Why Man City is reaching the zenith of EPL

Victoriuos….yet again

Strong defence, sleek playmaking, players moving around with the ball leaving the opposition flummoxed – these are some of the many glaring features of Manchester City’s playmaking abilities. Their present run of form in the EPL is reminiscent of what Barcelona displayed, a form that guided them to victory in La Liga for the past few seasons.

Let’s face facts first; The team is owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, a powerful and rich politician cum businessman from the United Arab Emirates. In that context, earmarking money to buy talented and in-demand players during the transfer season is hardly a problem. In his endeavour for strengthening his squad, we are now witness to a squad that is working like a well-oiled machine. More often than not, the opposition’s attack is left in tatters and the defence is found to be helpless in the face of City’s onslaught. Here are the players that have made life difficult for opponents.

• Sergio Aguero – The eye for goal that this Argentinian fireball possesses in phenomenal. Speed coupled with accuracy together make for the USP of this player.

• David Silva – The former Valencia winger has contributed immensely to City’s playmaking in the mid-field position that he assumed on arrival. Classy and a great footballing sense and when Silva and Aguero are in sync, the opposition’s defence is bound to capitulate.

• Edin Dzeko – Tall and burly physique and accurate strikes are attributes that make Dzeko most suitable for the position of striker.

• Mario Balotelli – Fans and critics alike call him arrogant and egoistic but the fact still remains – as a striker, his abilities cannot be questioned.

• Samir Nasri – How can talks regarding the Manchester City’s playmaking go on without a mention of Nasri. The former Arsenal winger has been sharp in his passes and ruthless in his strikes for goal.

• Yaya Toure – The Ivorian has perfected his role as a box-to-box midfielder for City this season. Lately he is proving to be a deadly force, a fact concretised in last night’s match against Villareal where City won 3-0 out of which Toure scored two.

• Vincent Kompany – The Belgian defender is an ox as far as stalling the opposition’s attack is concerned. Can go to any lengths to try and stop a goal eg – the red card that he received for the last man tackle during Man City’s match against Wolves last weekend.

Kompany in action

• Nigel De Jong – Has proved to be highly efficient as a defensive midfielder for City. Rarely does anything go past this fellow.

Picture Perfect

• Joe Hart – What is a good team without a good goalkeeper? Hart has proved to be an effective shield, preventing bullet like strikes from touching the back of the net.

The synchronization between the defence and the midfield is immaculate and in case a defence lapse does take place, they can always count on this goalkeeper to save face.

The only thing that is worrisome is the lack of experience – the experience that United or any other international big-wigs like Barcelona or Manchester United have regarding toughing things out on European evenings, namely the Champions League, case in point the misdemeanours of the once trustworthy Carlos Tevez against Bayern Munich or the draw against Napoli. The silver lining in the otherwise lacklustre European cloud was evident in last night’s dominating performance against Villareal. Manager Roberto Mancini can only hope and pray that the high of this recent victory and the famed 6-1 demolition that was laid upon United doesn’t fade away and that City carries on dominating and plundering teams in its progress towards the League title and if possible, being crowned as the Champions of Europe.

FA Cup victory from last season. EPL in sight this season