Manchester City 1 Fulham 1:FOR MANCHESTER City this was an afternoon of intense frustration, Mark Hughes's return coinciding with arguably one of their least accomplished performances at home all season.
Roberto Mancini’s side looked flat and lethargic, and the Italian’s annoyance could be accurately gauged by the flashpoint at the final whistle, when he and Hughes barely struggled to conceal their disdain for one another.
It was a childish spat, but symptomatic of the bad feeling that exists between the two since Mancini replaced Hughes 14 months ago. The Italian was the agitator, deliberately looking in the other direction as he half-heartedly offered his hand.
“It’s probably my fault but I’m a little bit old-fashioned,” Hughes said, explaining why he had angrily thrown Mancini’s hand away. “I always think if you offer your hand, it should be with sincerity. . . Call me old-fashioned, but that was my take on it.”
Both men came out of the confrontation badly. When it was put to Mancini that Hughes had gestured he wanted eye contact he admitted it had been a deliberate snub, referring to their handshake at the end of City’s 4-1 win at Craven Cottage in November.
Mancini’s anger was not confined to the man whose job he inherited. The City manager was unusually critical of his players as he reflected on their failure to build on Mario Balotelli’s goal and an inability to regain control after Damien Duff had equalised early in the second half.
In particular, he was unhappy with Balotelli, who went from scoring a splendid goal to angering the crowd with erratic attempts to score another from 40 yards. “It was a good goal but I am not happy. He should play better. Strikers should play for the team, not just for Balotelli, for (Carlos) Tevez, for (Edin) Dzeko.”
The criticism was justified, although in fairness to Balotelli it would be wrong to make him the scapegoat. Tevez was unusually subdued and Dzeko was substituted in a jaded performance. With David Silva nursing a twisted ankle, this was a team missing their inventive hub. The lack of spark was alarming considering this was the first of possibly five games in 11 days.
This was certainly a more satisfying afternoon for Hughes than the fixture at Craven Cottage. Fulham played with spirit and togetherness and did not lose their composure when Balotelli invigorated an otherwise prosaic first half by taking Tevez’s short pass, shifting the ball past Danny Murphy and thumping a precise right-foot drive into the bottom corner of Mark Schwarzer’s goal.
“We restricted a very good side to very few opportunities,” Hughes said. “The key was keeping Carlos Tevez quiet because he is the catalyst for everything they do.”
Mancini was the more animated figure on the touchline, visibly disturbed by his team’s inability to impose themselves even after taking the lead. Fulham had been marginally the better side in the first half and they levelled the match three minutes after the restart with a splendidly worked goal. Brede Hangeland set Andrew Johnson scampering down the right and the latter fired in a low and hard centre; Duff, on the run, fired past Joe Hart with an emphatic first-time finish.
Fulham were in a groove but couldn’t force a winner as the final whistle opened the way for the bad blood to flow.
Guardian Service
