Sunday 22 November 2009

Liverpool reax

Paul Wilson, The Observer

To say Manchester City gave away their advantage cheaply is an understatement. For such an expensively assembled team, they displayed the experience and professionalism of schoolboys in allowing Liverpool to score straight from the restart, less than a minute after City had taken the lead. "We were in a winning position again and we let it slip through not defending correctly," Hughes said. "That's a frustration for us at present; mistakes at key moments are costing us dearly. The players in the dressing room are quite disappointed – it feels like a chance missed."

Andrew Longmore, Sunday Times

“We’ve come to Anfield, scored two goals and got a draw, yet my players are there in the dressing room disappointed,” said the City manager. “That shows how far we’ve come.” Whether Sheikh Mansour, the billionaire owner of City, will see it the same way is open to doubt. Hughes claimed his side were tactically “spot on” in the first half. The 44,000 or so inside Anfield might have used other adjectives: dour, dire, sterile. Pick any one. When the fourth official signalled six minutes of stoppage time, the whole ground groaned in dismay.

Steve Tongue, Independent on Sunday

Although Mark Hughes did not agree, they could have shown greater adventure earlier on, rather than waiting until falling behind soon after half-time. Once he then brought on Carlos Tevez for a characteristically whole-hearted half-hour, City were in the ascendant, scoring twice but immediately losing concentration and conceding again. "Tactically we got it spot-on and always looked dangerous on the break," Hughes said. "Carlos made a real difference and at 2-1 I thought we'd have gone on and won the game quite comfortably. I've got a group of players sitting in the dressing-room quite disappointed."

Rory Smith, Sunday Telegraph

Hughes, on the other hand, must query whether a side boasting more than £90 million of attacking talent should be held to a draw by a team missing six first-team regulars and bereft of all confidence.

The latter is, perhaps, more pressing. This was City’s sixth consecutive draw, and while neither side covered themselves in glory, it was a better result for the visitors than the hosts, despite Hughes’s slightly disingenuous suggestion that City were the better side. “We felt we would have seen the game out quite comfortably had we defended the second goal properly,” he said. “But we have come to Anfield and we are disappointed with a draw. Previous City sides would have been delighted with that. Maybe that shows how far we have come.”

Rob Draper, Mail on Sunday

City or Liverpool for fourth place? On this evidence Aston Villa and Tottenham have as much chance, the draw meaning that a desperate run of results continues for Liverpool, with just one victory in 10 games, while City, unable to defend the leads their forwards secure, have now recorded their own unsatisfactory sequence of six successive league draws.

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