Jesus Navas literally knocking lumps out of Valdes

They may have once been international teammates, but there was no love lost between Jesus Navas and Victor Valdes when they met in the Premier League on Saturday.

A bad tackle from Manchester City winger Navas left ex-Barcelona goalkeeper Valdes with a nasty gash on his knee during Middlesbrough's game at the Etihad stadium.

After receiving medical attention, the veteran was finally able to continue, making a number of smart saves to foil Pep Guardiola's men throughout the encounter that ended 1-1.

More games: friv

Mauricio Pochettino finally gets the better of Pep Guardiola

Mauricio Pochettino has lived in Pep Guardiola’s shadow for his entire coaching career, but on Sunday the Tottenham Hotspur manager boldly stepped into the limelight. Running around like crazed demons, Pochettino’s Spurs pressed, harried, and straight up outplayed Guardiola’s previously unbeaten Manchester City on their way to a dominating 2-0 win that was years in the making.

It all started back in 2009 when Pochettino took the reins at Espanyol, the club he captained as a player. It was the Argentinian’s first managerial position and he had a lot to deal with. Not only was the club in steep decline, but they were also set to play against Guardiola’s all-conquering Barcelona. Stacked with the best players in the world, including Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta, and Lionel Messi, everyone was sure that Barca would destroy their city rivals. Instead, Pochettino’s men played with extreme intensity, pressed high up the field, and came away with a heroic 0-0 draw.

In the Premier League weekend’s marquee fixture, Pochettino deployed the exact same tactics and came away with a convincing win because for the first time in his career he has a squad that in some areas are better than Guardiola’s. This is especially true on defense where Tottenham center-backs Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen combine with goalkeeper Hugo Lloris to create a triangle of defensive solidity. City’s defense, on the other hand, is an accident waiting to happen, especially when they’re put under pressure — which just happens to be what Tottenham is particularly good at.

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Over and over again, City struggled to pass the ball out from the back, got caught in possession by the Spurs’ hard-charging midfield, and then had to chase back as Tottenham countered. And twice, Spurs converted their counter attacks into goals.

First, in the ninth minute, Spurs pressed, won the ball and played it to Danny Rose who curled a cross into City’s box. With nobody around him, City’s left back Aleksandar Kolarov somehow shanked his clearance straight into his own goal. The goal was like blood in the water for Pochettino’s white-clad pack of sharks and in the 37th minute their hard work paid off again. Breaking at pace, Dele Alli’s ricocheted pass fell to Son Heung-min who slipped a beautiful little ball back to the Englishman who had continued his run into City’s box. John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi seemed to stop in their tracks leaving Alli all alone to smoothly slip his shot past a helpless Claudio Bravo.

The scoreline was completely deserved and Guardiola couldn’t figure out how to unlock Pochettino’s well-marshalled defense in the second half even as Tottenham’s energy levels waned. City repeatedly failed to beat Tottenham’s press and even when they broke through their attacks fizzled out due to a lack of ideas. The Sky Blues really missed injured superstar Kevin De Bruyne, a master of converting midfield space into goalscoring chances, and replacing the Belgian’s creativity will be a challenge unlike any other Guardiola has faced in his coaching career.

At both Barcelona and Bayern Munich, Guardiola had squads so deep, and he was playing in leagues so lopsided, that when a star got hurt or lost form he could bring a like-for-like player off the bench and his teams wouldn’t miss a beat. At Manchester City, however, he’s relying on fundamentally flawed backups like Jesus Navas to replace guys like De Bruyne in a league that is more intense and has more parity than any other in Europe.

Last year, Pochettino had to deal with the same problem at Spurs. He failed to find a solution and his razor-thin squad’s title challenge fizzled out in the final few weeks of the season. Sunday’s win shows that the Spurs manager might have finally found an answer to the unique obstacles presented by the Premier League. With star striker Harry Kane injured and defensive midfield destroyer Erik Dier sitting on the bench, Spurs dismantled Manchester City and served notice to the rest of the title challengers.

Tottenham is the real deal.

Crystal Palace’s smart summer has them looking rejuvenated

The bottom fell out for Crystal Palace last season. Near the top of the table midseason, Alan Pardew’s side were one of the league’s worst during the second half, only winning two games after the new year.

