Wednesday November 2, 2011 Group Stage: Group A Finished El Madrigal

Villarreal CF 0 - 3 Manchester City

  • Touré 30’, 71’
  • Balotelli 45’ (pen.)

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  1. Toure brace as City sink Villarreal

    Toure brace as City sink Villarreal

    Manchester City became the first English side to win at Villarreal as Yaya Toure scored twice in a 3-0 victory in Champions League Group A. More

  • Live Commentary

    Time:90'
    • Villarreal CF
    • Manchester City
    • 90+4' FULL TIME. A fine result for Manchester City as they head second in Group A. Toure with a brace and Balotelli with a penalty.
    • 90+2' Johnson tries to prise open the home defence to find Aguero but his through-ball has too much on it.
    • 90+1' We will have three minutes of added time at El Madrigal.
    • 90' City's travelling supporters have been revelling in their team's performance tonight, and rightly so. They have been very good, even taking into account the fact that Villarreal are so afflicted by injury problems.
    • 88' As things stand, Bayern will be top with 10 points, followed by City with seven, Napoli with five and Villarreal with zero. City must still visit Naples and host Bayern.
    • 86' Little to report at present in fairness. This game is over as a contest and City don't seem particularly determined to find a fourth. And why should they? Their job is done.
    • 84' Perez is replaced by Joan Oriol as Villarreal make their final change.
    • 82' A change for City as Balotelli is replaced by Kolarov. Mancini shuts up shop.
    • 81' Just to reiterate, Villarreal will be out of Europe after losing tonight as they are guaranteed to finish bottom of the group. City heading into second place.
    • 79' Napoli pull another one back in Germany at Bayern only lead 3-2 now. Latest scores and scorers
    • 77' Double change for Villarreal: De Guzman and Wakaso replaced by Angel Lopez and Gerard Bordas.
    • 75' Here is the change. Aguero enters the pitch in place of the excellent Toure. The home fans aren't a fan of this guy, by the way.
    • 74' City are now getting Aguero ready on the sidelines.
    • 73' Toure has been hugely impressive tonight, but it is still hard to see past Silva as the outstanding performer for City.
    • 71' GOAL! Villarreal 0-3 Manchester City! Oh, what a goal. Superb from Toure. City race clear down the right and Balotelli's square ball finds Toure. He takes a clever touch to escape Catala's attentions, shimmies and then slots his shot past Lopez and into the bottom corner.
    • 71' Valero attempts to release Joselu once again but the striker cannot collect.
    • 70' Villarreal don't even look close to getting a goal here. City just need to maintain their shape and poise and they will be home with ease.
    • 68' Perez goes into the book by hacking down Balotelli and City have a free-kick 35 yards from goal.
    • 66' Valero with a free-kick from the right but Hart is off his line decisively to punch clear. Musacchio then fires one over the bar.
    • 65' It is Silva who is replaced and he departs clutching his back while wincing. That will be of some concern. Johnson on.
    • 64' City are getting Adam Johnson ready on the sidelines. He has had some good contributions in recent games, even if Mancini wants more from the young winger.
    • 62' Borja Valero escapes his man and tries to test Hart but his shot takes a little deflection and the keeper grasps the ball as he falls to his left.
    • 61' They've been chucking debris at Nasri and playing with laser pens - frankly Villarreal deserve to lose this game.
    • 59' Balotelli's a confident lad, isn't he? The striker bangs one in from 35 yards that flies off target.
    • 58' Milner looks to set free Clichy with a pass into the left channel but he leaves the Frenchman with an almighty task on his hands and the ball rolls out of play.
    • 57' Nasri is growing in stature in this second half but Silva is always the main man for City.
    • 55' Balotelli takes the free-kick and sees his low effort deflected behind for a corner. Nasri is pelted with missiles as he executes an outswinger, but Villarreal clear their lines.
    • 54' More trickery from Silva as he wins a free-kick 20 yards from goal. In other news, the ref has been targeted by a laser pen. How hilarious, give that supporter a prize for originality and all-round brilliance. What a wag.
    • 53' Patient, probing build-up from City and as they continue to work the ball around the front of the penalty box, Balotelli suddenly spins and sees his shot deflected over for a corner. Villarreal clear from the set piece.
    • 51' City are quite content to retain possession of the ball here and they are slowly tightening their grip on the game. Whisper it, but they look pretty comfortable at the moment.
    • 50' Carlos Marchena - usually a defender but stationed in central midfield today - tries to play in Joselu with a through-ball but cannot find the youngster.
    • 49' Mancini, by the way, is still nursing the bump on his head with an ice pack. At least City aren't adding to that headache and are instead winning.
    • 48' Perez is absolutely flying into challenges and he looks a touch frustrated. If he times one of those wrongly he could be in trouble.
    • 47' An early second-half corner for Villarreal but City head clear from Valero's inswinger.
    • 46' KICK OFF!
    • 45+4' HALF TIME. City enjoy a two-goal lead thanks to Toure and a Balotelli penalty.
    • 45+3' Carlos Marchena has been booked for his protests at the penalty award.
    • 45+3' GOAL! Villarreal 0-2 Manchester City! A calm finish from Balotelli as he rolls the ball home. City in firm control but there may be questions asked about that penalty award.
