Man City 1-2 Wigan: Another earthquake!
Wigan are becoming Man City's nemesis. Less than a year after defeating Man City in the FA Cup final last season, Wigan created another earthquake with a 2-1 victory at the Etihad Stadium last night.
Goal:
Man City:Samir Nasri (68')
Wigan:Jordi Gomez (27'), James Perch (47')
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| Wigan had a brave match at Etihad |
Horseback riding with Wigan
Despite having a lot of ties with Wigan, Man City still decided to leave a series of key players such as Vincent Kompany, David Silva... to save energy for the away trip to Barcelona in the second leg of the 1/8 round of the Champions League in the middle of this week. That calculation of coach Manuel Pellegrini caused trouble for Man City, when the replacements he brought onto the field made one mistake after another.
Similar to the image of the FA Cup final at Wembley last season, Man City dominated the ball possession time but were deadlocked in approaching the goal. Without Silva, Man City's attacks lost their dynamism. Other strikers that coach Pellegrini had high hopes for, such as Samir Nasri and Jesus Navas, were also lackluster.
At the Etihad Stadium last night, Man City needed a conductor to take on the task of creating and distributing the ball to the two strikers Sergio Aguero and Alvaro Negredo in the front line. However, both Nasri and Navas almost only knew how to hold the ball and break through, instead of passing the ball to their teammates.
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Meanwhile, the absence of captain Kompany left Man City's backline leaderless. The central defenders Martin Demichelis and Joleon Lescott played a man-for-man style with almost no cover for each other. On the right flank, Micah Richards was strong but not smart. He often pushed forward, leaving Man City exposed on many occasions.
The laxity of the defenders cost Man City in the 27th minute, when Demichelis committed a foul in the penalty area and Wigan were awarded a penalty. From 11m away, Jordi Gomez easily defeated goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon to open the scoring. After this goal, the Man City defense still did not wake up. They continued to play like they were asleep and as a result, at the beginning of the second half, goalkeeper Pantilimon's net shook for the second time. This time the scorer was defender James Perch.
Shoot slow or die!
It was not until they were 0-2 down that coach Pellegrini brought David Silva and Edin Dzeko onto the pitch. From then on, Man City's attacks became more flexible and lively. Silva's excellent ball distribution ability helped the Etihad team create countless opportunities in front of the opponent's goal. After many consecutive missed opportunities, in the 68th minute, Nasri brought hope to Man City with a goal to reduce the score to 1-2.
This goal encouraged Pellegrini's players to rush forward. During the last 15 minutes of the match, the ball was almost exclusively on Wigan's field. However, Edin Dzeko let his teammates down by repeatedly squandering good chances.
A 1-2 defeat to Wigan saw Man City fall short of the FA Cup. Now, the dream of winning the domestic treble has officially ended for coach Pellegrini and his team.
Wigan to face Arsenal in semi-finals
After beating Man City, Wigan will face Arsenal in the FA Cup semi-finals. The other semi-final will be between Hull City and League One side Sheffield United. The FA Cup semi-finals will be held at Wembley on April 12 and 13.
NUMBERS
0 Man City did not have any shots on target against Wigan in the first half of the match.
6Thanks to Jordi Gomez's goal, Wigan have led at half-time for the sixth consecutive game.
7 With Jordi Gomez's penalty, Wigan ended a run of seven consecutive matches without scoring at the Etihad Stadium.
LINEUP
Man City:Pantilimon; Richards, Lescott, Demichelis, Clichy; Yaya Toure (Silva, 53'), Javi Garcia; Jesus Navas (Dzeko, 53'), Aguero, Nasri; Negredo (Milner, 53').
Wigan:Carson; Boyce, Perch, Ramis, Crainey; McManaman (McClean, 58'), McCann (Barnett, 45'), McArthur, McEachran (Espinoza, 66'), Gomez; Fortune.
Semi-final schedule
Hull City - Sheffield United
Wigan - Arsenal
According to Bongdaplus