Even someone as arrogant as Pardew knew his team needed to be reworked, even if that meant selling off its star, winger Yannick Bolasie. Mediocre teams don’t improve when they sell their best players, unless they use the money wisely, something which Palace look to have done. This summer, the club used the $32 million Everton paid for Bolasie, along with $ 23 million they made on other deals, on eight new permanent signings (along with one loanee). And these players haven’t just added depth, instead the signings have addressed specific issues from last year. Christian Benteke, is the true striker the team so desperately needed from January onward. Andros Townsend, looks like an adequate Bolasie replacement, and keeper Steve Mandanda, formerly of Marseille, gives the team an extremely reliable last line of defense.

The new team doesn’t just look good on paper, either. After a slow start that saw them lose their first two matches, the Eagles had won three of their last four, drawing the other, coming into Friday’s match with Everton and Bolasie. The team found itself down one at the half, but rather than come out for the second 45 a desperate mess, something all too common last season, they played it smart, absorbing the Toffees attack and trying to catch them on the counter. Then, in the 50th, Palace got a deserved equalizer from Benteke header and were actually unlucky to not come away winners, as they had a second goal wrongly disallowed before the final whistle. Not an ideal result, but a solid one that team can continue to build on.

No, Palace isn’t a team that is going to challenge for the title, but it is one that has an outside shot at making next year’s Europa League and can spoil things for the division’ elite sides. And for everyone involved, that’s enough.

It’s been a bad season to be a West Ham fan. The talked up new move to London Stadium has turned into more of a curse than a blessing, and, more importantly, the team, one of the surprises of last year, looks like it’ll be lucky to crack the top half of the table. But the Hammers’ supporters still have Dimitri Payet to root for and his stunning solo goal against Middlesbrough on Saturday, which saw him seemingly run around and past every opposing player, was a reminder of just how exciting that can be.

Manchester United just haven’t been Manchester United since Alex Ferguson left, with the exception of one player: David DeGea. Over the last three seasons the Spaniard has proven to be the league’s best keeper, single-handedly making an unsteady defense look like one of the division’s best. But on Sunday, DeGea’s normally steady hands deserted him late against Stoke when he parried a Glen Johnson shot across the goal instead of out of play. Joe Allen was there to poke it home, earning his side a draw, and ensuring that United stays rooted to sixth place.

Post’s Premier League Rankings

Liverpool showed real pluck to come from behind and win while Arsenal wereextremely lucky to get all three points, but Watford and Bournemouth who stole the show in a 2-2 thriller that should be a lesson for all bottom half teams: you don’t have to be boring to avoid the drop.

1. Tottenham (3)
2. Manchester City (1)
3. Liverpool (2)
4. Arsenal (4)
5. Manchester United (5)
6. Everton (6)
7. Chelsea (9)
8. Crystal Palace (7)
9. Southampton (8)
10. Leicester (12)
11. Watford (10)
12. West Brom (11)
13. Bournemouth (13)
14. Burnley (17)
15. Hull City (14)
16. Middlesbrough (16)
17. West Ham (18)
18. Swansea (15)
19. Stoke (19)
20. Sunderland (20)

Ten Premier League players that are no longer wanted by their clubs

New brooms tend to sweep clean at football clubs, and with the season now just days away and the transfer window three weeks from being shut, there are a number of Premier League players with uncertain futures. ESPN FC selects 10 of them.

Juan Mata | M | 28 | Manchester United

Jose Mourinho's substitution on Sunday of a substitute he once shipped out of Chelsea was explained away as a measure to counter the aerial threat of Leicester City as Manchester United attempted to hang onto their 2-1 lead. That Henrikh Mkhitaryan, hardly a man mountain, was Mata's replacement brought that into question. United insiders suggest Mata's future is not yet decided, but having spent £157.25 million this summer, Mata looks an asset to be cashed in.

Christian Benteke | F | 25 | Liverpool

The summer additions of Sadio Mane from Southampton and Georginio Wijnaldum from Newcastle show the direction in which Jurgen Klopp is taking Liverpool: quick, attacking midfielders to hit opponents on the counter and defend from the front. That would appear to make a target man obsolete, and last summer's £32.5m buy is on the market. A link with Crystal Palace looks Benteke's most likely escape from a wasted year on Merseyside.

A substitute himself, Juan Mata was substituted off in Manchester United's Community Shield win vs. Leicester City.

Eliaquim Mangala | D | 25 | Manchester City

When news of John Stones's arrival seeped through after Manchester City's Champions League qualifier squad was announced with his name on it, Mangala's Eastlands future was laid bare. He cost the club £42m two years ago, just £5.5m less than the fee reportedly paid out to Everton for Stones. Manuel Pellegrini never got a tune out of him, and it seems Pep Guardiola has not been impressed with Mangala in training. He looks likely to be cashed in at a huge loss.

