th minute. Koren delivered a cross into the path of Fortune but Richard Dunne made a vital block at the near post.

It was a brief respite for City as the visitors equalised in the 54th minute when Brunt scored his second goal of the game. City failed to cut out his 20-yard free-kick and it bounced beyond a startled Given to make it 2-2. However West Brom's celebrations lasted only a minute as City regained the lead.

Elano sent Carson the wrong way with his penalty kick after he had been floored by Olsson. Then Sturridge tested Carson from distance as City kept up the pressure. It was an open game and Olsson headed over the bar in the 62nd minute following a corner from Brunt.

Carson again denied Sturridge a minute later by booting the ball clear as the home side launched a quick counter attack before he made a smart save from Elano. West Brom continued to pour forward and Given did well to parry Fortune's effort in the 78th minute. However, they paid the price for pushing forward when Sturridge scored in stoppage time after being released by Ireland.

Teams

Man City Given, Zabaleta, Onuoha, Dunne, Bridge, De Jong,Kompany, Ireland, Elano (Fernandes 74), Caicedo (Sturridge 58),Robinho (Petrov 84).

Subs Not Used: Hart, Richards, Garrido, Evans.

Booked: Kompany.

Goals: Robinho 8, Onuoha 21, Elano 56 pen, Sturridge 90.

West Brom Carson, Zuiverloon, Meite, Olsson, Robinson,Morrison (Mulumbu 66), Greening, Koren (Simpson 62),Dorrans (Borja Valero 62), Brunt, Fortune.

Subs Not Used: Kiely, Filipe Teixeira, Donk, Wood.

Booked: Carson, Morrison.

Goals: Brunt 37, 54.

Att: 40,072

Ref: Mike Jones (Cheshire).
 

Manchester City 2 Hamburg 1   Bye Bye UEFA
Thursday 16th April 2009: GYKO at the COMSTAD

hopes of ending their 33-year wait for a trophy were extinguished for another season despite a performance that combined equal measures of spirit of togetherness. This was a courageous effort from Mark Hughes's team and they deserved the ovation they received at the final whistle but, ultimately, the damage inflicted in Hamburg a week earlier was too much for them to overcome.

In the long term that could mean ramifications for Hughes but this was not a night for recriminations, even if it does make the manager's position look increasingly vulnerable in the summer. The club's chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, had flown in from the Middle East and for long spells of an absorbing night City played with exactly the kind of drive and panache that the club's billionaire owners would like.

Hughes will reflect on the two free-kicks from Elano that struck the woodwork and a plethora of other chances during a night when there were long spells of near-unremitting pressure. Elano's penalty and Felipe Caicedo's second-half goal offered hope but, in the end, they left themselves with too much to do after going 1-0 down on the night and their cause was not helped when Richard Dunne was sent off 15 minutes from the end. It was the defender's fourth red card in 11 months.

Hughes's night could hardly have got off to a worse start. Jonathan Pitroipa, Hamburg's right-sided midfielder, began the move, running with the ball at Wayne Bridge and then sending a low centre into the penalty area. Richard Dunne was the first player who could have intercepted it. The second was Vincent Kompany, playing against his former club, and that left José Paolo Guerrero with the space and time to control the cross and direct his shot past Shay Given.

Now 4-1 down on aggregate, City's supporters might have lost any sense of belief right then had it not been for a penalty generously awarded four minutes later. Piotr Trochowski, the Hamburg left-winger, had got in the way of a left-foot effort from Elano, the ball ricocheting off the top of his arm, but there was no deliberate attempt to handle the ball. His back was turned at the time and it was harsh in the extreme when the Italian referee, Nicola Rizzoli, put the whistle to his lips. For City, however, this was a stroke of good fortune that reinvigorated a raucous crowd. Elano, playing instead of the injured Shaun Wright-Phillips, struck the penalty emphatically to the right of Frank Rost and that give City fresh belief.

The rest of the first half was a breathless affair. Robinho has had plenty of criticism lately but here the Brazilian was a constant menace, always wanting the ball. Elano was also causing problems for the German defence and, three minutes before the interval, thumped a 30-yard free-kick against the crossbar. Yet City's best chances of the opening 45 minutes both fell to Felipe Caicedo, their raw Ecuadorian, and on both occasions he did not show enough conviction in front of goal.

