Manchester City, 2010-2011 Season Review.

Manchester City, 2010-2011 Season Review.

After losing out on a Champions League place and a League Cup Final last year, Manchester City were eager to silence the critics this season, in what would arguably be the most important in the club’s history.

City began their season away at

White Hart Lane

against Tottenham. It was the very first Premier League fixture of the 2010-2011 season, because play started two  hours earlier than the other fixtures. Joe Hart produced one of the performances of the season to deny Tottenham an opening day goal – his impressive reflex save from Jermaine Defoe being the best.

And the opening day defence stood tall once again, as Mario Balotelli converted his first Manchester City goal to give the Blues a 1-0 win away in Timisoara in the Europa League, meaning that City would take a lead back to the City of Manchester Stadium for the second leg.

A week later, City returned to their home ground, the City of Manchester Stadium, to face Liverpool. An impressive flowing display brushed Liverpool aside. A double from Carlos Tevez and a solitary goal from Gareth Barry helped City to a 3-0 victory.

But the celebrations couldn’t last for too long as attention turned back to the Europa League. FC Timisoara visited the City of Manchester Stadium in the Europa League. Goals from Shaun Wright-Phillips and Dedryck Boyata ensured that Manchester City would be playing in the group stages of the competition.

City form in the league then took a turn for the worst when an away loss to Sunderland and a home draw against Blackburn – caused by a dreadful defensive mistake from Kolo Toure and Joe Hart – meant that City sat in 8^th position in the Premier League. However, wins over Red Bull Salzburg and Wigan Athletic put City in good positions in domestic and European competitions. David Silva and Yaya Toure scored their first goals for Manchester in each game.  But City crashed out of the League Cup at the first hurdle, losing 2-1 to West Brom.

The unbeaten Chelsea came to the City of Manchester Stadium, but the City defence lasted the battering for 90 minutes again. Carlos Tevez scored the only goal of the game to give City the three points. This game sent out a real message and made the rest of world football look up and take notice.


The end of September was signalled by a home draw to European giants Juventus. Adam Johnson’s goal secured a point for the Blues as they headed to the top of their Europa League group.

In October, wins over Newcastle and Blackpool saw City sit 2^nd in the Premier League. But once again the attention turned to the Europa League, and the visit of Lech Poznan. City won the game 3-1, thanks to an Emmanuel Adebayor hat-trick, but it was a certain dance performed by the Lech Poznan that stole the headlines in the end. And the rest, they say, is history.

Three losses on the bounce to Arsenal, Wolves and Lech Poznan saw the Blues hit their worst form of the season. City had slipped to 4^th in the Premier League, but two Mario Balotelli goals saw Manchester City overcome West Brom.

The first Manchester Derby of the season was a forgettable one. A disappointing, cautious 0-0 draw had the City fans unable to raise a smile. And the same thing happened again when Birmingham visited the City of Manchester Stadium. Another 0-0 draw, and City’s November wasn’t looking good.

Away to Fulham, City pulled off what was arguably their best performance of the season. A 4-1 win shocked pundits, due to City’s overwhelming and impressive nature. Carlos Tevez scored two, Pablo Zabaleta rifled one in, and Yaya Toure finished off a 24-pass move to give City the points. A solitary goal from Zoltan Gera proved worthless in the end, but it did slightly spoil what could have been an absolutely perfect day. A visit to the Britannia Stadium and Stoke City saw City lose a lead in the last minute, and draw 1-1.

But it was time for another City legend in City folklore to appear. In the 3-0 home win over Red Bull Salzburg in the Europa League, Mario Balotelli scored two and Adam Johnson found a mazy run through the defence to score an impressive goal. But once again, the travelling club City faced brought their own little bit of City history. Red Bull’s Brazilian striker Alan was the butt of the jokes, with his rather English-sounding name sparking immediate popularity. In fact, I’ll bet more than half of his friends on Facebook are City fans!
Wins over Bolton, West Ham, Newcastle and Aston Villa saw City rise to 2^nd again in the Premier League, and a draw away to Juventus saw City sit comfortably in 1^st place in their Europa League group. City progressed to the next round of the competition, and things were looking up heading into 2011, and another win over Blackpool and an impressive point away at Arsenal kept City in 2^nd place in the beginning of the new year.

