Manchester City make it two wins from two
Jovetic scores first Premier League brace
Balotelli watches his new side lose
Manchester City delivered an early statement of intent as the
Premier League champions comfortably overcame last season's runners-up
Liverpool at Etihad Stadium. Stevan Jovetic scored either side of half-time to
punish Liverpool, who dominated much of the first half without creating
the opportunities to go with their excellent work-rate and approach
work.
And as Liverpool's new
£16m signing Mario Balotelli
watched from the directors' box against his former club, any hopes
of a comeback were snuffed out when Sergio Aguero slid home the third 23
seconds after coming on as substitute for the injured Edin Dzeko. Pablo Zabaleta's own goal at least got Liverpool on the
scoresheet but the last 20 minutes were played out as a formality, such
was City's control.
Jovetic's first season at City was hampered by injuries
but he has form for tormenting Liverpool after scoring twice against
them in Fiorentina's Champions League win in 2009 and he showed his
quality again here. Liverpool are in a period of transition with nine new signings this summer following the
departure of Luis Suarez to Barcelona.
And, while they were the better side for the first 40
minutes, they never recovered from an error by debutant Alberto Moreno
that allowed City to take the lead just before half-time. The pleasure for Manchester City manager Manuel
Pellegrini will not just come from the victory, but also from the fact
that it was achieved without ever truly hitting the heights against the
team who pushed them to the final day of last season's title race.
For City, without needing to be at their best, this was very much business as usual for the reigning champions. Liverpool will obviously miss a player of Suarez's
world-class calibre but Rodgers must also be given time to bed in his
reshaped squad, and these early days of the season will represent a work
in progress.
Rodgers will also be hoping the maverick Balotelli will
provide the sort of X-factor Suarez provided without the accompanying
unsavoury headlines once he gets down to business after completing his
move from AC Milan.
Liverpool's greater strength in midfield numbers and
intense pressing posed problems for City until the deadlock was broken
after 41 minutes in a manner the visitors' manager would have found
hugely unsatisfactory. Dejan Lovren attempted to find Moreno with a header in
the area but the £12m signing from Sevilla hesitated, allowing Jovetic
to pounce and beat Simon Mignolet.
If Jovetic's first goal owed something to a Liverpool
lapse, his second, 10 minutes after the restart, was a superb team goal
started and finished by the talented Montenegrin. Jovetic's brilliant flick set Samir Nasri free and he
continued his run into the area to end a prolonged period of City
passing with another emphatic finish.
City wrapped things up in remarkable fashion with 21 minutes
left. Aguero made his entrance to replace Dzeko and, within seconds, he
was running on to Jesus Navas's perfect pass to beat Mignolet from a
tight angle. Liverpool pulled a goal back when Zabaleta turned into
his own net after a far-post scramble with Rickie Lambert, but there was
no consolation on offer here, only the concern of defender Glen Johnson
limping off with what looked like a groin injury.
Rodgers will hope Balotelli can help bridge the gap
between the sides over the course of a season but this was an
impressively understated win from City.
Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini:
"We worked the whole game and played a very good team. We worked
without the ball for 95 minutes and with the ball we made enough danger
to score three goals.
"When you play against a strong team you have to
concentrate and our concentration and intensity was good. Liverpool are
an important team and one that will be fighting for the title. It's so
important to get six points from our first two games as it was a very
difficult start for us.
"Stevan Jovetic was very unlucky last season and he had
so many injuries. He has been patient and worked very hard to come
again. We bought him because he is a very good player, he had a good
pre-season and I'm very happy for him - he deserves it. "We need four strikers. At this moment Stevan is doing
very well but you cannot forget Alvaro Negredo is injured. Edin Dzeko
and Jovetic and Aguero are working well. It is important that they
continue playing the way they did."