Nabil Bentaleb | M | 21 | Tottenham Hotspur

Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino takes a hardline attitude to those he views as surplus to requirements. The Algerian is still just 21 but dropped out of the central midfield reckoning last season behind Eric Dier and Mousa Dembele. The arrival of Victor Wanyama would seem to seal his fate. A loan move to Benfica has been mooted, as has a transfer to Juventus to replace Paul Pogba, and Tottenham will be, as ever, keen to drive a hard bargain.

Bastian Schweinsteiger | M | 32 | Manchester United

Mourinho has made himself very unpopular in Germany with his excommunication of the former national captain, but there appears no going back on his decision to banish Schweinsteiger from Man United's first team. For all the use "Schweini" is to United now, he may as well have been in Rio cheering on new wife Ana Ivanovic's failed attempt to win Olympic tennis gold. Louis van Gaal landed Schweinsteiger at a budget price of £6.5m and any takers now would probably expect to pay less.

Samir Nasri | M | 29 | Manchester City

Just like Mangala, Jesus Navas and Wilfried Bony -- three failed Pellegrini signings -- Nasri, after five years at City, is headed for the exit. Perhaps the surprise is that the Frenchman lasted this long, since he never quite established himself, despite the odd flourish of his undoubted potential. Turning up at preseason over the weight that Guardiola would like him at did not help his prospects and neither may not have some unseemly headlines about his summer holidays. Nasri is reportedly training alone on the Etihad Campus.

After reportedly showing up to training camp overweight, Samir Nasri is said to be training on his own at Man City.

Phil Jagielka | D | 33 | Everton

The departures of Tony Hibbert and Leon Osman as their contracts expired this summer suggest that time waits for no man at the new Everton, and fellow veteran Jagielka might be the next of the old guard out. Ashley Williams is coming into central defence just as Stones leaves, while Sunderland's Lamine Kone is being targeted. Moyes and Sunderland may offer refuge; Jagielka was given the Everton captaincy by the Scot. At 33, it looks by far the best possible option.

Mario Balotelli | F | 25 | Liverpool

When it comes to being unwanted, nobody on this list matches the level of exile that Balotelli finds himself in. Klopp has never included the Italian maverick in his plans and any return to AC Milan is out after a disappointing loan spell back at San Siro last season. After Besiktas admitted they could not afford him, Chievo looks a possible destination, though again finances look prohibitive. Balotelli has two seasons left on his Liverpool contract.

Adnan Januzaj | M | 21 | Manchester United

Former United manager Moyes once said that Januzaj reminded him of Johan Cruyff, though the chances of the Belgian international revolutionising European football seem somewhat remote, even if he is just 21. Poor attitudes to training are reported to have irked Mourinho, and Januzaj has been banished with Schweinsteiger to the youth ranks. Last year's loan at Borussia Dortmund was a dud, and Januzaj is at a crossroads. Another loan looks likely. Perhaps Moyes' Sunderland might fancy.

Diafra Sakho | F | 26 | West Ham United

The collapse of last week's transfer to West Brom because of a failed medical left the Senegalese striker in limbo. Having asked to leave the Hammers earlier in the summer, that £16m deal dying has left him with no place to turn to other than to try and win back the faith of manager Slaven Bilic. An olive branch was offered last week. "I am a bit sorry for him and a bit surprised that he didn't pass the medical," Bilic said last Thursday. "He's a good player, he's our player."

Jesus Navas' Manchester City Future Cast in Doubt With Pep Guardiola Arrival

The future of winger Jesus Navas at Manchester City will be under threat, according to GiveMeSport, due to the imminent arrival of two-time Champions League winner Pep Guardiola.

The 30-year-old joined City in 2013 for a reported fee of £14m from La Liga outfit Sevilla after a series of sensational performances, with Manuel Pellegrini an admirer of the winger's electric pace.

But he has largely struggled for consistency during his three years in the Premier League with his poor end product a particular criticism levelled at him by City fans.

His inability to finish off chances is highlighted by a meagre return of just eight goals in all competitions and perhaps even more damningly, the Spaniard has failed to net a single league goal in two Premier League seasons - 67 appearances.

It is in stark contrast compared to teammate Kevin De Bruyne who, following his reported £54m move last summer, repaid a substantial amount of that fee with 16 goals and 10 assists in his debut campaign.

The arrival of Pep Guardiola this summer and City's disappointing performances last season has unsurprisingly prompted calls for expensive reinforcements and departures for players, who may be deemed to be surplus to requirements under Guardiola.

