There is panic at Manchester city especially after losing the Manchester derby a fortnight ago that saw rivals united stretch their lead to six points.
There is panic at Manchester city especially after losing the Manchester derby a fortnight ago that saw rivals united stretch their lead to six points.The citizens have already been eliminated from all European competitions and chances of winning silverware this season lie entirely on domestic competitions. They are not involved in the Capital One Cup and only have to set pace for the FA cup and premier league.Roberto Manchini seems to be struggling tactically at the moment coupled with injury crisis at the citizens’ camp. For example at the start of the season, Manchini used a 5-4-1 formation with either Aguero or Tevez leading the attack. Recently he seemed to have resorted to a 4-4-2 formation and perhaps this is due to the increasing injury list within City’s midfield.The 4-4-2 formation has not worked well and City strikers have failed to coordinate in scoring crucial goals for the team that is increasingly reliant on its midfield force. City midfielders are more creative in attack than their strikers. Silva and Yaya Toure have produced many assists and scored crucial goals for city than the strikers. Magnificent performance from the duo helped city clinch their first title last season in as many decades.Manchester City striking force is built on both Silva and Yaya Toure and a slump in their form affects the overall performance of the team. The main problem for city is that the two men have not been consistent this season. Silva has suffered some few injuries and knocks whereas Yaya has suffered some episodes of poor performance and fatigue.Yaya Toure has been on the pitch so many times than any other city player. He has not been spared for any game right from last season and has lost several key physical battles due to fatigue. Spanish international Silva has not also performed to his expectation this season even at times when he is deemed fit. He has not been very creative in front of goal compared to last season. His final pass is no longer decisive and therefore not reliant for city to win games.Of course City do possess players that does a lot of running upfront but the physical strength from city strikers has not helped the club earn enough goals to win matches.Carlos Tevez, Mario Ballotelli, Edin Dzeko and Sergio Aguerro have good physical shape and strength but have struggled to score in tight situations. Against Manchester united, goals came from midfielder Yaya Toure and defender Pablo Zabaleta. This shows how impotent city strikers have become of recent. In crucial games, you expect strikers to be highly focused and score goals to win games.It is perhaps the reason why Manchester united emerged winners of the game. Strikers Robin Van Persie and Wayne Rooney are in good shape and bagged goals for united that helped win the derby match. United strikers are more clinical in front of goal than a wealthy city attack.One of the reasons behind early champions’ league exit for the citizens’ is their lack of goal scoring ability. European underdog Borrussia Dortmund and Ajax Amsterdam exploited City’s weakness to correct crucial points that marked their progression in European competitions. Dortmund has qualified for the knock out phase of the lucrative champions league where as Ajax Amsterdam has gone to Europa on the expense of citizens.Manchester city situation should be worrying at the moment because there injury crisis has deepened of recent. City captain Vicent Kompany will be missing for some few weeks after he picked a groin injury during the Manchester derby. His absence means veteran Kolo Toure might continue as his replacement in central defense.The Ivorian international lacks concentration and stamina to handle high temple games. This means city could soon leak goals and worsen their stand in the premier league. It will be very disastrous for city to lose more games in the premier league as United will stretch their lead further. City might also lose their current premier league standing especially as teams WestBrom, Tottenham and Chelsea are on the rise.Chelsea has regained their winning streak under Rafael Benitez and could challenge city for the second spot after their club world cup mission in Japan.