Premier League Nonsense

For the second consecutive home game Manchester City were forced to come from behind to earn a result. Against Chelsea they turned a 1-0 deficit into three points while against last weekend they managed to earn a point after going 3-1 down to Sunderland.

The Mackem’s renaissance has been little short of incredible since Martin O’Neill took over at the Stadium of Light, replacing Steve Bruce early in the season. They have been much more compact at the back, their 4-0 reverse against West Bromwich Albion being the only blot in their goals against column which has seen 20 conceded in the 17 games under the Irishman.

As Sunderland digest their performance it is a sign of the times that they are thinking more about the points lost in Manchester rather than a point gained.

Certainly they took the game to the title challengers and for much of the game City were a shadow of their former selves when they were rattling in goals for fun before December . The home team were very fortunate to have received a penalty while after the game manager Roberto Mancini was reportedly fuming over his mercurial striker Mario Balotelli’s performance.

Despite the presence of the tall Danish striker Niklas Bendtner up front, Sunderland were anything but static. Stephane Sessegnon was a threat all game with his pace while James McClean and Sebastian Larsson were quick to support.

Sunderland of course were the first team to collect a point at the Etihad this season and they will take some satisfaction from knowing that their own record of being the last team to go through a season with a 100% home record back in the 19^th century will last for at least one more season.

While many would have been surprised, not just by the result but also the performance, O’Neill would correctly point out that they had in fact beaten City earlier in the season at the Stadium of Light and that this result was just the latest in a string of good performances against the top teams.

# posted by Me @ 6:16 AM