    • 45+2' There was contact but Balotelli perhaps made the most of it. Musacchio booked.
    • 45+2' PENALTY TO CITY! Balotelli brought down by Mateo Musacchio!
    • 45+1' A firm effort from De Guzman from 25 yards but Hart gets his body behind it and saves. Not a bad effort.
    • 45+1' We will have one added minute at El Madrigal.
    • 45' Napoli pull one back at Bayern to make it 3-1, but the home side still look destined for a comfortable win. Latest scores and scorers
    • 44' As things stand, Villarreal are set to be dumped out of the competition. That's what zero points in four games will do to you.
    • 42' Goal in Germany where Mario Gomez has scored a first-half hat-trick. Bayern are taking firm control of the Group and City will be going second if they can win today. Latest scores and scorers
    • 41' Gonzalo kicks Balotelli from behind and the Italian collapses in a heap. Free-kick to City.
    • 40' More outstanding play from Silva as he jinks away from a couple of markers before playing a a square pass to Nasri. However, the Frenchman scuffs his effort and fails to get the necessary pace on his shot to trouble Lopez.
    • 39' Jose Catala goes into the book for kicking out at Silva. Villarreal have targeted him tonight but you just can't keep the little magician down.
    • 38' Delightful stuff from City. Toure slips in Silva with a fine pass and the Spaniard prods the ball back across goal first time with the outside of his left boot. However, he cannot find a Sky Blue shirt.
    • 37' Balotelli chests down five yards from goal and boots the ball into the face of keeper Diego Lopez, but is rightly adjudged to be offside.
    • 35' Toure embarks on a somewhat precarious run and after passing up one good chance to shoot finds the ball taken off his toes just inside the box.
    • 34' De Guzman certainly can pick a pass, but when presented with a chance 25 yards out he produces a horrible effort that flies high into the night air. Lamentable.
    • 33' Villarreal have only won one of their past ten games in the Champions League and it is a long way back for them now to get the three points they realistically need to prolong their participation in the competition.
    • 31' City had failed to score in three away games in Europe before that strike by Toure, ending a run of 313 minutes of fruitlessness in front of goal.
    • 30' GOAL! Villarreal 0-1 Manchester City! Toure with his first goal of the season to put City in control at El Madrigal. Silva finds Toure with a square pass. He takes a touch and shifts his bodyweight to the right before bending a fine shot inside the far post.
    • 30' Oops. Mancini ruffles his usually immaculate hair by whacking his head on the roof of the bench. That looks like it hurt.
    • 29' Silva strikes the free-kick but only succeeds in striking the top of the wall and the danger passes for Villarreal.
    • 28' Balotelli has also been booked for his part in that little contretemps.
    • 27' Deafening whistles cascade from the home stands as the ref forgets to let Mario back onto the pitch. As City continue to attack, Wakaso is booked for hacking down Silva. Villarreal and their supporters are distinctly unimpressed. Free-kick to City.
    • 25' Villarreal right-back Mario requires a shirt change as he is leaking blood.
    • 24' And Mario Gomez bags a second for Bayern. It looks as though the Germans will be moving onto 10 points and leaving Napoli with five. City start the night with four and Villarreal zero.
    • 22' Nasri finds a bit of space 20 yards from goal after receiving the ball from Toure but his effort flies wide of the post when he should really have tested the keeper.
    • 21' Over in Germany, Bayern have gone 1-0 up against Napoli in the other game in Group A. That's probably good news for City as it gives them a much better chance of securing second place and qualification. Latest scores and scorers
    • 20' De Guzman pops another pass over the top - he's a clever player this one - and Joselu tries to latch onto it but is offside. He is caught by the arm of Savic and goes down clutching his face but the contact was surely accidental.
    • 19' I think Villarreal will be very heartened by how they have started tonight's game. They have been patient in possession and have created two half-decent chances.
    • 18' Joselu escapes the City defence to chase onto a lovely ball over the top from De Guzman but he cannot pull the ball down and get a shot away.
    • 16' Balotelli is guilty of a poor challenge on Perez. The Italian catches his opponent late with a wild kick and is perhaps fortunate to avoid a booking there.
    • 15' Two former La Liga stars combine as Silva and Yaya Toure exchange passes but the Ivorian cannot keep control 25 yards from goal.
    • 14' Some nice one-touch build-up play from City - that is an aspect of their game that has really come on from last season - but Nasri is halted in his tracks in the final third.
    • 13' Jonathan De Guzman slips in Perez 25 yards or so from goal but without looking the forward pops a pass out left and into the middle of nowhere, without a yellow shirt in sight. That was a waste.
    • 12' A corner routine goes wrong for Villarreal as they waste the first proper set-piece of the evening. Mario Gaspar fails to cover himself in glory.
    • 10' Though Villarreal are vastly under strength, we should remember that they are yet to lose a game at home to English opposition. Not too many have visited El Madrigal, but none have taken three points.
    • 9' Balotelli - three days away from Bonfire Night - has his head screwed on today and instead of fantasising about setting off a Catherine wheel in his kitchen is looking very accomplished with some clever touches.