Four minutes into the second half, Caicedo atoned. Again, City benefited from the officials' generosity, with Micah Richards straying offside at the beginning of the move. The flag was never raised and Stephen Ireland threaded a pass into Caicedo on the edge of the penalty area. Michael Gravgaard, the Hamburg centre-half, made a mess of trying to cut out the pass and Caicedo turned, eluded the next defender, Jérôme Boateng, and stroked his left-foot shot beyond Rost.

Eastlands has never reverberated as it did for the remainder of the second half. Stuart Pearce, the former manager, once described the atmosphere here as being like "a library". This felt more like an Iron Maiden concert and the volume went up again when, in quick succession, another Elano free-kick hit a post and his corner was turned over the bar by Caicedo from inside the six-yard area.

Soon afterwards Caicedo did beat Rost again but this time, to the crowd's anguish, he was denied by a marginal offside decision. It was a grandstand finish but Dunne, having already been booked, did his team-mates no favours when he clattered into the Hamburg substitute Mladen Petric.

Man City: Given, Richards, Onuoha, Dunne, Bridge, Zabaleta (Fernandes 77), Kompany, Ireland, Elano (Sturridge 84), Robinho, Caicedo.
Subs Not Used: Hart, Garrido, Petrov, Evans, Logan.

Sent Off: Dunne (75).

Booked: Dunne, Kompany.

Goals: Elano 17 pen, Caicedo 50.

Hamburg: Rost, Boateng, Gravgaard, Mathijsen, Jansen, Pitroipa, Jarolim, Aogo, Trochowski (Petric 73), Guerrero, Olic.
Subs Not Used: Hesl, Da Silva, Ndjeng, Rincon, Schulz, Torun.

Goals: Guerrero 12.

Att: 47,009

Ref: Nicola Rizzoli (Italy).

Manchester City 1 Fulham 3              Yet Another Debacle
Sunday 12th April 2009 : Connor McNiven for GYKO at the COMSTAD

There are six Premier League games remaining yet the season cannot end soon enough for Mark Hughes. After seeing his side lose for the fifth time in six games, the Manchester City manager was left in no doubt about the frustration among the club's followers after his decision to leave Robinho out of the side for the first time backfired in dramatic circumstances.

"We want Robinho" and "You don't know what you're doing" were chanted at regular intervals as City meekly ­surrendered the lead before being soundly beaten. On this evidence Robinho, who has yet to score in 2009, will be back in the side sooner rather than later.

"This is the first opportunity I have had to give Robinho a break," said Hughes, who hinted that the Brazilian could be back on Thursday when City strive to overturn a 3-1 deficit against Hamburg in the Uefa Cup.

"We had some senior players coming back into the side. That was the thinking behind the decision to leave him out of the starting line-up. Tired minds make mistakes. People make comments but I have a duty to protect my players. I'm just trying to protect the players from a vast workload."

Whether Robinho's presence in the starting line-up would have changed the outcome of this game is debatable. The British record £32.5m signing has hardly been inspirational recently and he did ­little when he was eventually introduced in the 63rd minute here. By then the damage had already been done.

Without Craig Bellamy, Vincent Kompany, Wayne Bridge and Shaun Wright-Phillips because of injury, City were a mish-mash yet they recovered from a sloppy start to take the lead thanks to Stephen Ireland's deflected long-range effort in the 28th minute.

It did not help City's cause that Richard Dunne, Micah Richards, Nedum Onuoha and Nigel de Jong were unable to avoid giving away possession with regularity. Despite City's lead Hughes sensed what was ­coming and cut a frustrated figure as he spent most of the match stalking his technical area with a scowl engraved on his face .

Ireland's goal ought to have buoyed his side. Instead they went from bad to worse. After Valeri Bojinov was unfortunate with a long-range effort in the 32nd minute, City were 2-1 behind before their next effort on goal in the 63rd minute.

All three Fulham goals resulted from mistakes. Clint Dempsey equalised in the 50th minute soon after Pablo Zabaleta had conceded possession, causing the frustration that had been bubbling among City's fans to erupt.

Within nine minutes Fulham were ahead. Dickson Etuhu, a former City player, finished impressively from 22 yards after poor defending from De Jong and Onuoha.

Fulham had managed only one victory and six Premier League goals away from home before the game yet there was still time for Dempsey to make it 3-1 with seven minutes remaining.

Twelve months ago Fulham were fighting to stay in the Premier League. Now they are in a strong position to qualify for Europe. Roy Hodgson, their manager, was full of praise for his side's efforts after his 50th Premier League game in charge of the club ended in a rare away success.

