Saturday March 24, 2012 Day 30 Finished Britannia Stadium

Stoke City 1 - 1 Manchester City

  • Crouch 59’
  • Touré 76’

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  1. Crouch wonder goal helps Stoke earn draw

    Crouch wonder goal helps Stoke earn draw

    Peter Crouch scored one of the goals of the season as Stoke dented Manchester City title hopes in a 1-1 draw at the Britannia Stadium. More

  • Live Commentary

    Time:90'
    • Stoke City
    • Manchester City
    • - 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 goes the final whistle! A 1-1 draw. Man City back on top of the table on goal difference from Man United.
    • 90+3' Yaya Toure is booked for dissent after fouling Palacios.
    • 90+1' Kenwyne Jones enters the action to replace Crouch, who is given a standing ovation by the home fans.
    • 89' We are into five minutes of time added on...
    • 88' Yaya Toure thumps an effort over the bar from outside of the box. Stinging shot by him. No goal this time.
    • 87' Super effort from Palacios as his shot from distance swerves narrowly over the bar.
    • 86' Pennant takes his time before winning a throw-in off Clichy after Nasri's volley loops into the arms of Begovic.
    • 85' Huth rises to puncture the net with a towering header, but the ball had gone out of play from Pennant's corner. A goalkick to Man City.
    • 84' Richards taking no chances as he knocks the ball out of play. Clichy blocks Wilkinson's cross for a corner to the home side.
    • 83' Final change of the day for City sees Zabaleta depart to be replaced by Milner.
    • 82' Shawcross heads over from Pennant's delivery. A goalkick to the visiting side.
    • 81' Pennant hoists a ball to the back post. Palacios heads back across goal. Off Johnson for a corner to the home side.
    • 80' Stoke City are one of only two clubs who are unbeaten at home this season against the Premier League's top five clubs. The other is Manchester City.
    • 79' Can the visitors grab the winning goal that will carry them two points clear at the top? James Milner getting ready to come on for Roberto Mancini's side.
    • 78' Wilson Palacios emerges from the bench to replace Etherington for the home side.
    • 77' Manchester City keeping the ball with some relish again. Looks like they have weathered the storm in this match. Stoke going to make a change.
    • 76' Man City will go top of the table on goal difference with a draw. Whelan smacks a shot over the bar from distance.
    • 75' All change now at the Britannia Stadium as Dzeko sees a header loop into the arms of Begovic. Stoke looking a bit sluggish.
    • 74' GOAL! Yaya Toure lets fly from 35 yards. Ball hits Shawcross before beating Begovic. Keeper could do nothing to keep that out. 1-1.
    • 73' Tevez takes over from Barry for Man City. Desperate times.
    • 72' City appear to be lacking real width as Zabaleta is discovered receiving treatment for cramp. Walters smacks an effort over the bar as Stoke break.
    • 71' Stoke City have never been unbeaten in both Premier League home matches in one season against the Manchester teams. They drew 1-1 against Man Utd earlier this season.
    • 70' Begovic out to clear the ball from Balotelli before the Stoke keeper saves the shot from Yaya Toure.
    • 69' Balotelli harshly penalised for bringing down Etherington. Mancini weighing up his options here.
    • 68' Neat play by Johnson to earn a corner, but Nasri's delivery falls over the head of Yaya Toure.
    • 67' Crouch tries to dash beyond Kolo Toure, but the City defender wins the race to roll the ball back to Begovic who clears.
    • 66' Mancini might look to Tevez to try to rescue this match for his side. The Argentina striker continues to ready himself on the sidelines.
    • 65' Balotelli getting wound up as he crashes into the back of Pennant. Free-kick to the home side.
    • 64' Manchester City have conceded the opening goal in five previous Premier League matches this season. City came back to win two of those matches (against QPR and Chelsea) and lost the other three 1-0.
    • 63' Wilson with a late tackle on Johnson. A booking for the Stoke defender.
    • 62' United will lead City by a point before they host Fulham on Monday night. The visitors desperate to avoid defeat here.
    • 61' The Stoke fans celebrate by doing 'The Poznan'. They are in full flow out there. Nasri breaks up the park at some speed, but Stoke have enough bodies back to deal with the danger.
    • 60' A change for City as Adam Johnson replaces Silva.
    • 59' Silva smashes the ball across goal at the other end, but no takers on hand to finish. The visiting Man City fans look stunned.
