Sunday December 18, 2011 Day 16 Finished Etihad Stadium

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  1. Silva lifts City over Arsenal

    Silva lifts City over Arsenal

    Manchester City returned to winning ways with a frantic 1-0 Premier League victory against Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium. More

  • Live Commentary

    Time:90'
    • Manchester City
    • Arsenal
    • - Don't forget you can watch highlights of this match, along with every Premier League game, from 00:01 on Monday morning (UK only).
    • 90+5' There's the final whistle, and Manchester City win a frantic encounter! They are back on track, and back top of the Premier League.
    • 90+4' SO CLOSE VERMAELEN!! He hits a long shot that bends inches wide of Hart's goal! Cracking finish.
    • 90+3' There is a scramble at the edge of the City box as Chamakh tries to get the ball off but he is blocked!
    • 90+2' Dzeko finds the side netting when he has a chance to finish the game!
    • 90+1' Four minutes of added time to be played.
    • 90' Arteta shapes to deliver into the box but instead tees up VERMAELEN!! His shot is tipped over by Hart!
    • 90' Chamakh wins a free-kick off Richards and Arsenal will have nine men in the box for this one...
    • 89' Crossed from the right for Van Persie who tees up Arshavin, and the Russian scuffs an awkward-looking shot wide!
    • 88' Szczesny booms a long free-kick forward... headed clear.
    • 87' Koscielny is overlapping down the right but delivers a hopeless cross... chances running out for the Gunners.
    • 86' It's Yaya Toure and Samir Nasri who make way for Dzeko and De Jong.
    • 85' RICHARDS! He makes a lung-busting run down the right but gets the pass all wrong. The ball then comes back in and Richards - who looks miles offside - pokes the ball wide!
    • 84' City are preparing Edin Dzeko and Nigel De Jong to come on.
    • 83' City are back in numbers, and when they set their mind to defending they are pretty formidable.
    • 82' Less than 10 minutes to go and Arsenal look like they are just running out of puff here..
    • 81' Well if you need a goal, who else are you going to call on but Marouane Chamakh? Mertesacker the man to come off as Arsenal go to a back three.
    • 80' Aguero fires goalwards from a tight angle and Szszesny is equal to it! The ref has a word with Song for an early challenge on Kompany.
    • 78' Arsenal want a penalty for handball against Richards, but referee Dowd sees nothing wrong! A real moment of controversy.
    • 77' Yaya Toure has an injury issue... he should be OK to continue.
    • 76' Corner to City on their right - Silva to take it... headed clear.
    • 74' Now a yellow for Arteta as it starts to get niggly here.
    • 73' Off comes Mario Balotelli - replaced by James Milner.
    • 72' Sergio Aguero is booked for a challenge on Vermaelen.
    • 71' A Vermaelen cross is deflected behind for a corner - inexplicably taken by Van Persie. Nothing comes of it.
    • 70' Arsenal change: Andrei Arshavin comes on for Theo Walcott. We've been saying it for 12 months - Arshavin really needs a performance. Theo looks peeved.
    • 69' Szczesny comes right to the edge of the box to gather a long ball, which momentarily excites the home fans. Clearly no handball, though.
    • 68' Hart makes another great save for City, but the offside flag has already gone up...
    • 67' ZABALETA HITS THE POST!! He intercepts and comes rampaging to the edge of the box before unleashing a powerful shot that leaves Szczesny a spectator but crashes back off the upright!
    • 66' Silve delivers a free-kick into the Arsenal box but it is not the best - Szczesny holds.
    • 64' Van Persie! Chances all over the pitch at the moment! Gervinho sets up Arsenal's top scorer but Hart is equal to the shot!
    • 63' WHAT A CHANCE!! City break through and Nasri has Balotelli inside with an open goal... but Nasri messes up a simple pass!
    • 62' Aguero! He fires a powerful low left-foot shot just wide of the far post after good work by Nasri.
    • 61' Toure has a long shot blocked at the edge of the box. City look like they are going for the kill.
    • 60' Arsenal's back four push up and just catch Aguero offside! That time the offside trap worked well, but it's a dangerous game...
    • 59' The free-kick comes to nothing.
    • 59' Koscielny is adjudged to have fouled Aguero at the edge of the Arsenal box on the left side...
    • 58' Another replay of the Silva goal suggests the officials also got that one right. Credit where it's due...
    • 57' Now that is offside! Van Persie is flagged as he receives a neat through ball and chips Hart. It is a close call, but the linesman gets it spot on!
