The international break did some good for Man City because in the first of their six matches following the international break they beat Swansea 2-1 at home in the EPL. Man City's Champions League chances were kept on life support thanks to a hat trick by Sergio Aguero to beat Bayern Munich 3-2 at home. That qualify form carried over into the EPL as Man City trounced Southampton 3-0 on the road to jump leapfrog them into second place in the EPL standings. Man City followed that up with another road victory in the EPL, this time 4-1 over Sunderland. Man City returned home for a hard fought 1-0 victory over Everton in the EPL just hours after Chelsea lost to Newcastle to narrow Chelsea's lead in the table to just three points. Man City not only won their sixth match in a row with a 2-0 road win over Roma in the Champions League but thanks to a CSKA loss to Bayern Munich, Man City improbably qualified for the knockout stages of the Champions League thanks to taking 6 points in their last two Champions League matches after they earned just two points in their first four matches.
Here are my updated player rankings for Man City following their best six match stretch (so far) of the 2014-15 season:
6) Samir Nasri (M, LR 7): If Man City are somehow able to win the Champions League this year, there is no doubt that Nasri's howler that put Man City up 1-0 over Roma will go down as one of the more important goals in club history. Last year I was bummed that Man City finished second in their group to Bayern Munich because it mean that they faced Barcelona in the knockout stage. This year, I am just happy to see Man City progress to the knockout stage. Given Champions League knockout stage rules, since Man City finished second in their group they will face one of the eight group winners but cannot face the team from their group (Bayern Munich) or another club from their country (Chelsea), which leaves six other teams that Man City could face in the knockout stage. Here are my rankings of the match-ups from best to worst for Man City: FC Porto, AS Monaco, Athletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona, and Real Madrid. It is all gravy in the Champions League at this point given how dire things looked just two matches ago in the group stages. As long as Man City do NOT have to face Real Madrid or Barcelona in the knockout stages, I like their chances to move onto the quarterfinals and one step closer to a Champions League title.
2014-15 Player Rankings 3.0 |
1. Sergio Aguero (F, LR 1) 2. Vincent Kompany (D, LR 2) 3. Yaya Toure (M, LR 3) 4. David Silva (M, LR 4) 5. Pablo Zabaleta (D, LR 5) 6. Samir Nasri (M, LR 7) 7. Edin Dzeko (F, LR 6) 8. Joe Hart (GK, LR 8) 9. James Milner (M, LR 9) 10. Jesus Navas (M, LR 10) 11. Eliaquim Mangala (D, LR 15) 12. Stevan Jovetic (F, LR 13) 13. Aleksandar Kolarov (D, LR 11) 14. Fernandinho (M, LR 12) 15. Fernando (M, LR 14) 16. Gael Clichy (D, LR 16) 17. Martin Demichelis (D, LR 17) 18. Bacary Sagna (D, LR 18) 19. Willy Caballero (GK, LR 19) 20. José Ángel Pozo (M, LR 23) 21. Dedryck Boyata (D, LR 20) 22. Scott Sinclair (M, LR 22) 23. Matija Nastasic (D, LR 21) 24. Sinan Bytyqi (M, LR 24) 25. Frank Lampard (M, LR 25) 26. Richard Wright (GK, LR 26) |
20) José Ángel Pozo (M, LR 23): With Sergio Aguero out until at least the start of 2015 and possibly longer, the third striker available to Pellegrini is Pozos, which seems downright crazy given that Man City is one of the richest clubs in the world. Some referred to Pozos as "Mini Messi", in the words of Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers R-E-L-A-X. Sure Rodgers used relax differently than I am using it here but let's keep in mind that Pozos is only 18 years old while Messi is arguably the best club striker of all-time even though he is only 27 years old. Before you get too excited, note the use of the word "club". I know Messi has NOT won a World Cup with Argentina, which is why I said he is the most successful club striker. If Messi were to somehow win a World Cup in 2018 in Russia or 2022 in Qatar, with all due respect to Pele, he will go down as the best striker of all-time. Back to Pozos, the fact that he is the third option at striker with Aguero out is exactly the reason that I did NOT support Man City's decision to loan out striker Alvaro Negredo to help comply with UEFA Financial Fair Play Regulations. Let's hope that Pozos can grow up fast or Aguero can recover from injury sooner rather expected, otherwise Man City's title chase could be over before the start of 2015 because of Man City's packed but relatively easy EPL slate for the rest of 2014: road against Leicester, home against Crystal Palace, road against West Brom, and home against Burnley. That does NOT mean Man City should get complacent though because anything less than 12 points will be a disappointment.
Check back following Man City's match at home against Burnley for my thoughts on how Man City manager Manuel Pellegrini should approach the January transfer window.
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