    • 58' An astonishing strike. Easily the goal of the season as Crouch controlled the ball from Pennant's lay-off. Wonderful control and then the finish like Marco Van Basten. Stunning.
    • 57' GOAL! Crouch scores for Stoke! A stunning effort. What a goal that is. A volley over the head of Hart and into the corner of the net from 30 yards.
    • 56' Richards tries to get on the end of Nasri's delivery before Clichy is penalised for a handball.
    • 55' Balotelli whips a free-kick at the home goal. Off the wall and out for a corner.
    • 54' An offside flag goes up against Pennant. Hart will thump the ball down the park.
    • 53' Crouch trying to turn Richards, but strong play by the Man City skipper. Timely tackle by Shawcross on Clichy. Goalkick seconds later to Stoke.
    • 52' Manchester City have scored just two goals away from home in 2012, the joint fewest with Fulham and Bolton, and 13 fewer than the leaders in that respect: Manchester United.
    • 51' Change for Stoke as Jermaine Pennant replaces Jerome.
    • 50' Walters and Shawcross in the Man City box. Hart saves from Shawcross after Jerome headed Whelan's ball back across goal.
    • 49' Walters the latest man to need a spot of treatment. He is off the park as the visitors play on.
    • 48' Nasri decides to hammer a shot at goal from outside of the box. Begovic dives low to his right to make the stop.
    • 47' Smart save by Begovic to make himself big to save at the feet of Dzeko. Stoke almost caught cold at the outset of this second half.
    • 46' We are off and running in the second period. City get the action started.
    • 45+3' There goes the whistle for the break! 0-0 at half-time. All very tight in this contest so far.
    • 44' We are into three minutes of time added to the first period.
    • 43' There has been just one goal scored before half-time in Man City’s last six away matches in the Premier League combined: Edin Džeko at Wigan.
    • 42' Etherington throws a free-kick into the Man City area, but he has overhit that by a fair distance. Poor stuff. Goalkick to the visitors.
    • 41' Balotelli goes beyond a couple of home players, but the shot doesn't match the run as Begovic makes a comfortable stop.
    • 40' A foul moments later by Whitehead on Barry. This match is fiercely competitive, and difficult to predict.
    • 39' Nasri is penalised for a late lunge on Walters, who wallops the ball long up the park.
    • 38' Zabaleta scoops the ball off his line from Etherington's corner. Think Shawcross got a touch on it, but superb defending by Zabaleta.
    • 37' Manchester City need three goals to overtake Man Utd for the most goals scored this Premier League season. The top scoring club have been champions in six of the last seven league seasons.
    • 36' A booking for Barry after he hauls back Jerome. No complaints from the visiting midfielder.
    • 35' Lovely ball by Silva into the path of Zabaleta, but he opts to pass the ball rather than shoot and the chance is lost. Can see why he's not scored since May.
    • 34' Silva tries to dash through a posse of home defenders, but the ball is walloped clear.
    • 33' Manchester City have conceded just four first half goals in this season's Premier League, the fewest of all clubs. The earliest was in the 28th minute and was scored by Jay Bothroyd of QPR.
    • 32' Silva picks out Yaya Toure in the Stoke area. His header flies back into a crowded area, but Begovic is down quickly to make the save.
    • 31' Whelan knocks the ball behind and the visiting side have a corner kick here to be taken by Nasri.
    • 30' First real chance of this match falls to the visitors, who are certainly missing the influence of Aguero upon their play so far this evening.
    • 29' Clichy does well to retrieve the ball from Walters. Clichy's cross is headed over by Dzeko. Was a real chance, but the header sails over.
    • 28' Wilkinson with the delivery. Walters's free-kick is headed over by Jerome. No real chances so far in this contest.
    • 27' Walters racing down the line. Tracked by Clichy as Stoke earn a throw-in the Man City half.
    • 26' Crouch wins a header in the visiting area. Richards rises to head clear before Silva knocks the ball back into the path of Hart. Begovic collects Nasri's free-kick seconds later.
    • 25' Dzeko nods wide from Nasri's cross ball. A goalkick to Stoke. The visiting side struggling to carve out any clear-cut chances so far.
    • 24' Balotelli takes a tumble under pressure from Wilkinson as Silva returns with his head bandaged up.
    • 23' Referee Howard Webb speaking to Whitehead as Silva departs for some more treatment.
    • 22' Silva goes down after taking a hand in the face from Whitehead. Silva needing a spot of treatment.
