ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: Manchester City 4 West Brom 2MANCHESTER CITY'S Brazilian contingent retain their unfortunate habit of troubling Mark Hughes. Even as they played pivotal roles in a victory that should have been simple but, City being City, proved eventful to the last, their manager found himself barracked and one of his decisions booed. After Robinho had ended a 16-match goal drought Elano, the scorer of City's third and ultimately decisive goal, was substituted.
The ensuing chorus of “you don’t know what you’re doing” came from a minority. Often omitted, Elano is a cause celebre for the crowd but, his manager argued, there were good reasons for his removal here. Hughes believed the dissenters were not in full possession of the facts. Exhaustion, not a managerial aversion to the mercurial midfielder, accounted for Elano’s exit.
“There needs to be a bit of understanding,” Hughes said. “Bless him, he sat in the dressingroom with ice packs all over his body. He was toiling but he was talking to the bench and telling us he was struggling. We don’t want to put players at risk of injuries. It’s no reflection on Elano because I thought he played really well. Sometimes you just have to get fresh legs on.”
Yet it was apparent that Hughes’s endorsement from the club chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, is not sufficient for a section of the support. The two Brazilians are rather more secure in their places in the fans’ affections and they provided a reminder of their considerable attributes with fine displays.
When Stephen Ireland bent a cross around the West Brom defence, Robinho volleyed in the opening goal with a nonchalance that belied his inability to score in 2009. Elano, who has replaced his compatriot as City’s penalty taker, managed a second goal in three days by drawing a foul from Jonas Olsson and converting from the spot in the aftermath of Chris Brunt’s equaliser for West Brom.
Scott Carson’s strange attempt to distract Elano by positioning himself close to one post backfired and completed an uncomfortable afternoon. When Nedum Onuoha headed in City’s second goal, the Albion goalkeeper was impeded by the raised elbow of Felipe Caicedo.
His initial misjudgment, attempting to come through a crowded area, was compounded by a belated quest for justice for what his manager, Tony Mowbray, deemed “a very obvious foul”. However, a 40-yard pursuit of the referee, Mike Jones, brought only a caution.
That goal should have secured a routine victory for City, yet glorious anarchy prevailed and the home side finished with a depleted team after Pablo Zabaleta limped off. The tension was only relieved in the fourth minute of added time when Ireland unselfishly squared the ball for the substitute Daniel Sturridge to finish. City still have a chance of qualifying for the inaugural Europa League.
Albion were revived by Brunt’s brace, one a drilled shot after Marc-Antoine Fortune laid the ball back to him and the other a low free-kick that bounced awkwardly in front of Shay Given.
Yet Albion marred tidy approach work with lamentable finishing. Few teams muster 30 shots (20 of them on target) away from home, and fewer still contrive to lose if they do so.
“We’re an easy target for people to say, ‘You’re doing it wrong’, but I disagree,” Mowbray said. “We’re just a few ingredients away from being a very good Premier League team. We miss too many chances; we give too many soft goals away. Give us Rio Ferdinand at the back and Fernando Torres up front and we would be top 10.”
GuardianService
