50 Years of Manchester City: The Best and Worst of Everything

By Steve Mingle

To celebrate 50 years of watching Manchester City, Steve Mingle presents an array of memories spanning the whole period. The Best and Worst of Everything includes heroes and villains, triumphs and disasters, moments of genius and heinous cock-ups. Here are Steve's most memorable games, players and incidents in a weird and wonderful range of categories. There's much to look back on with affection - the best wins at Old Trafford, the Goat's spawniest finishes, Bell's finest goals, the best wins with ten men - but also plenty of pain, as Steve looks back on the worst goalkeeping howlers, City's jinxes and the biggest villains ever to have darkened the club's doorways. Amongst all this, Steve selects his favourite hard men, pie-eaters and comedy moments as well as providing hard statistical input - who have really been City's penalty kings? Who do we wish we could have played every week? It's a fascinating book packed with memories good and bad, full of debating points for City fans of all ages.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Independent Publishers Group
• Release date: Oct 2, 2017
• ISBN: 9781785313615

Book preview

memories.

THERE’S something particularly satisfying about seeing your team score five, being as it is the minimum requirement to be able to say you dished out a right pasting. Here are ten of the most memorable occasions when, in the vernacular of the Football Pink, the Blues went nap. And they start with that very first game.

City 5 Sheffield United 2, Division One, September 1967

Despite four straight wins and some eye-catching football, City hadn’t yet made the rest of the league sit up and take notice, but at least they were starting to merit a few more column inches. The visit of lowly Sheffield United wasn’t expected to be too testing, but the way in which City put their opponents to the sword fully demonstrated the flair and talent at Joe Mercer and Malcolm Allison’s disposal.

The result was never in doubt, with Colin Bell, Neil Young and Mike Summerbee all scoring within the space of three first-half minutes. Alan Woodward pulled one back, but City soon restored the three-goal advantage when Mike Doyle’s long-range effort came back off the bar for Stan Bowles, making his league debut after bagging a brace as substitute in a League Cup tie three days earlier, to nod home. And after Peter Eustace slotted in the Blades’ second early in the second half, Bowles completed the scoring with the goal of the day, moving on to a lovely through ball from Neil Young to curl in a left-footer from 15 yards.

When this run of five victories was followed by three straight defeats, suggestions it was merely a flash in the pan were rife. But they would be silenced soon enough…

Strange But True: These were the only league goals which Stan scored for City in his 17 appearances. Other players to score twice in a single league game but never again were Barney Daniels in 1974 and Jack Rodwell in 2013.

City 5 Schalke 1, European Cup Winners’ Cup, April 1970

City came into the second leg of the semi-final 1-0 down. Schalke had impressed during the first game, and the outcome of the tie was reckoned to be too close to call.

But, on one of Maine Road’s most famous nights, City’s fluid attacking play was too much for the Germans to cope with. Mike Doyle and Alan Oakes took turns to surge forward in support of the forwards, and with the recalled Neil Young in vintage form the visitors were overwhelmed. Doyle jubilantly opened the scoring, storming through the middle to fire past Norbert Nigbur. Young added an almost identical goal five minutes later before hammering home a brilliant and crucial third in inimitable style just before half-time.

City’s dominance was so complete that the second half was completely stress-free, with Bell delightfully flicking home a fourth before Francis Lee thrashed home a typically unstoppable drive. Reinhard Libuda’s late consolation was an irrelevance, and Schalke manager’s Rudi Gutendorf’s assessment that City had played ‘football from another planet’ was a fitting eulogy to what many regard as the greatest performance of the Mercer-Allison era.

City 5 Wolves 2, Division One, January 1972

City were many people’s favourites in what was shaping up to be a thrilling title race, but Bill McGarry’s emerging Wolves side, with its potent spearhead of Derek Dougan and John Richards, were expected to present a difficult test. It was one which City passed with flying colours.

Tommy Booth rammed home the opener after Wyn Davies’s header had been cleared off the line, before the irrepressible Francis Lee took centre stage. When Tony Book played a precise ball inside the full-back, Lee sprinted in from the right touchline and headed at full pelt into the area. As the angle became more acute, and with no other options available, he simply put his foot through the ball and saw it thunder high past Phil Parkes into the roof of the net to score his best goal of what was proving to be a very prolific season.