    • 7' The visiting City fans serenade their manager when chanting his name. Unsurprisingly given they have dropped only two points in ten games in the league and only recently went to Old Trafford and scored six.
    • 6' After a clever backheel from Balotelli finds Silva, only for the move to peter out, Gael Clichy then combines with Milner on the left to fire in a cross that Villarreal head away.
    • 5' It appears as though James Milner is playing in a deep midfield role alongside Nigel De Jong, with Yaya Toure pushing up in support of Samir Nasri and Silva.
    • 4' The first chance of the game falls to Hernan Perez as he finds a pocket of space 30 yards from goal and fizzes in a decent effort that Joe Hart dives to his left to stop.
    • 3' David Silva grabs possession of the ball and attempts to wriggle past Spain team-mate Carlos Marchena, only to play the ball too far ahead of himself as he is blocked off.
    • 2' Villarreal enjoying plenty of the ball in the early stages, despite missing as many as eight of their possible starting XI tonight.
    • 1' KICK OFF!
    • 19.45 Want to get in touch, or discuss which of tonight's ITV pundits - Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira no less - would win in a fight? Say hello on Twitter: @tomEurosport
    • 19.40 Given Villarreal's terrible form and their crippling injuries, City really should be looking at this as a prime opportunity to pick up three points. The Yellow Submarine, semi-finalists in 2006, are at a very low ebb at present and their starting XI tonight is as weak as an Andrei Arshavin tackle.
    • 19.35 Basically, the situation for City is as follows: If they win tonight they will move on to seven points and may only have to win one of their two final games (away to Napoli and home to Bayern) to go through. If however they are held to a draw, or even lose, then they may have to win both of those contests to secure a place in the knockout stages.
    • 19.30 A few Opta stats for you: The Yellow Submarine have won only one of their last ten Champions League games (four draws, five losses). The Spaniards have failed to score in three of their last four Champions League games. Man City have failed to score in their last three away games in European competition – they haven’t found the net away from home in 283 minutes of European football.
    • 19.25 Tevez isn't here tonight, as expected, but this week did see a softening in City's rhetoric, with Mancini admitting that the Argentina international may yet have a future with the club if he apologises to his team-mates and Mancini himself for his conduct in the defeat at Bayern Munich earlier in the group. Mancini opens door to Tevez
    • 19.20 One player who could cause City problems at El Madrigal tonight is Jonathan De Guzman. Our Euroscout took a closer look at the playmaker, who is a Netherlands Under-21 international and with plenty of team-mates out takes on a lot of responsibility tonight. Euroscout: De Guzman
    • 19.15 A 2-0 win at home to promoted Rayo Vallecano at the weekend secured only a third win in 19 games for Juan Carlos Garrido's injury-ravaged side, who lost to a last-gasp goal from Sergio Aguero in Manchester two weeks ago. The Villarreal boss said: "Playing a team like Manchester City should give players a reason to give 100 per cent, and we will do our best to win; we have to play the match of our lives."
    • 19.10 So, how do things stand in Group A at present? Bayern Munich, who host Napoli tonight, are on seven points, two ahead of the Italians. City (with four) are a further point back in third, while Villarreal are rock bottom with zero. If both City and Napoli win then Villarreal are guaranteed to finish last in Group A. Bayern will qualify if they beat Napoli and City fail to win. Group A details
    • 19.05 City, by contrast, have no such problems and are at full strength. Roberto Mancini does not even need to call on the exiled Carlos Tevez as he already has the most potent strikeforce in the Premier League at his disposal. City currently sit top of the table with nine wins and a draw from ten games, scoring 36 times in the process. Indeed, City are even stronger than they were in the 2-1 win over Villarreal on October 18 as Balotelli - heard of him? - makes his Champions League debut for City.
    • 19.00 Villarreal are without as much as a point in the group and have been submerged by a sea of injuries. Giuseppe Rossi, Nilmar, Cristian Zapata, Cani and Marcos Senna are amongst the high-profile absentees for tonight's game. Former West Brom man Borja Valero will look to dictate the tempo from deep in midfield, though, with 20-year-old Joselu acting as a lone striker on his first start for the club.
    • 18.55 City make six changes from the side that defeated Wolves 3-1 at the weekend: Pablo Zabaleta replaces Micah Richards, Stefan Savic is in for Joleon Lescott, Aleksandar Kolarov makes way for Gael Clichy, Nigel De Jong replaces Gareth Barry and Mario Balotelli and James Milner are in for Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko. The result is a slightly more conservative side, with James Milner in as a wide forward.
    • 18.50 TEAM NEWS: Villarreal: Lopez, Rodriguez, Musacchio, Marchena, Gaspar, Catala, De Guzman, Perez, Mubarak, Valero, Joselu. Subs: Sanchez, Oriol, Lopez, Tomas, Gullon, Fofo, Bordas. /// Man City: Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany, Savic, Clichy, Milner, Nasri, De Jong, Y Toure, Silva, Balotelli. Subs: Pantilimon, Lescott, Kolarov, Johnson, Barry, Dzeko, Aguero.
    • 18.45 Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the Champions League Group A tie between Manchester City and Villarreal at El Madrigal. Can City take their stunning league form into Europe to secure an important win? We'll find out soon enough.

