By Robert Morris
Following the boring Manchester derby in midweek, City had an ideal opportunity to respond with a home fixture against Birmingham. Unfortunately for the Blues, they were unable to hit the net for the third consecutive home match and dropped further points in the race for the title. Despite a fully-fit Carlos Tevez in the starting-eleven, Mancini’s men are short of goals of late. Consequently, Adam Johnson was called into the first team whilst David Silva also looked to provide inspiration from the right-flank.
One thing is for sure, despite City’s inability to win games, they have kept two consecutive clean sheets prior to this match, as new signings Jerome Boateng and Aleksandar Kolarov begin to find their feet.
The Blues did manage to find the net in the first-half, however, Tevez’s effort was ruled out by the referee, having touched his hand on the way into the net. Chances were few and far between, although early in to the second-half James Milner had his shot cleared off the line by Stephen Carr.
With ten minutes remaining, Tevez was replaced by Gareth Barry – a substitution that was booed by the home supporters. Needless to say, City were unable to break the deadlock in the final minutes left on the clock.
Up next for Manchester City is a trip to Fulham to face ex-manager Mark Hughes. This slippery fixture will be a real battle of pride for the City faithful and the under-pressure Roberto Mancini.
