By Robert Morris
Manchester City was punished by two late goals in an embarrassing 3-1 defeat in Poland after another dismal performance.
Both sides came into the fixture under pressure; the Blues have lost two their last two league matches, whilst Lech had sacked their manager Jacek Zielinski this week and replaced him with Jose Maria Bakero. A good result was vital for City as their 3-1 win at home against Lech Poznan just two weeks ago seemed like a distant memory.
The game began at a high tempo and it was City who was on top. Adam Johnson and Shaun Wright-Phillips created a series of chances down the flanks; however, they were unable to silence the fabulous home support. In the 17th minute City almost took the lead, as in-form striker Emmanuel Adebayor had a header cleared off the line. The resulting ball fell to Patrick Vieira to chip back in to the box and the Frenchman’s effort skimmed the crossbar before landing to the feet of Johnson. The England international then delivered a perfect cross for Derek Boyata although the young defender could only manage to direct his header straight at the goalkeeper.
In the 30th minute the home side went in front, against the run of play. A Lech counter-attack was broken up by Vieira, however, his headed clearance unfortunately fell to Dimitrijie Injac outside the box, allowing the Serbian midfielder to unleash a low left-footed drive past Shay Given to take a surprising lead.
Roberto Mancini substituted the increasingly disappointing Shaun Wright-Phillips at the break and replaced him with Spanish winger David Silva. It appeared to have had an effect, as before long City were back on level terms. An in-swinging corner from James Milner was met by Adebayor, whose powerful header could only be parried by the keeper before the front-man smashed the ball into the net from close range.
In what was a very even 60 minutes of football, both teams lacked quality in the final third and sought to expose one another through vulnerable full-backs. In truth, the game lacked the killer instinct of a Carlos Tevez.
As the match progressed into the final ten minutes both sides looked content with a draw, although that would not be the case. In the 86th minute Lech received a truly remarkable slice of good fortune. A poor free-kick was delivered into the penalty area allowing Boyata to head comfortably away, however, his clearance rebounded straight off the head of Poznan defender Manuel Arboleda and into the net. The stadium erupted and a win was on the cards for the Polish champions.
There was just enough time for Lech to pile further misery on to under-fire Roberto Mancini. In contrast to the second goal, the third was a delight; Mateusz Mozden found the ball at his feet from 30 yards out and struck a magical shot passed an outstretched Given and in to the top left-hand corner of the City goal. The fabulous strike had killed the game in the 91st minute.
Manchester City will now undergo a media assault as to why the team is not performing as they should. Consequently, Group A is left wide open following the defeat, with Roberto Mancini’s men in second place and Juventus following closely behind in third.
Manchester City will now undergo a media assault as to why the team is not performing as they should. Consequently, Group A is left wide open following the defeat, with Roberto Mancini’s men in second place and Juventus following closely behind in third.
