Two Goal Tevez Torments Ex-Teammates

The warmly anticipated first leg of the semi final of the Carling Cup between fierce rivals Manchester City and Manchester United finally got underway after it had been postponed previously due to the snowy weather. However, Guy Mowbray mentioned the song shortly after I had noticed it, for a game which means so much to the City of Manchester, is “Blue Moon” not one of the most boring songs ever to sing beforehand? Not quite “You’ll never walk alone” anyway.

Maybe the lack of a decent atmospheric song helped Manchester United feel so at ease at their closest rival’s stadium, in the opening 10 minutes, passing the ball around with ease, leaving City to force an upbeat tempo which only created misplaced passes.

Yet, through Wright-Phillips the sky blues gradually worked their way into the match. Only their lack of cutting edge meant that their play posed no real threat. Man U however, looked more decisive. Evre barged Wright-Phillips off the ball before putting a dangerous cross in for Rooney. And then only minutes later Valencia battled his way through Bellamy, fired a low cross which Rooney flicked towards goal, forcing Given to make a great reaction save, but the rebound fell to man of the moment Ryan Giggs, who calmly passed the ball into the open net from 2 yards.

You would have presumed that this may insert some fight into Man City, yet that was not the case. City remained lethargic when off the ball, giving the visitors far too much time and space on the ball, allowing them to pick pass after pass. Whereas, when on the ball, although they tried to inject some pace into the game, players were often left isolated, as their opponents played a high maintenance pressing game against them.

But, Manchester City were given a life-line when Rafael pulled at Bellamy’s shirt outside the box, yet the referee awarded a penalty. Rafael did seem to make a second grab towards Bellamy inside of the box, yet there appeared to be little contact. However, against his former club, Carlos Tevez stepped up before lashing the ball home into the back of the net, with a strike of the upmost ferocity, bringing the game level a 1-1 right before half time.

The second half commenced with more fouls than effective football. Evans did play one ball from just outside his own half which penetrated the City backline, however Rooney found his path to goal blocked by the inform Shay Given. City then had a corner which buzzed around dangerously in the United box, yet it failed to cause too much distress.

Yet, 20 minutes into the second half, Bellamy whipped in a corner which Company knocked back into the box, where it found Carlos Tevez unmarked inside the 6 yard area. The striker knocked home the ball before running straight to the centre circle to listen to the sumptuous applause and cries of “Sign him up Fergie” from the ecstatic City fans.

Man U tried to up the gear, bringing on Owen to partner Rooney up front. It wasn’t long before the pair linked up, but Given was there once more to prevent Rooney, and substitute Onuoha kept Owen’s rebound going over the line. Rooney then produced some sublime footwork after some flowing football by United, but the agile Irishman was there once more to prevent the goalbound strike.

The pressure on the City defence never truly intensified. Diouf came on but saw his header go wide. Given also produced another good stop but what else would you expect from the best keeper currently in the Premiership. So Manchester City thanks to former Red Carlos Tevez, take a 2-1 lead into the second leg at Old Trafford, where they hope to draw or win. The only problem is, that only happens once in a blue moon...