"I've got to be honest, I thought our first-half performance was just as good as our second-half display," said Hodgson, who had some words of sympathy for Hughes. "But we were behind to a wonder strike by Ireland.

"My players deserve credit because it wasn't totally down to the fact that ­Manchester City were tired or because of their injuries. It's a tough time for ­Manchester City. There are a lot of new things going on at the club but I'm sure, in time, they will be challenging for honours."

Man City: Given, Richards, Onuoha, Dunne, Garrido, Etuhu (Sturridge 64), Zabaleta, Ireland, De Jong, Petrov (Robinho 63), Bojinov (Evans 55). Subs Not Used: Hart, Elano, Fernandes, McGivern.

Goals: Ireland 28.

Fulham: Schwarzer, Pantsil, Hangeland, Hughes, Konchesky, Davies, Etuhu, Murphy (Dacourt 89), Dempsey (Gera 86), Johnson, Zamora (Kamara 86). Subs Not Used: Zuberbuhler, Nevland, Stoor, Baird.

Booked: Konchesky.

Goals: Dempsey 50, Etuhu 59, Dempsey 83.

Att: 39,841

Ref: Mark Halsey (Lancashire).

Hamburg 3 Manchester City 1           Exit this way
Thursday 9th April 2009 : Alan Johnson for GYKO at the Nordbank Arena

Manchester City's hopes of reaching their first semi-final in any competition since 1981 may have suffered irreparable ­damage here as they were outclassed by their German opponents.

Mark Hughes's side led after only 35 ­seconds but could not build on Stephen Ireland's early breakthrough on an evening when Hamburg's superiority should have brought them more than the three goals that make them strong favourites to go through at Eastlands next Thursday.

Had it not been for Shay Given's consistently excellent goalkeeping, it is no ­exaggeration to say the return leg would now be a formality. Ireland's away goal does offer a flicker of encouragement but this was a desperately disappointing ­performance from Hughes's team.

Their lead lasted only eight minutes when Joris Mathijsen capitalised on their shortcomings in dealing with crosses, a weakness that has repeatedly undermined city throughout the season. Micah Richards, who was persistently at fault, conceded a second-half penalty with which Piotr Trochowski, the outstanding performer for Hamburg, made it 2-1 and the substitute Jose Paolo Guerrero scored their third goal 11 minutes from the end.

"We have to be positive," insisted Hughes. "Three-one is a scoreline we can pull back, I'm absolutely convinced of that." Yet City's manager must be dismayed with the way his players ­capitulated when Ireland's 11th goal of the season should, in theory, have been a devastating blow. "We have to pick ourselves up," he added. "It'll be hard but we're not going to concede that the tie is over – because it isn't. We have players who can cause ­Hamburg problems at our own ground."

That was the optimistic view but a more realistic assessment was offeredby ­Ireland, who spoke candidly of the team "throwing it away" and "not being brave enough."

City are a far more accomplished side when playing at their own stadium but Hughes also reported that several ­players, most ­notably Wayne Bridge, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Craig Bellamy, have suffered injuries – in Bellamy's case a recurrence of a knee problem that could potentially rule him out for the rest of the season. Benjani Mwaruwari, just back from a four-month lay-off, ruptured his thigh for a second time this season and Pablo Zabaleta picked up a second-half booking that means he will be suspended from the second leg. It was not a complete mess, but it was not far off.

The biggest disappointment for Hughes was the manner in which his players could not take advantage of scoring so early. A more experienced side would have slowed down the game and quietened the crowd. It needed composure, a sense of authority. Yet by the time Mathijsen headed in a ninth-minute corner Given's goal was under siege. This was to be the theme of an evening in which Robinho, once again, drifted out of the game and seemed almost uninterested at times.

Hughes described Given as "outstanding" but the only other player to emerge with any distinction was Ireland. In defence, Richard Dunne and Nedum Onuoha were, at best, shaky while Richards had a torrid night. The right-back gave away Hamburg's 63rd-minute penalty by raising his arms to block Mathijsen's shot and he was partly to blame for the final goal when Trochowski crossed for Guerrero to volley in at the far post.

By that stage it had become an exercise in damage limitation for City. "I would have preferred it if we had scored more goals because it might be difficult for us if City score first next week," said Martin Jol, the Hamburg coach. "Overall, though, I am very happy." The former Tottenham Hotspur manager has put together a side that not only played with width and penetration but also a certain amount of resolve given the manner in which the game started.