The former Barcelona manager has a reputation of being particularly ruthless in his disposal of players he does not want with the great Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto'o shown the door at Barcelona.

Navas, alongside the likes of Yaya Toure, Bacary Sagna and Pablo Zabaleta, could be shown the door with Guardiola fully expected to put his own stamp on the team.

Guardiola steps up Man City plans, with Navas & Sagna set to stay

Contrary to some reports, the Catalan is not expected in Manchester for another month, but will be in close contact with Txiki Begiristain regarding summer transfer plans

Pep Guardiola does not officially take up office at Manchester City for another month, but has stepped up his preparations for life in the Premier League already.

Guardiola admitted in February, shortly after it was confirmed that he would replace Manuel Pellegrini, that he had begun to plan for his first season in England, despite his ongoing commitment to Bayern Munich.

It had even been reported recently that the Catalan would formally take the reins from Pellegrini on Wednesday, just 11 days after lifting the DFB-Pokal with the Bavarian side.

He is not expected to arrive in Manchester until around July 1 - the original start date on his three-year contract - but as of Wednesday he will be in close contact with sporting director Txiki Begiristain in a bid to smoothen his transition.

The progress of ongoing transfer negotiations, changes to the club's training ground - reportedly including the re-cutting of pitches to aid his specific coaching methods - and the management of the current squad will all be monitored.

The capture of Ilkay Gundogan will be made official shortly. Goal revealed at the end of May that an agreement over a deal - worth roughly €25m - had been put in place between City and Borussia Dortmund.

Personal terms were a formality given lengthy talks between City and Gundogan's representatives and both clubs are now at a stage where an official announcement is imminent.

Elsewhere, moves for Athletic centre-back Aymeric Laporte and Everton's John Stones are still in the works.

It can also be revealed that Guardiola will retain the services of Jesus Navas and Bacary Sagna for next season.

Both men had been among several members of the playing staff to be considered candidates for a summer departure.

But sources have told Goal that Guardiola sees Navas and Sagna as useful options for his first season in England.

Guardiola will oversee a significant overhaul of the playing staff, with as many as eight players likely to be shown the exit door.

And with the centre of defence and the centre of midfield pinpointed as specifically in need of a facelift, Navas is seen as a handy option on the right or from the bench, especially if City can clinch the signing of right-sided Schalke and Germany forward Leroy Sane.

Sagna, meanwhile, was one of City's most consistent performers last season and, with Pablo Zabaleta still expected to depart this summer despite an ankle injury, the Frenchman will battle it out with Jason Denayer, who will return from loan at Galatasaray, for the right-back spot.

It is also a sign of the transitional nature of the next 18 months for City that Navas could be allowed to leave on a free transfer next summer and re-join boyhood club Sevilla.

The winger has already rejected an approach from a Serie A club, informing them that he would only leave City for a return to Andalusia.

Sagna, 33, is also out of contract next summer, having penned a three-year deal when he left Arsenal in 2014.

Man City’s Kompany desperate to return to face PSG in Champions League

Vincent Kompany knows he may have but one more shot at lifting the UEFA Champions League trophy as a Manchester City player and captain.

The 30-year-old Belgian last saw the field for seven short minutes nearly a full month ago, as his Man City teammates clinched a place in the Champions League quarterfinals for the first time in club history, without him.

Fast forward to Tuesday’s quarterfinal return leg against Paris Saint-Germain, and Kompany is once again back in first-team training, in a race against time to be the first name on Manuel Pellegrini‘s teamsheet when the two sides battle at the Etihad Stadium for a place in the semifinals — Pellegrini quotes from the Guardian:

“It’s a difficult decision. I think the easiest decision is for Vincent to play but it’s not easy to know if he really can play, if he is able to play 90 minutes, he is 100 percent recovered, not to come off in the first 10 minutes. It’s not an easy decision. We will assess him Sunday and Monday. Sunday will be the first day he will work with the team [in the warm-down]. It’s difficult but we’ll see.

“From the moment he starts working with the squad he has a chance but he has not played for about a month. We will wait. We must test him. We must speak with him. We must do a lot of different things. We must take the correct decision. I always talk with the player. If he’s ready he will want to play.”

While it might be Kompany’s last chance for a famous European run with City, it’s definitely the last chance for Pellegrini, who’ll step aside to make way for Pep Guardiola this summer, to cement his name in the club’s history. If you’re Pellegrini, do you want to roll the dice and risk everything on a player who has a history of being forced off through injury inside a game’s opening minutes?