  • Summary

    • 71' GOAL! Villarreal 0-3 Manchester City! Oh, what a goal. Superb from Toure. City race clear down the right and Balotelli's square ball finds Toure. He takes a clever touch to escape Catala's attentions, shimmies and then slots his shot past Lopez and into the bottom corner.
    • 45+3' GOAL! Villarreal 0-2 Manchester City! A calm finish from Balotelli as he rolls the ball home. City in firm control but there may be questions asked about that penalty award.
    • 45+2' PENALTY TO CITY! Balotelli brought down by Mateo Musacchio!
    • 38' Delightful stuff from City. Toure slips in Silva with a fine pass and the Spaniard prods the ball back across goal first time with the outside of his left boot. However, he cannot find a Sky Blue shirt.
    • 30' GOAL! Villarreal 0-1 Manchester City! Toure with his first goal of the season to put City in control at El Madrigal. Silva finds Toure with a square pass. He takes a touch and shifts his bodyweight to the right before bending a fine shot inside the far post.
    • 18' Joselu escapes the City defence to chase onto a lovely ball over the top from De Guzman but he cannot pull the ball down and get a shot away.
    • 16' Balotelli is guilty of a poor challenge on Perez. The Italian catches his opponent late with a wild kick and is perhaps fortunate to avoid a booking there.
    • 18.50 TEAM NEWS: Villarreal: Lopez, Rodriguez, Musacchio, Marchena, Gaspar, Catala, De Guzman, Perez, Mubarak, Valero, Joselu. Subs: Sanchez, Oriol, Lopez, Tomas, Gullon, Fofo, Bordas. /// Man City: Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany, Savic, Clichy, Milner, Nasri, De Jong, Y Toure, Silva, Balotelli. Subs: Pantilimon, Lescott, Kolarov, Johnson, Barry, Dzeko, Aguero.

Team Line-up & Ratings

  • Line-up

    Live Team Line-Up

  • Rate Players

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    • Player Y! Users Expert My Rating
      Goalkeeper
      4.8 6
      Defenders
      4.2 5
      5.9 5
      Yellow Card 5.2 5
      Yellow Card 4.6 5
      Midfielders
      Yellow Card 3.7 5
      5 6
      Yellow Card Substitution Out84′ 4.5 6
      Substitution Out76′ 4.9 6
      Yellow Card Substitution Out77′ 5.8 5
      Strikers
      4.2 5
      Subs
      Substitution In84′ 5 6
      Substitution In76′ 2 5
      Substitution In77′ 4.5 6
    • Player Y! Users Expert My Rating
      Goalkeeper
      6.3 6
      Defenders
      4.9 6
      6.2 7
      5.1 6
      5.1 6
      Midfielders
      5.6 7
      Goals ×2 Substitution Out74′ 7.4 8
      5.5 6
      Substitution Out65′ 7.2 8
      6.6 6
      Strikers
      Goal Yellow Card Substitution Out82′ 7.3 7
      Subs
      Substitution In65′ 6.1 6
      Substitution In74′ 5.9 6
      Substitution In82′ 6.2 6

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