    • 21' The floodflights finally come on with the sun disappearing for the evening. Man City continue to keep the ball.
    • 20' Whelan dinks a free-kick down the line into the path of Wilkinson, but he fails to control the loose ball in the visiting box with Nasri sleeping.
    • 19' Nasri rolls the ball to Yaya Toure, who lifts a shot over the bar from 20 yards. Goalkick to the home side.
    • 18' Crouch heads Silva's corner behind for another corner before Huth nods clear Silva's second corner.
    • 17' Silva slips the ball to Zabaleta, but his effort deflects wide of the home goal. Corner to City.
    • 16' This game yet to really come to life. Stoke's players working hard to deny the visitors space.
    • 15' Walters screws an effort well wide of the goal. Whelan needing a bit of treatment. Seems to have damaged an ankle. Strong challenge by Barry.
    • 14' Not the best of corners by Nasri. Jerome allowed to break up the park at speed, but the midfielder fails to release the ball as it makes its way through to Hart.
    • 13' Stoke with plenty of bodies back as Silva sees a shot deflect wide of the goal. The visitors have a corner.
    • 12' Zabaleta lifts the cross into the area. All a bit poor as Begovic comes out to collect the loose ball.
    • 11' Whitehead takes the ball away from Nasri before rolling the ball back to Begovic in the home goal.
    • 10' Wilson picks out Crouch. Nods across goal, but Jerome can't finish in the area. Nice move, but no goal.
    • 9' Crouch and Yaya Toure clash in the air. A clash of heads and Yaya Toure is going to need a few seconds to compose himself.
    • 8' Walters with a driven ball across the face of goal. Hart comes out to collect the loose ball. City pick up at the back again.
    • 7' Some neat possession play by City here. Clichy throws over a cross, but straight into the claws of Begovic.
    • 6' Stoke are certainly throwing themselves about early on as they usually do at home. Hart hits the ball long.
    • 5' Balotelli penalised for a late push on Wilson. Stoke have the free-kick deep in their own half.
    • 4' Manchester City are going for the double against Stoke City. It would be their first league double against Stoke since the 1998/1999 season and thus their last league double over Stoke took place before neighbours Manchester United's first Champions League final victory, against Bayern Munich at the end of that season.
    • 3' Nasri throws a free-kick into the heart of the Stoke area. Dzeko just fails to connect with the delivery. Goalkick to Stoke.
    • 2' Lovely night for football. Pitch looks perfect as Shawcross comes across to win the ball from Nasri.
    • 1' We are off and running in this match.
    • 17:25 City had 76% of possession against Stoke in their meeting earlier this season, second only in the whole Premier League to the 78% they enjoyed at home v Blackburn. (Opta)
    • 17:20 Today's referee is Howard Webb
    • 17:15 Matthew Etherington, Glenn Whelan and Dean Whitehead all come into the Stoke starting line-up. Out go Jermaine Pennant, Wilson Palacios and Salif Diao.
    • 17:10 So Carlos Tevez only on the bench again despite Sergio Aguero missing out with an unspecified injury.
    • 17:05 Stoke: Begovic, Wilkinson, Shawcross, Huth, Wilson, Jerome, Whelan, Whitehead, Etherington, Walters, Crouch; Subs: Sorensen, Jones, Pennant, Upson, Delap, Shotton, Palacios /// Man City: Hart, Zabaleta, Richards, Toure, Clichy, Toure Yaya, Barry, Silva, Balotelli, Nasri, Dzeko; Subs: Pantilimon, Milner, Johnson, Kolarov, Savic, Tevez, De Jong
    • 17:00 Tony Pulis: "We’re desperate to get as many points as we can now and if we put the effort and commitment in that we’ve put in [against Tottenham] then we’ll be okay. On the back of playing Liverpool on Saturday, I thought that the commitment and the effort was absolutely first class. It’s what the club's about, it’s what the players are about, it’s what the dressing room is all about."
    • 16:55 Roberto Mancini: "I don't know if it was a champions' performance (against Chelsea) but we gave a very good performance in a difficult game. I enjoyed it like the supporters. It was really important to win. It was difficult because we were playing against a top team but we want to go back to the top. We have a very difficult game on Saturday against Stoke and this game was important for the three points."
    • 16:50 Still waiting on the team news but will be interesting to see if Carlos Tevez starts after his cameo against Chelsea during the week. Tevez makes heroic return for City
    • 16:45 Hello and welcome to our live coverage from the Britannia as Manchester City look to climb back to the top of the Premier League with a win over Stoke.