The second half saw Tony Towers hit a long-range third before Lee completed his hat-trick with two more goals, the second a thumping volley. Richards’s double for Wolves was mere consolation as City completed a highly impressive victory which, with other results going their way, put them top of the table for the first time. There were plenty who expected them to stay there, and they did … until a certain southern showman arrived on the scene.

City 5 Charlton 1, Division Two, May 1985

City came into the season’s final match needing a win to secure a return to the top flight. Their form in recent weeks as the pressure built had been erratic and, despite the modest opposition, a huge crowd arrived at Maine Road expecting a nail-biting afternoon. For once, however, City allowed their fans to relax and enjoy themselves well before the final whistle.

An edgy start provided little indication of what was to come, with defensive nerves twice almost gifting the visitors the lead. But suddenly it all came good. David Phillips timed his run perfectly to slide home Paul Simpson’s cross after six minutes and, just nine minutes later, Andy May’s looping header from a corner squeezed just beneath the bar to double the lead.

The two-goal cushion wasn’t yet enough for everyone to relax, but when Jim Melrose’s superb header made it three, the atmosphere in the Kippax changed in an instant to one of celebration. The players immediately picked up on the mood, quickly adding further goals through Simpson and a brutal 20-yarder from Phillips, and the carnival atmosphere during the final 30 minutes was as joyous as Maine Road ever experienced. Charlton’s late consolation somehow added to the fun, being cheered by home fans who by now were drunk on the euphoria of promotion.

City 5 Manchester United 1, Division One, September 1989

This was one of the most famous and celebrated matches in the club’s history, partly because of the scoreline and opposition but also because of its sheer unexpectedness. City have had other big derby wins, but almost always achieved with teams of proven quality. Mel Machin’s side wasn’t in this category. With youth at its core, the team had struggled on its return to the top flight, earning just one win from the first five games and warming up for the big occasion by losing at Brentford in the League Cup. Worse still, million-pound man Clive Allen was injured. And although Ferguson’s United weren’t pulling up any trees themselves, it was reckoned to be only a matter of time before their host of big-money signings made an impact. They came into the game as hot favourites.

David Oldfield and Trevor Morley wouldn’t have been many Blues’s idea of a dream striking partnership, but on this day they were too much for United to handle. Aided by a shambolic display from Gary Pallister in particular, both scored within the first 15 minutes, and when Oldfield’s delicate cross was nodded home by the elegantly airborne Ian Bishop, City reached the interval a scarcely credible three goals to the good.

The last time they had been in this position was against Bournemouth four months earlier, so no one would be taking anything for granted. When Mark Hughes pulled one back ‘here we go again’ was the thought in the minds of all on the Kippax but, after a jittery few minutes, Oldfield restored the three-goal advantage before Andy Hinchcliffe headed the unforgettable, iconic fifth. Even City couldn’t mess this up, and the final 20 minutes were played out in front of an increasingly relaxed and jubilant home crowd. If anyone tells you they bet on this score before the match … they’re lying.

City 5 Burnley 1, Division One, December 2001

City’s promotion challenge was gathering momentum as Kevin Keegan’s side had largely eliminated their early-season inconsistency. The visit of leaders Burnley was expected to provide a tough test but this was the day that City demonstrated that they weren’t just in the race, but rather that they were by far the division’s outstanding team. The front five of Ali Benarbia, Eyal Berkovic, Darren Huckerby, Paolo Wanchope and Shaun Goater were all in top form but, on this occasion, it was the maverick Wanchope who took the headlines with a tremendous hat-trick.

Some of City’s football was irresistible, combining slick inter-passing and movement with a level of individual skill which most teams in the top flight would have struggled to contain. All of Wanchope’s goals were superbly constructed and taken, but the pick of the five was a low 20-yard drive from Berkovic after being set up by delightful interplay between Goater and Wanchope. City weren’t totally convincing at the back – relying on a Carlo Nash penalty save to maintain their early lead before they really cut loose – but when their attacking talents fired like this, it didn’t really matter.

City 5 Barnsley 1, Division One, April 2002

It was party time at Maine Road even before this game kicked off, as defeat for Wolves the previous evening meant that City’s promotion back to the top flight had already been confirmed. But there was still the small matter of claiming the championship trophy and City accomplished it with a magnificent display. The records show that Darren Huckerby scored a hat-trick and Jon Macken hit a brace but, as so often in this season of exhilarating attacking performances, the real star had been Ali Benarbia.

