Efficiently taking down relegation material at home is a performance performed by champions but unfortunately not when they end three games without a win.
It was the flattery after the deception for Manchester City, with Carlos Tevez choosing to flatter enough to move his side five points behind Manchester United at the top of the table.
The captain’s hat-trick took him to twenty goals for the season but more importantly, el Apache looks over the mid-season wobble when he wanted out. Three goals on your birthday tends to help.
The man who was supposed to be shouldering some of Tevez’s goalscoring responsibilities was only watching from the bench after Eden Dzeko was made scapegoat for the trio of winless games.
It was a strange call for Roberto Mancini to rest the new £27m striker as Dzeko opened his account last weekend and was looking lively despite having not played for over a month.
If you were allowed to handpick your fixtures then West Brom at home wouldn’t be far off first dabs. The Baggies came into the game with the worst defensive record in the league and looked like a presentable opportunity for Dzeko and Tevez to get another game together and exploit some loose defending.
As it was Tevez put the game to bed before half time with a a pair of penalties either side of slick link play with David Silva for the second. West Brom never looked like holding City at bay with Silva calling the tune in the final third and Aleksandr Kolarov giving width and threat wide left. The only thing missing was Dzeko to do his part.
Earlier in the season Mancini had been criticised for his deployment of Tevez as a lone frontman after City struggled to score and dropped points at Eastlands. The Italian pined for a new forward and Dzeko was deliver, but by sticking him on the bench for home games, does it solve any of the issues that Mancini sought him to correct?
Either way, it was three points coupled with United getting beat at Wolves that has reigned the Reds back in a bit with the derby at Old Trafford next weekend.
After United’s unbeaten spell was ended at Molineux, the gap between the pair should appear a lot psychologically closer to the chasing Blues.
The results will raise the City title talk again but the debate is futile. Of course they can win the league. Plenty of teams can still hypothetically win it but they can only control the controllables and shows like those at Aston Villa and Birmingham won’t win anything.
Any number of things could still happen in the title race so City must collect as many points as possible to ensure they can capitalise on any plunges. Regardless of what everyone else thinks, how Mancini approaches the derby will indicate whether he actually thinks they can win the league or not.
A blue day would not only cut the lead by another three points, it would put an indifferent United side under close scrutiny coming out of the final bend,
However, as has notably been the case, Mancini has preferred pragmatism when facing any of his fellow Champions League counterparts. 4-5-1 the dish of the day with the attacking lightly done.
Tevez has been marooned up front chasing balls you wouldn’t expect your dog to go after while the midfield look on from afar. Against Tottenham, United and Arsenal he has played for, and got, draws. Scoreless one’s at that.
Now armed with Dzeko - refreshed after a rest - Mancini could make a statement in the very least that they’ve not just come for a point. Playing more strikers is never a definate to score more goals and win more games, but City’s bids have been badly hindered by the lone striker’s isolation.
Overall City are good enough and will finish in the top four and although perhaps short of a full title push, the progress is still rising steadily as they go.
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