Middlesbrough 8 Manchester City 1:THE OFF-THE-FIELD farce that has been Manchester City for the past few weeks found its way on to the pitch as their season ended in disarray with the side humiliated and Sven-Goran Eriksson heading for the exit.
The manager was immediately summoned to a meeting with representatives of the owner, Thaksin Shinawatra, with the Swede last night expected to be relieved of his duties with immediate effect.
"I don't know about an announcement, but I expect to speak to people from the owner's side. Or should I say, they will speak to me, " he said after his team gave Middlesbrough their biggest top-flight result in 58 years. A £2.5-million pay-off and immediate re-employment as Benfica manager will soften the blow.
The uncertainty over Eriksson's future had clearly affected the players. "For sure to live with this insecurity is never good for anyone," he added.
A return of seven victories in 28 games since the start of December is hardly the kind of form to have supporters singing your name, yet that is what happened. That City had been torn apart hardly seemed to matter.
Eriksson takes his leave with the club on the verge of qualifying for Europe, their Uefa Cup entrance via the fair-play league expected to be rubber-stamped tomorrow, although the early sending off of his captain, Richard Dunne, makes the wait a little more tense.
Until yesterday, Middlesbrough were among the sides you would most want to face having been reduced to 10 men after only 15 minutes. They had not scored more than twice in a game all season but put paid to that damning statistic with six goals in 32 stunning second-half minutes.
The two before the interval settled the contest, Stewart Downing adding insult to Dunne's second red card of the season, harshly awarded for unintended contact with Tuncay Sanli, by shooting past Andreas Isaksson from the penalty spot. Afonso Alves steered home the second from just inside the area after incisive work from Tuncay and Fabio Rochemback eight minutes before the break.
The second half was show-time after Downing's volley sprang the floodgates. Alves chipped past Isaksson before the substitute Adam Johnson saw his 20-yard effort deflected in off Michael Ball, then Rochemback, with his last goal before an expected summer return to Sporting Lisbon, signed off with a 30-yard free-kick.
There was still time for three goals in the last five minutes, Elano's well-struck consolation from the edge of the box sandwiched between a low, angled drive from Jeremie Aliadiere and Alves sweeping home his hat-trick in stoppage time.
"We were terrible," conceded Eriksson. "You can use whatever word you like and I'd probably agree. After three-nil we were somewhere else, and it's not good for the club's image." Neither was the sight of City fans in clashes with police as their frustration spilled over on the final whistle.
"It was a mad day," Boro's manager, Gareth Southgate, said. "Their circumstances weighed heavily on them but if you've done the sort of job Sven has then you can walk away with your head high. It's a situation he's better off out of."