If you’re a City fan, as much as Kompany has surely meant to you — two Premier League titles, two League Cups and an FA Cup in the last five years — are you willing to risk your club’s best chance at winning the very competition in which success has eluded you despite a wealth of success in other competitions?

Kompany has been a fantastic servant for Man City — he’ll go down as an all-time great in the club’s history — but one of the greatest keys to success in sports is knowing when it’s time to move on, even especially when the heart tells you not to.

The New Line of European Legacy

the first leg of UEFA Champions League quarter-final matches suggested fairly entertaining and breath-taking cases and simply underlined the most exciting and surprising outcomes when deciding the semi-finalists at the end of this round. the promising game of the Wednesday night involved another challenge for French Champions against English top flight side, PSG hosted Man City at Parc Des Princes on the road to their dream of European glory, but they instead played a disappointing and questionable game with even little luck to survive a 2-2 draw at the end. Manchester City have shown a confident and right attitude to fight their top opponent from the very beginning and enjoyed a positive and crucial team performance with reward of two away goals before the second leg. Manuel Pellegrini defined strength and harmony at his 4-2-3-1 formation with consistent pressing intensity in the red zone to frustrate PSG possession game, while offering his midfield line to provide high mobility to track spaces when switching to transition in attack more ambitiously in relaying of technically gifted players like Silva, De Bruyne and Aguero going high up the pitch. David Silva has became a brilliant maestro to orchestrate attacking movements with his pure skills vision as a central creator in deeper role to dictate the pace of midfield or as a lying joint-striker knowing for being a “Central auxiliary winger” behind the target man, in the way he performed in Paris behind Sergio Augero with plenty of possession to generate constantly in going forward. the Spaniard sensationally excelled in this position as a world class star during his spell with Man City to interact and coordinate best possession play from midfield to attack in a unique way. the chemistry between him and Kevin De Bruyne and Aguero as wide strikers on the flanks to interchange play and splitting a killing pass either when the Belgian drifting inside to hold the ball and switching with Aguero operating wide to break oppositions, highly is developed to entertain and making impacts. every time these three players were sparking neat passing and dribbling play exposed PSG holding role passers Thiago Motta and Rabiot to precise change of passing and causing them to be disjoint in winning off the ball for the lose spaces, the main factor among why the French side struggled to dictate their possession game plan in the midfield unlike other times and it often appeared to be their fear of losing the match overall. with limited response to track City’s rhythmic play from pressing to fluid transition, PSG backline were chasing desperately to link their passing, but Angel Di Maria single handedly pushed over the flanks to ignite fluid passing exchanges with both Ibrahimovich and Cavani when producing his mazy runs to raid at the defenders with so much flair and dynamic combination plays to keep some options available for his team to control their passing, but to inconsistent extent it lacked the essential end-product. the host evidently became passive to operate effective play in the midfield but still could sparked a needed flash of flair through Angle Di Maria’s dazzling run to pull out Man City’s compact back line on the wings and soon one of those attempts earned the a penalty kick. Di Maria’s cross shot played from left and fallen to David Luis when got to minor touch off the defender, Sagna clearance and as Luis attempted to cut inside of his right foot, he was fouled by the Chelsea’s man. Ibrahimovich stepped up but his shot was perfectly saved by Joe Hart diving at his right and it really put some tears into heart of PSG bench for eventual crisis. they were gifted another chance however in the 24th minutes when Fernando’s short play in the center of the field was intercepted by Motta and he released a clear pass deep into City’s exposed defense for Ibrahimovich with only having Joe Hart to beat, but his attempt went little too high and they tasted the pain soon when visitors scored. Matuidi was robbed off by Clichy in the midfield and it turned to Fernandinho as he sprinted forward and his wide pass to De Bruyn’s charging open run on the right entirely beaten David Luis sluggish positioning and Belgian star smashed his low range shot into the net and given visitors a deserved lead for their sharp play, but it was whipped out immediately through a goofy defensive play. Fernando’s attempted pass on the edge of the box when trying to switch it wide with a closed eyes deflected off the Ibrahimovich press and went into the net, the scene could be simply compared to Play-Station game with kids guiding the remote, nothing close to a real football play, but the host leveled and that goal virtually enhanced their hope to control the match in the second half and they took the lead on the hour mark. Di Maria’s corner from left was headed by Cavani to drew a save from Joe Hart it at his near post, but Rabiot finished the empty net in the rebound for a promising night. Di Maria’s brilliant run with exemplified skills and his combination with Ibra to turn and create more effective passing movements provided them more mobility to open up spaces and creating brilliant overlap plays on the wing in nearly next 15 minutes of the match as it looked they might would control their destiny in nearly scoring the third, Rabiot neat combination on the right with Di Maria allowed Argentine to send in a cross for Ibra to make a powerful header that deflected off the post and Cavani’s half acrobatic volley on the rebound went over the bar before returning the sign of fear when they struggled to keep up with visitor’s attacking flair and conceded an equalizer. after Motta lost possession in the midfield, Clichy’s quick touch turned to Silva as he played Jesus Navas on the right flank, the Spaniard precisely set up Mangala with a fine overlap and his short center ball easily caused both Serge Aurier and Thiago Silva with a poor clearance reaction and allowed Fernando to finish it into the lower near post and English side played a solid and effective football to deny their host any chance of winning the game, boosting so much confidence before the second leg at home with exciting hope of breaking into the semi-final of this season, an incredible achievement that very few could expected of them in this European competition.

