Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini looked on with pride last night as his side shot to the top of the Premier League after a 4-0 demolition of Newcastle United.
City were exceptional for the full 90 minutes and the Magpies had no response to the Blues’ new-look team.
The pressure was on City to perform after Manchester United and Chelsea both recorded comfortable wins on the weekend.
The new City boss expressed his delight after the game as his side had produced some promising football.
“I am very happy, not only because we won but the way we played – that was the most important thing,” Pellegrini told the BBC.
“We played as an aggressive team without the ball and that’s important if we want to be an offensive team.”
Debutants Fernandinho and Jesus Navas impressed their manager and the Eastland’s crowd with dazzling performances.
“Jesus Navas played very wide, he is very dangerous with his crosses inside the area and Fernandinho played for 90 minutes with and without the ball. I am very happy with both of them,” he said.
City dominated the early proceedings and David Silva rewarded the Blues with an early goal.
More goals quickly followed after a clinical finish from usual suspect Sergio Aguero who doubled City’s lead with just 22 minutes on the clock.
The match went from bad to worse for Alan Pardew’s men just before half-time when Steven Taylor purposely landed a flailing arm on the crown of Aguero’s head.
This red-mist moment gave referee Andre Marriner no choice in showing the defender a straight red card.
After the break Pellegrini’s men continued to dominate the 10 man side, with Yaya Toure adding to the hosts’ total by curling in a well-struck free-kick.
The onslaught was soon complete when substitute Samir Nasri latched onto a pass intended for Edin Dzeko in the 75th minute and expertly finished past the sprawling Krul.
Pellegrini said: “It’s a very good start but I was very confident that the team would play well, we worked very hard during pre-season.
“We were trying another style of football and maybe we must continue to improve but for the first match, it was good.”
The Eastlands boss also mentioned the quality performance of ‘super-sub’ Edin Dzeko who’s performance after starting deserved a hat-full of goals.
Pellegrini said: “It’s a pity that Dzeko didn’t score, he had some clear chances but I think the same thing about my team; he worked hard with and without the ball and I’m sure he will score a lot of goals this season.”
Dzeko is rewarding his new manager’s confidence with performances Wolfsburg supporter had come accustomed to seeing from him before his transfer to City in 2011.
Dzeko said: “The new manager brings something different to us, especially to me. He gives me confidence and that’s what I needed.”
Image courtesy of MCFC via Youtube, with thanks
For more on this story and many others, follow Mancunian Matters on Twitter and Facebook.