Not one of the Hamburg players had touched the ball when Ireland's long, searching pass picked out Robinho in an advanced position on the left. The Brazilian cut inside and held up the ball before seeing that Ireland had made up 50 yards to join the attack. Robinho slipped the ball into his team-mate's path and Ireland calmly placed his shot beyond the goalkeeper Frank Rost.

"We're absolutely gutted," Ireland later said. "We got off to a great start but we didn't defend well enough and get back in shape. They created more chances and put us under more pressure. We just weren't brave enough."

Hamburg: Rost, Benjamin, Gravgaard, Mathijsen, Jansen, Pitroipa, Jarolim, Aogo, Trochowski, Petric, Olic (Guerrero 71).
Subs Not Used: Hesl, Ndjeng, Rincon, Schmidt, Torun.

Booked: Trochowski, Pitroipa.

Goals: Mathijsen 9, Trochowski 64 pen, Guerrero 79.

Man City: Given, Richards, Dunne, Onuoha, Bridge (Garrido 46), Wright-Phillips (Fernandes 83), Zabaleta, Ireland, Sturridge (Mwaruwari 62), Bellamy, Robinho.
Subs Not Used: Hart, Elano, Petrov, Berti.

Booked: Bellamy, Given.

Goals: Ireland 1.

Att: 50,500

Ref: Olegario Benquerenca (Portugal).

Arsenal 2 Manchester City 0     Bad Day at the Emirates
Saturday 4th April 2009 : David Carnforth for GYKO at the Emirates Stadium 

Arsene Wenger's desire to arrange his teams in formations seemingly more suited for the schoolyard than the harsh realities of professional football will always yield dividends against teams who care little about possession and space.

Here, Wenger told his players to align in a shape that convention suggested should be recorded as 4-2-3-1 but was, at times, actually an old-fashioned 4-2-4. It came against a Manchester City team almost chronically averse to hustling man and ball, and meant they departed with the gasps of an attack-sated crowd reverberating in their ears.

Denilson and Alexander Song were the holding players in Wenger's approach. Andriy Arshavin, Cesc Fabregas, Theo Walcott – particularly slick throughout – and Emmanuel Adebayor were the front four when attacking, which was for most of the game.

City had strode into the Emirates squatting snugly among their fellow mid-table occupants, 38 points to the good, and three victories ahead of the dreaded relegation-trapdoor, which is beginning to creak open.

It proved, though, little beyond cold comfort.

Instead, the north London sun shined mainly on Arsenal and, in particular, Adebayor, whose goal sack for the season had two more by afternoon's end thanks to his manager's penchant for buccaneering football.

Yet the Togo striker's reacquaintance with his team-mates after two months in Arsenal's convalescence chamber – Fabregas was also back for a first time since December, Theo Walcott a fortnight – will have been too easy a ride as far as City manager Mark Hughes is concerned.

Arsenal, of course, slip the ball forward with a velvety ease. This is hardly news, so Hughes will have been furious at the help offered by the referee as well as his errant defence.

On seven minutes the official adjudged Robinho to have fouled Bacary Sagna when the consensus was it had been a legal shoulder charge. In came the free-kick from the right, delivered by Fabregas, and out went any discipline from City. Nedum Onuoha was most culpable, deciding to leave the Togo striker alone with his header.

City's best moment came just after the half-hour. Craig Bellamy offered a reminder he was playing by involving Shaun Wright-Phillips on the right.

The England winger's pass was smartly counter-intuitive, going into the area to find Gelson Fernandes. But he could only clip the left-hand post.

Three minutes into the second half, a training ground move sealed the win. Fabregas scooped a pass over Richard Dunne and Adebayor controlled, dribbled past Given and finished.

Arsenal: Almunia, Sagna, Toure, Gallas, Clichy, Fabregas (Ramsey 79), Song Billong, Denilson, Walcott (Eboue 70), Adebayor (Bendtner 70), Arshavin.
Subs Not Used: Fabianski, Silvestre, Djourou, Gibbs.

Booked: Toure.

Goals: Adebayor 8, 49.

Man City: Given, Richards, Onuoha, Dunne, Bridge (Fernandes 17), Wright-Phillips, Zabaleta, De Jong, Kompany (Elano 38), Robinho (Sturridge 76), Bellamy.
Subs Not Used: Hart, Bojinov, Garrido, Mwaruwari.

Booked: Dunne, Zabaleta, De Jong.

Att: 60,097

Ref: Andre Marriner (W Midlands).