It’s no exaggeration to say that this was one of the greatest ever individual performances from a City player, and anyone thinking ‘hang on pal, it was only bloody Barnsley’ needs to get a grip. All of Ali’s outrageous array of tricks and flicks were on display, as he provided three sumptuous assists and a key pass for another of the goals. A crowd by now well used to his virtuosity still gasped in astonishment at some of his improvisation. Reverse passes, backheels, dinks over defenders when pinned to the touchline, sublimely weighted through balls – they were all there for everyone to savour as the team, and Ali in particular, left the pitch to a standing ovation.

Tottenham 1 City 5, Premier League, August 2011

City had started the season with two impressive wins, but hardly against stellar opposition. The game at White Hart Lane would provide a more realistic indication of the team’s prospects. With former Gooner Samir Nasri making his debut there was plenty of scope for the home fans to vent their spleen, but City’s performance soon rendered them as toothless as their team.

Nasri was outstanding, but the headlines would be made by Edin Džeko, who netted four times in a striker’s masterclass. Two goalpoacher’s finishes to put the final touch to flowing moves, a majestic header from a cross which seemed to be too far behind him and a glorious curling left-footer from the corner of the area, gave jubilant City fans the first real glimpse of the player’s capabilities after an unconvincing start to his career at the Etihad. Sergio Agüero added a thrilling solo goal as City produced their finest away performance for years. Indeed, many Blues present struggled to remember a more impressive away display against such high quality opposition.

Tottenham 1 City 5, Premier League, January 2014

Manuel Pellegrini’s City were on fire, not just on a long unbeaten run but scoring goals at a rate unheard of in the club’s history. Spurs were expected to at least provide a stern test, but instead were ripped apart, particularly during a first 30 minutes which saw City produce a quality of football seldom seen outside the Camp Noü. Agüero and David Silva were unplayable, combining beautifully for the striker to give City the lead and prompting a silence bordering on reverence from the home crowd. Agüero’s superb solo effort hit the bar, Hugo Lloris pulled off a startling save from his header, but when Sergio was forced to limp off with City still just one ahead, there were fears that the tide may have turned.

The next key moment came early in the second half when Džeko was felled in the area by Danny Rose, leading to a penalty and a red card. BT Sport’s woefully prejudiced panel indignantly pointed out that Rose had brushed the ball with his studs before felling the Bosnian, conveniently failing to observe that the ball’s path had not been affected and that Džeko would still have got his shot away had he not been fouled. Just another case of not letting the facts get in the way of another anti-City story.

Yaya Touré calmly converted the penalty, and Džeko quickly slammed in a third after Silva had hit the post. A fine effort from substitute Stevan Jovetić and a joyous prod from captain Vincent Kompany completed the rout, after which Spurs manager Tim Sherwood proclaimed City as ‘the best team on the planet’. And on this particular night, they really did look like it.

City 6 Newcastle 1, Premier League, October 2015

A 6-1 home win against a side which would go on to be relegated may not in itself have been too remarkable, but this was a day unique in 50 years of Manchester City. Five of City’s goals were scored by Agüero, the only incidence of a single City player netting five in a game. And all this after Aleksandar Mitrović had headed the visitors in front early on.

But after that it was all about Sergio. A close-range header brought City level, and after half-time he went berserk. A lucky deflection on his 20-yarder put the Blues ahead, but there was no luck about anything else. He latched on to Kevin De Bruyne’s through pass to dink the ball expertly over Tim Krul to complete his hat-trick. And, after De Bruyne himself made the game safe with a spectacular over-the-shoulder volley, Sergio hit his fourth with the goal of the day. Fastening on to a ball from Silva, he cut inside a defender to find a yard of space then bent a precise and powerful 20-yarder through the eye of a needle into the far corner. Just two minutes later, De Bruyne moved down the left on to a ball played outside him, and pivoted to flash in a low cross which Sergio gobbled up at the far post.

For many older fans, the initial reaction to the goal was how eerily De Bruyne had looked like Colin Bell when executing that manouevre. But then thoughts turned back to Sergio. He’d bagged five goals within 20 minutes and needed one more to become the Premier League’s first ever six-shooter. It looked a certainty but, three minutes later, to the consternation of many in the crowd, Sergio was subbed by Pellegrini. The manager later revealed that Sergio had received treatment at half-time for a hamstring injury. That must have been one hell of a magic sponge.

2.

How the hell did he miss that?