  • Summary

    • 88' Yaya Toure thumps an effort over the bar from outside of the box. Stinging shot by him. No goal this time.
    • 87' Super effort from Palacios as his shot from distance swerves narrowly over the bar.
    • 74' GOAL! Yaya Toure lets fly from 35 yards. Ball hits Shawcross before beating Begovic. Keeper could do nothing to keep that out. 1-1.
    • 57' GOAL! Crouch scores for Stoke! A stunning effort. What a goal that is. A volley over the head of Hart and into the corner of the net from 30 yards.
    • 50' Walters and Shawcross in the Man City box. Hart saves from Shawcross after Jerome headed Whelan's ball back across goal.
    • 48' Nasri decides to hammer a shot at goal from outside of the box. Begovic dives low to his right to make the stop.
    • 47' Smart save by Begovic to make himself big to save at the feet of Dzeko. Stoke almost caught cold at the outset of this second half.
    • 38' Zabaleta scoops the ball off his line from Etherington's corner. Think Shawcross got a touch on it, but superb defending by Zabaleta.
    • 35' Lovely ball by Silva into the path of Zabaleta, but he opts to pass the ball rather than shoot and the chance is lost. Can see why he's not scored since May.
    • 29' Clichy does well to retrieve the ball from Walters. Clichy's cross is headed over by Dzeko. Was a real chance, but the header sails over.
    • 10' Wilson picks out Crouch. Nods across goal, but Jerome can't finish in the area. Nice move, but no goal.

Team Line-up & Ratings

  • Line-up

    Live Team Line-Up

  • Rate Players

    Rate Players

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    • Player Y! Users Expert My Rating
      Goalkeeper
      7.5 7
      Defenders
      6.8 7
      7 7
      6.9 7
      Yellow Card 6.7 7
      Midfielders
      6.8 6
      6.7 7
      Substitution Out51′ 6.4 5
      Substitution Out81′ 6.8 6
      Strikers
      6.8 7
      Goal Substitution Out90′ 7.9 8
      Subs
      Substitution In51′ 7.3 7
      Substitution In90′ 8.3 6
      Substitution In81′ 8 6
    • Player Y! Users Expert My Rating
      Goalkeeper
      5.5 6
      Defenders
      Substitution Out84′ 4.9 6
      4.9 7
      5 7
      4.9 6
      Midfielders
      Goal Yellow Card 5.3 7
      Yellow Card Substitution Out74′ 4.7 6
      Substitution Out62′ 5.7 6
      4.8 5
      5.3 6
      Strikers
      5.4 5
      Subs
      Substitution In84′ 3.9 6
      Substitution In74′ 4.3 6
      Substitution In62′ 5 6

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