    • 56' Arsene Wenger apparently believes Silva was offside for the goal... not sure about that...
    • 55' Richards bombs forward from the back and crosses, but the ball ricochets back, hits him and goes out for a goal kick.
    • 54' Good hit by Walcott! He cuts in from the right and shoots with the outside of his right boot, forcing an agile save from Hart!
    • 54' After an admirable display so far, how will Arsenal react to going behind?
    • 53' GOAL!! CITY IN FRONT! Balotelli drills in a shot that Szczesny parries, the ball bobbles around the box and Silva converts the rebound!
    • 52' Nasri releases Balotelli down the left... what can he deliver?
    • 51' Balotelli receives the ball, turns and attacks, but he is flagged offside...
    • 50' A nervous first intervention from Miquel, who takes a heavy touch and concedes a corner.
    • 49' Looks like it will be Miquel at left-back, with Vermaelen shifting to the centre and Koscielny to right-back.
    • 48' Djourou was struggling at the end of the first half, and he is now replaced by Ignasi Miquel - we'll see how they reorganise.
    • 48' Barry goes in strongly on Song, and he has already been booked - the England man needs to be careful.
    • 47' Balotelli tries an inventive scoop over the top for Aguero, but Mertesacker heads back for Szczesny.
    • 46' Second half under way! Arsenal kick off, playing from left to right as we see it.
    • 45+3' That's half-time and it is still goalless. Interesting but not thrilling. More in a few minutes.
    • 45+2' High foot by Yaya Toure, and he reacts unhappily to the decision. Looked like referee Dowd got that one right to me...
    • 45+1' Two minutes of stoppage time to be played.
    • 45' Balotelli goes down under a challenge from Djourou but is not awarded a free-kick! Strange decision, but it may be Djourou who has come off worse - he is limping.
    • 44' Yellow card for Koscielny, who is left on his backside by Aguero then uses his hands to upend the Argentine. Silly.
    • 43' Arteta takes the free-kick which is cleared as far as Koscielny... his shot is blocked.
    • 42' Van Persie is brought down by Zabaleta, and gestures furiously when referee Dowd allows play to go on... he's only playing advantage, Robin...
    • 41' City have just edged the first half, but it is an interestingly-poised encounter. Arsenal are giving a good account of themselves. Certainly better than their last trip to Manchester when they lost 8-2.
    • 40' Chance for Aguero, who makes a diagonal run into the box, but his low shot is saved by Szczesny!
    • 39' Barry slides in from behind on Arteta, and that's a yellow card for the England midfielder.
    • 37' Nasri stands up a cross from the left, but David Silva is never likely to beat Mertesacker in the air, and Arsenal clear.
    • 36' For all the blood and thunder, there has not been much of a flow about this game. Very competitive, but not great to watch.
    • 35' Penalty shout for Arsenal! Van Persie's deflected shot falls to the Welshman who takes a touch then goes down under a Kolo Toure challenge... the City man just got the ball and Phil Dowd rightly says no foul!
    • 34' Free-kick Arsenal for a high foot. Arsene Wenger is also doing his share of scowling.
    • 32' Ramsey digs out a cross from the left that Van Persie gest his head to, but he can only send a looping effort just wide.
    • 31' Toure crosses from the right and Mertesacker clears with his head. Arsenal's much-maligned back line standing firm.
    • 30' City enjoy another spell of dominance, pinning Arsenal back in their own half. More diligent work by Koscielny wins the ball back off Aguero.
    • 28' The Arsenal free-kick, taken after an interminable delay, comes to nothing.
    • 27' The Telegraph's Paul Hayward tweets: 'Mancini is in a filthy mood in his coaching box. Is this one of those games where he needs to encourage, not hector, after recent setbacks?'
    • 26' Arsenal wins a free-kick after Nasri commits about four fouls on Gervinho before the Ivorian eventually goes down.
    • 25' The rumours doing the rounds on Twitter last night suggested Balotelli was going round Manchester dressed as Santa, giving money to the poor. Regrettably, it seems that was not true - but you'd almost believe anything about Balotelli, wouldn't you?
    • 24' BALOTELLI!! Brilliant control and turn in one movement, but Szczesny makes himself big to block the Italian's shot! Moment of the match so far!
    • 23' City fans have rather cheekily been singing: "Van Persie is ours, you are our feeder club, Van Persie is ours"
    • 22' Toure plays a first-time ball that could fall into the path of any of three City players, yet somehow evades all of them.
    • 20' Gervinho nearly gets another shooting chance, but he is blocked off..