PSG Verdict: it was realistically a critical performance by the French champion on the night in front of their optimistic home fans. they faced a problematic tactical strategy against their opponent’s sharp and confidence game plan in defense particularly, when being denied to spark crucial pace to create in the final third and repeatedly being overplayed by City’s mobility when facing their pressing. the visitors mainly monitored the midfield when pressing timely and regaining it in the transition, while going forward more ambitiously in relying of Silva’s pure technical ability and passing accuracy to combine with De Bruyn and Aguero whom are technically capable of creating chances up front and caused PSG with many problems and fear throughout the game and rewarded when scored the opening. if it wasn’t because of silly mistake by Fernando when conceding an equalizer, Lauren Blanc side arguably could have been hit a major blow to survive even a draw at home then with more fear of exiting at this stage of tournament like three previous seasons. the performance of PSG’s back line was essentially poor in monitoring defensive positions against City’s creative attackers, constantly struggled to provide effective transition from deep and ultimately losing their lead. Thiago Silva underlined one of his weakest games this season and maybe in last few seasons, where his usual understanding and man-marking play in partnership with full-backs disappeared in most of the occasions and most notably vanished their winning hope when he reacted poorly to City’s second goal. David luis also was far from his best nights, his tendency to initiate move out of central defense to opening passes when team switched from pressing in the midfield had seen him losing the track of spaces during opponent’s rapid change of attacking point and prevented him from effective pressing duties and it affected their defensive display overall. on the positive note, Di Maria produced a vital flair and pace to ignite some crucial movements in the PSG’s attack at the time they were desperately seeking a break-through play and his dazzling touch across the flanks allowed more options for Ibrahimovich to involve and create some effective chances up front, but his productive service was ultimately vanished for lack of the host’s collective approach. they need to produce a far sharper attacking game plane in the second leg if they aim to inspire their hope of reaching semi-final when playing at City’s home stadium, the expectation will be enourmousely huge for Ibrahimovich to produce a winning play, which he significantly failed to do so at home, specially he could be blamed for missing the penalty kick prior to visitor’s first goal, which would have given the PSG a chance to win the match, but instead they struggled after that.

Manchester City Verdict: the English side produced a fearless and intelligent tactical strategy to press their host in defense throughout the night to save a crucial away draw ahead of the second leg. their resiliency to challenge their host attacking mechanism instead increased their ambition to  go forward with more confidence of winning enough spaces to control the ball. their creative players like Silva and De Bruyn inspired several attacking ideas to break and score against their host consistently, their ideal change of pace from pressing to flanks in the midfield in a great balance with two central holding midfields backing Silva as a play-maker in advance position, strategically revealed their desirable presence of three strikers, two operating wide and Aguero pushing centrally with constant switching the run to maintain the possession with more purpose, they punished PSG repeatedly and sealed a crucial away goals and now have a glorious opportunity to secure their historic semi-final birth in this competition for the first time.

in the second leg perhaps two players will be the sole inspiration to their team’s success; Silva for Manchester City and Di Maria for PSG to produce glimpse of creativity and game-winning play in this highly equal contest. despite struggling to control the vital attacking game plan collectively, Di Maria appeared to be menace in the midfield with his mazy runs and delightful movements to keep his team alive to fight all the way to the end, he is absolutely capable of changing the scenario for them under pressure of English fans and possibly City’s all around offensive side to inspire the French side their long-lasting hope of becoming one of Europe’s elite boys by reaching the semi-final finally. as a team they must underline their defensive weaknesses for making better reactions and helping the argentine leading the attack with fierce enthusiasm and quality. Ibrahimovich will be the pivotal storyline in this ever-lastingly dualism of being underachiever star in the world’s most prestigious club competition, while individually; joining the list of legendary footballers of modern era at the back of his pure trademarks, therefore; this is his realistically last chance to win the European prize with PSG after dominating the French league in the past four years. the failure to reach the semi-final would consider the end of his dream of European glory to be ranked among Messi and Ronlado, while if they book their passage to the next round, he will be more determine to relish flame of genuine shot at the glory. it is very hard to undermine the likely outcome of this duel, but based on the evidences of the first leg and weapons available to both teams along with increased line of pedigree, this time PSG will find a way through the last four with a little luck at the end.