A draw away to Leicester in the 3^rd round of the FA Cup saw Manchester City pay tribute to Neil Young – the former City legend recently diagnosed with terminal cancer. The game finished 2-2, with James Milner scoring his first goal for City, before a Carlos Tevez goal and a Joe Hart forced a replay. Before the game, Manchester City had signed Edin Dzeko in the January transfer window for a huge £27m, and he impressed on his debut in the 4-3 win over Wolves, but it was a Carlos Tevez double, and goals from brothers Kolo and Yaya Toure that won the game in the end.

Another tribute to Neil Young was paid ahead of the Leicester replay, with the City players parading the famous red and black strip before kick-off. The shirts were to be auctioned to raise money for the Neil Young Fund. City won the game 4-2, thanks to Carlos Tevez, Patrick Vieira, Adam Johnson and a first City goal for Aleksander Kolarov.

City lost away to Aston Villa in the league, and drew away to Notts. County in the FA Cup to slip to 3^rd from 1^st in the league, and have to play another replay respectively. Kolarov scored again as City drew 2-2 away to Birmingham, beat West Brom 3-0 and lost the second Manchester Derby of the season, thanks to a spectacular over-head kick by Wayne Rooney. City then went away to Greece to face Aris Thessaloniki, but the game finished 0-0. City then beat Notts. Count 5-0 in the replay, and Edin Dzeko scored 4 goals in the space of a week to see City progress in both the FA Cup and the Europa League.

City drew with Fulham at home, with Mario Balotelli scoring City’s goal. And a 3-0 win over Aston Villa in the FA Cup saw City progress to the Quarter-Finals of the competition. And a home in at home to Wigan Athletic put City 3^rd in the league. But a 2-0 loss away in Kiev saw Manchester City staring at elimination from the Europa League. But a 1-0 home win against Reading in the FA Cup set up a mouth-watering  FA Cup Semi-Final at Wembley between City and United – the third and last meeting of the season between these two sides.

City won the second leg of the Europa League 1-0, but it wasn’t enough to stay in the competition. City were out of the Europa League, and things only got worse when Chelsea strolled away with a 2-0 win over the Blues. City target David Luiz rubbed salt in the wounds with a flick on, and Ramires danced delicately through the City defence to secure the points for Chelsea. But a 5-0 win over Sunderland kept City in the top 4, and even a 3-0 loss to Liverpool wasn’t enough to knock City down in to fifth.

Just a few days later, the most important day in City’s recent history had arrived: Manchester City vs. Manchester United at Wembley Stadium for the first time ever. And it was City who came away victorious; a goal from Yaya Toure saw City progress to the FA Cup Final – their first in exactly 30 years.

Edin Dzeko scored his first ever Premier League goal in the away win over Blackburn Rovers, and gave Manchester City a 1-0 win. And goals from Nigel de Jong and Pablo Zabaleta secured a 2-1 win over West Ham. If City took two points from the remaining four Premier League games, then Champions League football would be secured for the 2011-2012. An away loss at Everton halted the celebrations, but a win over Tottenham – City’s closest rivals for fourth place – saw City’s top 4 status guaranteed. Champions League football at City – hold that thought.

And then, the FA Cup Final; Stoke City were the opponents, and Stoke City turned out to be the losers. A thumping strike from City’s Semi-Final hero Yaya Toure earned Manchester City a 1-0 win and their first major trophy win in 35 years: FA Cup glory. Carlos Tevez held the trophy aloft, the City fans cheered, and City were winners again.

City and Stoke met again in the league, and a fantastic double from Carlos Tevez and a solitary goal from Joleon Lescott gave City 3 goals and three points in their final home league fixture of the season. The City players and staff took the field to thank City’s fans for attending games in City’s most successful season since 1969.

And a 2-0 win on the last day at Bolton ensured that City would finish third in the Premier League and qualify for the Champions League group stages for the first time ever.

That blue moon is definitely rising over Manchester.