English League Cup semi-final - Manchester City 2 Manchester Utd 1:IT IS much too soon to tell whether Manchester City have been transformed, but Carlos Tevez is certainly in the midst of an astonishing upsurge. His burst of scoring continued with two goals here. The lead is slim but City have hope of negotiating the second leg of this League Cup semi-final, when Tevez will aim to knock out his former employers.
There was a taste of what lies ahead in the barrage achieved here as United pursued an equaliser. Substitute Nedum Onuoha kicked an effort from another substitute, United’s Michael Owen, off the line and Shay Given turned a Wayne Rooney drive over the bar.
Tevez’s equaliser for City in the 42nd minute was perplexing since the visitors dominated the first half as if their opponents had never been drenched in the torrent of Sheikh Mansour’s wealth.
United had a command they did not necessarily enjoy even when City were poor. Roberto Mancini, the City manager, must have feared that and had tried to put an emphasis on solidity, but the effect was to subdue his men without attaining security.
It added to the vulnerability when United moved ahead in the 17th minute. Craig Bellamy, scurrying back to cover on the left, was beaten by Antonio Valencia and the winger hit a low cross that Rooney knocked against the goalkeeper Given, with Ryan Giggs knocking in the rebound, for his first goal against City since 1996.
The response by Mancini was to keep Bellamy in a deep position on the left, presumably in the hope sheer numbers would check United in that area.
Tactics, all the same, had no bearing on the equaliser. Rafael da Silva clutched Bellamy’s jersey and maintained his grip as the Welshman entered the area. Having presumably played an initial advantage, the referee, Mike Dean, whistled for a penalty.
Tevez lashed the ball high past the left hand of Edwin van der Sar from the spot-kick. There was joy and gloating in equal measure of home fans recalling Alex Ferguson’s decision not to pay the €29 million that would have kept the Argentinian on United’s books.
Ferguson’s line-up was about as strong as injuries allowed, even if there was no involvement for Dimitar Berbatov, whose fitness and form have been in doubt. The City manager cannot have as many selection dilemmas as he would like. His predecessor, Mark Hughes, with adroit timing, was sacked just when the replacement could settle down with the prospect of some simple wins. Mancini duly racked up four victories in low-intensity matches, but the Italian is too experienced to suffer from false encouragement.
He cannot have been wholly surprised by the loss to Everton on Saturday. The manager continues to consider his options and the 19-year-old Dedryck Boyata was given his second start. It is no coincidence that opportunity should be extended to a centre-half.
Hughes’ hold on the job became slack largely because his outlay had purchased scant security. Mancini is still to achieve it, but his side could have broken the deadlock if Tevez had not misdirected a header from Shaun Wright-Phillips in the 23rd minute. His impact was merely delayed.
The game could hardly stay at such a pitch and United also had to calm themselves after being convinced no offence had been committed on Bellamy inside the area. Collectively, too, the clubs were on the brink of remembering this was simply the first episode in the tie.
Tevez put a stop to any placidity with his second goal. Bellamy’s corner in the 65th minute was deep and when Pablo Zabaleta headed it down Vincent Kompany lobbed the ball into the centre for the striker to nod past Van der Sar.
United reacted, with Ferguson soon sending on Owen for the midfielder Anderson. It was a sign of City’s impact United felt bound to chase the game. The second leg now looks all the more intriguing.
Guardian Service
MANCHESTER CITY:Given, Zabaleta, Richards, Boyata (Onuoha 69), Garrido, De Jong, Kompany, Barry, Wright-Phillips (Sylvinho 84), Tevez (Mwaruwari 79), Bellamy. Subs not used:Taylor, Ireland, Robinho, Petrov. Booked: De Jong.
MANCHESTER UTD:Van der Sar, Rafael Da Silva (Diouf 90), Brown, Jonathan Evans, Evra, Anderson (Owen 72), Carrick, Fletcher, Valencia (Scholes 88), Rooney, Giggs. Subs not used:Kuszczak, Neville, Park, Fabio Da Silva. Booked: Rafael Da Silva, Van der Sar.
Referee:Mike Dean (Wirral).
