Manchester C 3 Fulham 0:THE AMBITION and the superstition both start to increase at this stage of the programme. Roberto Mancini can look suave, but managers are anxious at heart and they hate to be told that their team is well placed. In their view, that sort of talk is sure to conjure up a jinx.
While Manchester City are the most prolific side in the Premier League, Mancini has no difficulty in keeping his men and himself on edge. “Manchester United can win all their games,” he said, “because they are strong like us.”
Following this simple win over Fulham, Mancini also had a distaste for the notion that an easier stretch of the programme lies before the Premier League leaders while United face a challenging series of fixtures that has now begun with their visit to Chelsea.
“All the remaining games are difficult,” said Mancini. “You are playing against top squads. Some of them are at the bottom and are fighting relegation, so there are no easy games.”
Even so, he must see a promising period before him. Between now and a match with Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium on March 19th the sole encounter with a team in the top half of the table is a game at Swansea City, who stand 10th.
Mancini would not deny, at least, being relieved that the African Cup of Nations will soon be over, since the Toure brothers will, at the very latest, be able to return following Sunday’s final, should Ivory Coast get that far.
Inevitably, the City midfield has been depleted by the absence of Yaya. “We had our difficult moments in January,” he said, but added: “Also in this month we beat an important team like Tottenham, we beat Liverpool, so it was not all bad.”
This fixture with Fulham was another small piece of encouragement.
With Bobby Zamora sold to Queens Park Rangers, the visitors had barely any presence in attack. Their fans have larger concerns, bemoaning the contrast with the reign of Roy Hodgson when Fulham, for instance, eliminated Juventus on the way to the 2010 Europa League final.
Days like that will not come around very often, but those supporters do expect better and are unhappy over, for instance, the purchase of Bryan Ruiz, a substitute here, for €12.7 million. Martin Jol, the Fulham manager, said: “You go to City, you expect a defeat, one or two nil,” but he was peeved by the “lack of urgency”.
The sum of €7.2 million taken in for the 30-year-old Zamora will not seem such good business if no one else can bring purpose to the attack. City had nothing to trouble them so they got on with scoring. Sergio Aguero relished the day and the penalty he converted in the 10th minute galvanised him.
That spot-kick was awarded when Chris Baird connected with Adam Johnson’s outstretched leg. “I felt the contact so I just went down,” said the winger. “These things happen.” It seemed a manufactured offence and had the result not been conclusive there would have been acrimony.
With half an hour gone Johnson sent over a low ball which Baird turned into his own net.
The scoring was completed by Edin Dzeko in the 70th minute after he too had been set up by Johnson. City had other causes to be glad and Samir Nasri, often a misfit since arriving at City, flourished as a deep-lying playmaker. He went off 10 minutes after the interval but the contest was over even then.
Aguero had contributed to that. “He’s knows he can do better,” the goalkeeper Joe Hart said in the conviction that the attacker can considerably increase the total of 15 League goals he has this season: “He’s got a lot more to offer and he’ll be awesome for City when that happens.”
