The ACN Match Review – Manchester City (h)

Biggest Positive

It’s been said before, but this match really won’t define our season. Yes, we lost 0-4. However, it is an often ignored quirk of the modern game that Manchester City have players that are really good at playing football. They also have a manager who is really good at telling people how to play football. This means that Manchester City are really good at playing football together, much better at it than most other teams. Therefore, Manchester City tend to win lots of football matches, often by scoring lots of goals without conceding any goals.  

That being said, Norwich produced some great chances in the first half, with the early one-on-one and Hanley’s header onto the post being particular highlights. A cynic would say that we should have put these chances away and taken a foothold in the match, an optimist would say that they would find the net against any other opponent, but let’s not to get bogged down in hypotheticals.

Biggest Negative

The scoreline was rather harsh for what was, for the most part, a thoroughly respectable performance for the Canaries. The first goal was a result of individual brilliance, the third a good team move. The second goal was an unfortunate mistake that was tantalisingly close to being cleared, the fourth the result of a soft penalty call that needed to be followed up after an excellent save.  

Once again, it’s unfortunate, but there are plenty more points up for grabs. No use crying over spilt milk. 

Atmosphere

The atmosphere from the home end began well enough, with the River End flags making for a handsome sight, but tailed off as the score line stacked up and Norwich found themselves increasingly on the back foot. If only there was something to drum up the home support… 

The Manchester City supporters experienced the opposite phenomena. They began quite, as can perhaps (somewhat depressingly) be expected from a set of supporters who have grown accustomed to winning of late. As their team went through the gears, the noise grew in intensity. Eventually, ‘Blue Moon’ reverberated around the ground. More so than this, they put on an impressive visual display with the whole away end joining in with the Poznan and the (admittedly kitsch) Yaya/Kolo Touré routines. This made for quite the spectacle. 

For a team often, somewhat unfairly, maligned for their home support, their away following is worthy of the praise. Of particular note was their continued use of ‘We never win at home and we never win away…’ Standing in juxtaposition to their current on-field heroics, it acts as a poignant reminder of their previous underdog status in a city long considered to be painted red. 

Norwich’s Star Performer

An honourable mention must go to Angus Gunn, who made some sublime saves throughout the match. But the star performer must be Brandon Williams. The Red Devils loanee, and Manchester native, stood up well to the onslaught of Sky Blue, whilst also adding attacking flair into the mix. It speaks volumes that he remained on the pitch long after his teammates had retired down the tunnel, clapping every stand.  

Summary

The Premier League is an unforgiving beast. The reward for a hard fought season in the second division is the right to go toe-to-toe with the finest teams, and most skilled players, in the land. These games are some of the most challenging a club like ours can face. Whilst they are not an insurmountable challenge, as we have proven in the past, they are also not the matches that will tip the balance between survival or relegation.