EVERYONE misses chances, it’s the nature of football. But some misses are really special. They are the ones that cause ordinary blokes in the stands to proclaim ‘Bloody hell, even I could have scored that!’ Some missed sitters turn out to be of no real consequence, other than to serve as talking points for the next few days and, in more recent times, to allow the player concerned to be subjected to ridicule and abuse on a wide range of media platforms. Others, however, have more far-reaching repercussions. Here are ten of City’s very worst …

Bobby Owen v Newcastle (A), FA Cup, January 1969

City’s league championship defence and first foray into Europe had both proved to be huge disappointments and, as the new year came around, the last hope of silverware lay with the FA Cup. A tough fourth-round tie at St James’ Park brought the real possibility of City’s season being over before February as a closely fought match in tricky conditions swung this way and that.

It looked increasingly as though one goal would be enough to decide the outcome and, when Francis Lee’s shot was tipped on to the inside of the post by Iam McFaul, the ball bounced back into the goalmouth where Owen was ideally situated, just two yards out, to touch it home. But as he struggled to co-ordinate himself in the mud, the ball got stuck between his feet and he temporarily lost sight of it.

As Owen fumbled haplessly around, a Newcastle defender managed to hack the ball away from danger and the chance was gone. City were duly obliged to settle for a replay which they won 2-0 to take an important step on the road to Wembley glory.

Steve MacKenzie v Tottenham (Wembley), FA Cup, May 1981

City were 1-0 up well into the second half of the 100th FA Cup Final and looking to put the game to bed when a double one-two with Kevin Reeves put MacKenzie through on Milija Aleksic. He skilfully took the ball round the keeper and, although at a slight angle, was faced with an empty net and a glorious chance to seal victory.

With a Spurs defender at his heels, the ball got slightly stuck between his legs and he failed to make clean contact, contriving to send it against the outside of the post from just two yards out.

Spurs survived, equalised through Tommy Hutchison’s cruel deflection and the rest is history. MacKenzie famously scored a quite magnificent volleyed goal in the replay, but he and thousands of City supporters would happily have traded it for a scuffed two-yard tap-in in the first game.

Darren Beckford v Wimbledon (A), Division One, January 1987

A crowd of less than 6,000 assembled at Plough Lane to see a City side embroiled in a relegation struggle take on relatively high-flying Wimbledon. In a match notable for the league debut of City’s Paul Lake, there was precious little else to remember as Wimbledon provided the usual awkward and disruptive opposition on a treacherous surface.

As the game edged towards added time, City would have regarded a point from such a testing assignment as a decent result. But then, having created few chances of note, a sudden opportunity to nick a priceless victory presented itself. The ball came across the face of goal, for once eluding the muscular home defenders, and arriving on the blind side to turn it home was young Darren Beckford. City fans caged in the small terrace behind the goal craned their necks in anticipation of a golden moment as Beckford made contact, just a couple of yards out. Many of them lost sight of the ball but had already raised their arms in celebration. They were at least spared the ordeal of having to witness Beckford slice the ball wide of the post, a quite astonishing feat, and left to express their frustration in time-honoured fashion as two more crucial points went begging.

Clive Allen v Aston Villa (H), Division One, October 1989

Clive Allen, goal-poacher supreme. Well, most of the time. Just a month after the 5-1, City took on a decent Villa side and fell behind to Tony Daley’s early goal. With both teams down to ten men, City increasingly got on top in the second half and eventually created a seemingly unmissable chance.

David White got free down the right and played in a perfect low cross, across the face of the goal, completely taking out the keeper. There as usual was Clive, all alone six yards out and set to provide a deserved equaliser. Even though his connection wasn’t totally clean, the fans behind the goal were already leaping to celebrate when the ball struck the inside of the post and bounced away. There was still hope, as Paul Lake arrived on the scene to blast the ball back towards the net, but goalkeeper Nigel Spink had by now recovered his position and was able to tip Lake’s attempt over. City never created anything so clear-cut again and fell to a 2-0 defeat, beginning a poor run which would soon cost Mel Machin his job.

Martin Phillips v Sheffield Wednesday (H), Division One, April 1996

‘He’ll be the first British £10m player,’ said manager Alan Ball after signing the largely unknown winger Martin Phillips from Exeter City for £500,000. Ten million lire would have been a more realistic valuation, and even that might have been over-egging it a bit. Phillips never settled, managing just three starts before eventually being sold to Portsmouth for £100,000, City having generously waived the outstanding £9.9m just to get the player off the payroll.