    • 19' This is a really muscular game, with bodies crashing into each other all over the pitch. Not great quality yet...
    • 18' The corner comes out to the edge of the box where Ramsey shoots and Hart has to make another decent save! And from the resultant corner Hart catches Vermaelen's header.
    • 17' Powerful shot by Gervinho, who smashes a low effort that Hart does well to deflect behind for a corner!
    • 15' This is better from Arsenal, who have weathered the early storm and are looking to pose a threat of their own - though they have not seen much of the final third.
    • 14' Gervinho gets on the ball - he has made a decent start to life in the Premier League, and will only improve.
    • 13' Song takes out Richards and Mancini is up off the bench, gesturing furiously.
    • 12' City are exerting some heavy pressure now. A real test for the Arsenal back line.
    • 11' Beautiful control and turn from Silva on the left side of the box, and his shot is held by Szczesny.
    • 9' Chance for Aguero! Zabaleta crosses from the left, Aguero controls but then smashes his shot into the crowd when it looked like he had done the hard work!
    • 8' Nasri spots Aguero's run and plays a pacy low ball... he cannot connect. It would have had to be a perfect pass.
    • 7' Nasri plays the free-kick into the box - Szczesny makes an unconventional catch, letting the ball land in his midriff. You'd like to see him come out for that...
    • 6' It has been a stop-start opening, and now City have a free-kick for a foul by Arteta 30 yards from the Arsenal goal.
    • 4' A tight start from both sides... played down the right for Toure but Koscielny does well and gets there first. Back to Szczesny.
    • 3' Silva runs parallel with the edge of the box waiting for a run - he pops a pass for Nasri but the Frenchman cannot reach it.
    • 2' Micah Richards is one of three changes for City, returning to his customary right-back role. Kolo Toure and Samir Nasri are in to face their former club.
    • 1' Game on! Manchester City get us under way, playing from left to right as we see it. Both teams in their 'home' strip.
    • 16:08 Today's referee is Phil Dowd...
    • 16:05 The teams are out at the Eithad Stadium. City need to bounce back from Monday's 2-1 defeat at Chelsea, though in truth they played pretty well in that game.
    • 16:00 Liverpool have just secured a comically easy 2-0 win away to Aston Villa. This after Manchester United won 2-0 at QPR earlier on. More details here.
    • 15:55 And here's Arsene Wenger on Yaya Toure: "I have known him since he was 15. We had an agreement with Yaya to come here, but the problem was that he was at Beveren and we had to wait long enough for a European passport. Therefore he was impatient and went, at the time, to Metalurh Donetsk. Now he is a top-class player. We knew that at the time he would be a top-class player, but the only problem with Yaya was to fix him into a position because he can play everywhere."
    • 15:50 More Mancini: "Mario and Micah were boxing, but they are like twins. They are very good friends. This has happened with Mario four times now. He is the king for this. But it has happened with other players. However, Mario should pay attention, not just about this, but in every situation. We are near Christmas, at the end of the year it is very dangerous time for fireworks. It is better he stays in the hotel."
    • 15:45 Roberto Mancini on the training ground spat between Mario Balotelli and Micah Richards: "[Balotelli] said it was because he didn't pass the ball to him. It was a really stupid thing. It was nothing. After 10 minutes it was finished. I was always involved in problems on the training ground, with Trevor Francis and Liam Brady [at Sampdoria]. It happens. When you play a match eight versus eight and you are passionate, it can happen with every team. Not every week, but often."
    • 15:40 Manchester City are one short of scoring their 100th top flight home league goal against Arsenal.
    • 15:35 Arsenal won 3-0 at the Etihad Stadium last season, and have won eight of their last 11 PL visits there. In total Arsenal have won 33 of 83 league visits to Manchester City, losing only 30 times.
    • 15:30 MANCHESTER CITY: Hart, Richards, Kolo, Kompany, Zabaleta, Yaya, Barry, Silva, Balotelli, Nasri, Aguero... Subs: Pantilimon, Lescott, Savic, Milner, De Jong, A. Johnson, Dzeko. /// ARSENAL: Szczesny, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Koscielny, Djourou, Arteta, Walcott, Ramsey, Song, Van Persie, Gervinho... Subs: Almunia, Miquel, Frimpong, Rosicky, Benayoun, Arshavin, Chamakh.
    • 15:25 Welcome to live coverage of Manchester City v Arsenal from the Etihad Stadium!

