A weekend of eye-catching scorelines was ended in fitting manner last night, with the new pretenders turning over one of the old guard with
Barry helped City to a 3-0 win
such authority and ease that you’d actually believe they pose a threat this season. Manchester City’s 3-0 dismissal of Liverpool made the visitors look naïve and inexperienced, which might have had something to do with their new manager’s misguided decision to adopt a bold 4-4-2 formation away to a clearly dangerous side. Javier Mascherano’s importance was underlined in his absence as Gareth Barry and company took total control of the midfield totally unopposed. The strike action the Argentine is rumoured to have taken in order to force through his move to Barcelona is worthy of condemnation, but after last night Liverpool will probably be wishing there was a way of persuading him to stay, despite his behaviour.
Another unwelcome by-product of last night’s dismal result for Liverpool will be the speculation on how a Rafa Benítez team might have fared at the City of Manchester Stadium. Two games into the season is far too early for pressure to start building on Roy Hodgson, but the effect of City’s progress means Sunday’s visit of West Bromwich Albion will take on an unwelcome importance as the former Fulham manager looks for his first league win with his new club.
His opposite number Roberto Mancini, of course, has the right to feel very satisfied with his night’s work. Before the game, Sky’s analysts were full of praise for Hodgson’s perceived positive approach, and doubted Mancini’s ‘negative’ decision to field what they saw as ‘three holding midfielders’. The Manchester City midfield, however, was fluid and positive, with James Milner and Adam Johnson’s contributions from out wide giving their formation perfect balance. The Italian coach, already supposed by the general football-watching public to not know what he is doing, will have delighted in sending out such a strong indication to the contrary.
Much of what preceded that end to the weekend’s football had been fascinating. Three six nil scorelines, to the benefit of Arsenal (for whom Theo Walcott can do nothing without attracting criticism, as the lukewarm reaction to his hat-trick proved), Chelsea (who have now scored thirty league goals since the last one they conceded) and Newcastle, had sent the tabloid headline writers into overdrive as they enjoyed their newfound ‘Joy Of Six’. Although we could all have predicted that Blackpool and Wigan would be on the end of some uncomplicated thrashings, Aston Villa’s wilting on Tyneside was most unexpected given their promising opening day victory over West Ham. They don’t have the squad to be in trouble and I expect them to be comfortably top-half by the end of the season, whoever their new manager turns out to be.
West Ham themselves, meanwhile, turned out a better performance than they managed during more or less the whole of last season, and still managed to lose at home to Bolton. This worrying development is all the more concerning given that West Ham’s next two fixtures are against Manchester United and Chelsea.
Everton continued to make a mockery of my pre-season prediction of fourth with a 1-1 draw at home to a battling Wolves side, Ben Foster made a brilliant penalty save as Birmingham City defeated Blackburn Rovers 2-1, while a fantastic goal by Gareth Bale completed an unlikely brace as Spurs won the league’s most obvious ‘potential banana skin’ away to Stoke. Manchester United are, of course, already out of the title race after a 2-2 draw with Fulham, and West Bromwich Albion earned their first points back in the Premier League with 1-0 defeat of Sunderland, debutant Peter Odemwingie announcing his presence with a winning goal.