Looking Ahead to the League Cup Second Leg

Saturday's game against West Ham is now in the books and, depending on where you stand, you may still be disappointed or relieved with the point gained. No matter how Arsenal get on later today City will still only be three points behind the team in first position. As I have said before, considering this being a bad run, the fact we are still within touching distance of first place still gives me hope.

Now attention will turn to the League Cup second leg at the Etihad against Everton. The Jesus Navas goal, although not securing a draw, did potentially give City the vital away goal, if needed, after extra time. Back at the home, City certainly need to step up and put on a display worthy of the talent on the pitch, something we have lacked at times this season.

In preparation I am going to look at City's history in second leg games of this competition starting with their first, unsuccessful attempt, in 1964, quite an early foray far in a new competition which had only started in 1960. That game, at Maine Road, was against Stoke City, also still in this years competition. Although City recorded the 1-0 win (a result which would see them through after extra time this season), they had lost the first leg, three weeks earlier 2-0.

Managed by George Poyser in his only full season in that capacity for City after being promoted from being Les McDowall's Assistant, the run was nice, but not the main aim of the season. In the second tier of English football it was his task to turn around the club and restore them to the top flight, something he was unable and ill-equipped to do. After Poyser the board decided to go in a different direction and hired Joe Mercer. Stoke would eventually lose 4-3 in a two legged final against Leicester.

The next time City played in the League Cup semi final was with Joe Mercer as boss and a two legged affair with neighbors United. A first leg 2-1 win at Maine Road with goals by Colin Bell and Francis Lee gave them a great chance in the return leg. Two weeks later, at Old Trafford, the 2-2 draw was enough to see City progress to face West Brom and lift the trophy for the first time, while finishing tenth in the League.

Another four years passed, and another Manager was in charge, the next time City would progress this far. Joe Mercer had gone, Allison had taken charge and left when Ron Saunders took City to Plymouth and a draw thanks to a Tommy Booth goal. Back at home, a week later, City took care of business with goals from Bell and Lee securing a 2-0 win and progressing to the Final.

Against Wolves, a John Richards goal five minutes from time took the win after Colin Bell had equalized for the Blues after the hour. In the League it wasn't good news either with the side only four points above the relegation zone.

City wouldn't have to wait too long for more success in the competition though when they beat Newcastle in 1976. That Dennis Tueart overhead kick has been shown in TV replays and highlight reels ever since but that didn't look on after the first leg of the Semi Final. Away to Middlesbrough the initial 1-0 defeat was overturned in style just over a week later. Goals from Peter Barnes, Gerard Keegan, Alan Oakes and Joe Royle booked Citys third trip to the final in seven years and that trophy lift. Incidently, City played Boro in the League right before the first leg, so just like this time around they played the same side three times in a short space of time and, also finishing in the top half of the league.

One of the most disappointing cup runs would come in the 1980-81 season when City bowed out over two legs to Liverpool. Again, it was another Manager in charge at Maine Road as City lost at Anfield 1-0 before only managing a draw three weeks later at Maine Road. John Bond took over on the 17th of October, 1980 and in the next seven months saw City fail at the semi final stage before losing the FA Cup final replay later. Again, in the League, City would finish out of the top 10.

That would be the last time City would appear this far in the competition until Roberto Mancini was in charge. It started all so well for City, replicating the exact score line from the 1970 Semi Final against the same opponents. A 2-1 first leg victory, at home against United, saw City fans anticipate something special. However, unlike forty years earlier, although there were again four goals in the second leg, three went to United who progressed to the Final with a late Rooney goal in extra time. The whistle would be blown by referee Howard Webb less than two minutes later.