  • Summary

    • 90+4' SO CLOSE VERMAELEN!! He hits a long shot that bends inches wide of Hart's goal! Cracking finish.
    • 90' Arteta shapes to deliver into the box but instead tees up VERMAELEN!! His shot is tipped over by Hart!
    • 89' Crossed from the right for Van Persie who tees up Arshavin, and the Russian scuffs an awkward-looking shot wide!
    • 85' RICHARDS! He makes a lung-busting run down the right but gets the pass all wrong. The ball then comes back in and Richards - who looks miles offside - pokes the ball wide!
    • 80' Aguero fires goalwards from a tight angle and Szszesny is equal to it! The ref has a word with Song for an early challenge on Kompany.
    • 67' ZABALETA HITS THE POST!! He intercepts and comes rampaging to the edge of the box before unleashing a powerful shot that leaves Szczesny a spectator but crashes back off the upright!
    • 64' Van Persie! Chances all over the pitch at the moment! Gervinho sets up Arsenal's top scorer but Hart is equal to the shot!
    • 63' WHAT A CHANCE!! City break through and Nasri has Balotelli inside with an open goal... but Nasri messes up a simple pass!
    • 57' Now that is offside! Van Persie is flagged as he receives a neat through ball and chips Hart. It is a close call, but the linesman gets it spot on!
    • 54' Good hit by Walcott! He cuts in from the right and shoots with the outside of his right boot, forcing an agile save from Hart!
    • 53' GOAL!! CITY IN FRONT! Balotelli drills in a shot that Szczesny parries, the ball bobbles around the box and Silva converts the rebound!
    • 40' Chance for Aguero, who makes a diagonal run into the box, but his low shot is saved by Szczesny!
    • 35' Penalty shout for Arsenal! Van Persie's deflected shot falls to the Welshman who takes a touch then goes down under a Kolo Toure challenge... the City man just got the ball and Phil Dowd rightly says no foul!
    • 24' BALOTELLI!! Brilliant control and turn in one movement, but Szczesny makes himself big to block the Italian's shot! Moment of the match so far!
    • 17' Powerful shot by Gervinho, who smashes a low effort that Hart does well to deflect behind for a corner!
    • 11' Beautiful control and turn from Silva on the left side of the box, and his shot is held by Szczesny.
    • 9' Chance for Aguero! Zabaleta crosses from the left, Aguero controls but then smashes his shot into the crowd when it looked like he had done the hard work!
    • 15:30 MANCHESTER CITY: Hart, Richards, Kolo, Kompany, Zabaleta, Yaya, Barry, Silva, Balotelli, Nasri, Aguero... Subs: Pantilimon, Lescott, Savic, Milner, De Jong, A. Johnson, Dzeko. /// ARSENAL: Szczesny, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Koscielny, Djourou, Arteta, Walcott, Ramsey, Song, Van Persie, Gervinho... Subs: Almunia, Miquel, Frimpong, Rosicky, Benayoun, Arshavin, Chamakh.

Team Line-up & Ratings

  • Line-up

    Live Team Line-Up

  • Rate Players

    Rate Players

    Please to rate the players.

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    • Player Y! Users Expert My Rating
      Goalkeeper
      6.4 8
      Defenders
      5.6 7
      5.2 7
      5.7 7
      5.5 7
      Midfielders
      Substitution Out86′ 5.8 7
      Yellow Card 5.1 7
      Goal 6.8 7
      Yellow Card 6.7 8
      Substitution Out86′ 5.2 7
      Strikers
      Substitution Out72′ 5.8 7
      Subs
      Substitution In72′ 5.2 6
      Substitution In86′ 5 -
      Substitution In86′ 5.4 -
    • Player Y! Users Expert My Rating
      Goalkeeper
      7.3 7
      Defenders
      Substitution Out47′ 5.9 7
      Substitution Out82′ 6.6 7
      Yellow Card 6.4 8
      7.2 7
      Midfielders
      Yellow Card 6.3 6
      Yellow Card 6.3 7
      Substitution Out69′ 6.3 6
      6.3 6
      6.7 7
      Strikers
      7.7 6
      Subs
      Substitution In82′ 5.1 -
      Substitution In69′ 5.2 5
      Substitution In47′ 5.6 6

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