Roberto Mancini had another bite at the cherry three seasons later when his side faced Liverpool, in an almost exact same way as they had in the 1981 competition. A 1-0 loss at home was followed by a draw at Anfield two weeks later. This time it was a 2-2 draw with ex City player Craig Bellamy scoring the heart breaker for City fans with fifteen minutes to play. The game wasn't without controversy again though with City defender Micah Richards deemed to have handled the ball in the area after Nigel DeJong had leveled the tie. Much was made of the incident after the game with the referee, Phil Dowd apologizing to Richards. Ex referee Graham Poll also backed Richards by stating that Liverpool had been incredibly lucky to be given the penalty after the close range shot ricocheted off the defenders leg to his arm. City would have to content themselves with their first League title instead

In 2014, just a little under 40 years from that Dennis Tueart overhead kick City would lift the trophy again. In Manuel Pellegrini's first season in charge a 3-1 win against Sunderland in the competition kick started the final run in to another title, and it is hoped the Charming Man can do similar again.

The Semi Final that time around wasn't as nervy with City Hammering the Hammers 6-0 in the first leg. A hat trick from Alvero Negredo, two from Edin Dzeko and one from Yaya made the trip to the Boleyn Ground that much easier. Another two from Negredo and one from Sergio Aguero made Pellegrini the first foreign coach to take City to the Final of the competition and a victory on Wednesday would see him become the first manager to take City to two League Cup Finals.

For this game there is more on the line than a trip to Wembley. As with Pellegrini's first season in charge it is a chance to reinvigorate the season and run in to possibly another title. It all needs to be left on the pitch and caution thrown to the wind with a dominating performance early on to help calm a nervous looking defense.

How many times can Aguero bail out Pellegrini & Man City?

The Argentine striker drew his side level twice after watching his team-mates fail to cope with the threat posed by a tenacious and skilled West Ham side at Upton Park.

There are only so many times a football club's on-field issues can be poured over and analysed. And, surely, there are only so many times the class of one player can make up for those ills. 

Manchester City fans travelling back home from London, and the thousands watching around the world, will have seen all this before, several times over. As at Watford, Manuel Pellegrini's men failed to convince on the whole but were saved by the instinctive qualities of Sergio Aguero.

Despite his goals this was another away trip, another bland performance, characterised by disorganised midfield play and shambolic defending. Games at Tottenham, Stoke City and Arsenal were all like this. It may come across as a little revisionist, but the Watford win was the same, too, bar those two moments of brilliance by Yaya Toure and Aguero.

City may have been more solid - or very solid in some cases - in goalless draws at Manchester United, Aston Villa and Leicester City, but they certainly lacked spark in attack.

Saturday's draw at West Ham was more of the same for the most part. Manuel Pellegrini may not like to admit it but Kevin De Bruyne certainly does not look himself away from the Etihad Stadium and that was again the case here. David Silva has been out of form since he returned from injury some weeks ago, and while Jesus Navas does bring certain characteristics to City's game, there are many he does not.

This was the attacking trio playing ahead of a two-man midfield in Toure and Fabian Delph that were often overrun. The less said about the defence the better. In truth it does not need to be said.

But lurking, toiling, at the sharp end of it all was Aguero.

The Argentine showed signs that he might be in for another mercurial performance early on when he flicked an impudent lob over Adrian, only to see it come back off the post, and then win and convert a penalty after just eight minutes. Unfortunately for City they were already 1-0 down by that point after Cheikhou Kouyate blitzed through their static midfield and crossed for Enner Valencia, who was in acres of space. This was after 54 seconds.

Delph struck the inside of the post after half time but within a minute City were behind again, this time let down by some dreadful defending all round as Michail Antonio was allowed to throw the ball through the backline to Valencia, who held off the wobbly Nicolas Otamendi to flick the ball home.

And what did Pellegrini do to correct a creaky midfield that left the defence exposed time and again? He brought on Raheem Sterling for Jesus Navas and then, perhaps most perplexingly, Kelechi Iheanacho for Delph, the one man trying to plug some gaps.

Implausibly it led to an equaliser. Iheanacho tried to pick his way through on the edge of the box and the ball broke loose to Aguero, of course, who steadied himself to steer the ball home. Everybody inside Upton Park knew the outcome before the ball had left his boot.

The only surprise was that he didn't grab an unlikely, and undeserved, victory when the ball fell to him in the box in stoppage time. Had Kouyate's header, the last touch of the game, found the net rather than the crossbar, it would have been particularly heartbreaking for Aguero, yet again City's saviour.

You would imagine that if City were not so confident of bringing in Pep Guardiola this summer, something would have been done by now regarding a team that is not delivering as expected. Instead there are few signs that they will do anything but limp on like this whenever they travel outside Manchester.