Phillips made only two contributions of any note. One was to provide the cross from which Kit Symons equalised in the season’s fateful final match, but two weeks earlier he’d come on as substitute in a tense encounter with fellow relegation candidates Sheffield Wednesday. City were clinging on to a 1-0 lead with a few minutes remaining as Wednesday increasingly poured men forward.

A breakaway second was always on and suddenly City found themselves two on two. The first of City’s two was Georgi Kinkladze who did his job perfectly, drawing the defenders towards him before sliding a pass inside to the completely unmarked Phillips. Seven yards out with the ball on his trusty left foot and Kevin Pressman stuck on his goal line, how could anyone miss that? But a poor connection saw Phillips screw the ball flush on to the foot of the post, leaving City fans to endure the last few agonising minutes before they could celebrate a vital win.

Darius Vassell v Portsmouth (A), Premier League, November 2007

When Raheem Sterling is having one of his bad days, when the co-ordination isn’t quite there and he doesn’t look like he’s in control of the ball or himself, when he miskicks wretchedly in front of goal, there’s a strange sense of familiarity. It’s a mystery why City fans have yet to serenade him with ‘It’s just like watching Vassell,’ because at times the resemblance is astonishing.

Darius perpetrated some horrendous misses during his time at City – many of them coming in the same match, at Aston Villa in the Cup – but the pick of the bunch was this shocker against Pompey. When Martin Petrov played a superb low ball in from the left, Vassell was left with a simple tap-in. The keeper dived across in a token gesture, as Darius still had three-quarters of the goal to aim at, from four yards out. But Darius didn’t even come close to hitting the target, somehow managing to connect with his heel and sending the ball back in the direction from which it came.

Fast forward nine years, and Sterling would contrive to produce an almost identical blunder, away to Juventus. It wasn’t quite as bad, but briefly allowed the travelling fans to think back wistfully to the not so distant days when Darius was the best we could afford.

Rolando Bianchi v Blackburn (H), Premier League, December 2007

Sven Göran Eriksson’s City came into the festive period still boasting a 100% home record, and started against Blackburn as though retaining it would be a formality. Martin Petrov was in storming form down the left, and after 20 minutes a beautiful one-two with Stevie Ireland saw him get to the byline. With the keeper drawn to the near post, Petrov then rolled the ball gently across the face of goal where the unattended Bianchi was poised to tap City ahead. With the home fans already celebrating a richly deserved lead, the Alice-banded maestro completely missed his kick and the ball trundled behind him to safety. Rovers ultimately escaped with a 2-2 draw courtesy of what would prove to be Roque Santa Cruz’s most effective performance on the Etihad pitch. Bianchi meanwhile would be quoted in the press a couple of days later bleating about how much he hated English cuisine and deplored the alcohol culture. When you miss chances like that, is it any wonder your team-mates are driven to drink? He can at least content himself that he isn’t forgotten on these shores – whenever anyone puts together a list of the worst strikers in Premier League history, his name invariably features prominently. Thanks Rolando. For nothing.

Carlos Tevez v Sunderland (A), Premier League, August 2010

Unbeaten in their previous ten games against Sunderland, a trip to the Stadium of Light didn’t look too daunting a mission for Roberto Mancini’s side. And from the outset they were on the front foot, with new signing Yaya Touré particularly prominent. And Yaya soon gave City fans the first taste of what would become his trademark, a surging 50-yard run seeing him brush aside Cattermole’s attempted foul and power through the Sunderland defence.

With just Simon Mignolet in his way, Yaya unselfishly squared the ball to Carlos Tevez, 12 yards out, in front of a completely open goal. But instead of side-footing home, Captain Carlos casually dinked the ball well over the crossbar, to the unbridled mirth of the home fans behind the goal. City had plenty of other chances but failed to take any of them, and a last-minute penalty gave Sunderland a 1-0 win, a result which would become depressingly familiar over the next few years.

Edin Džeko v Stoke City (H), Premier League, February 2014

It’s no exaggeration to say that Edin Džeko has scored some of the most important goals in Manchester City’s history. It’s also no exaggeration to say that, when it’s not his day, he can carry the demeanour of a sulky spoilt brat who has never set foot on a football pitch before. This February afternoon against a rugged Stoke side wasn’t his day.

City were leading 1-0 and looking for a second to allow them to ease off ahead of the following week’s Carling Cup Final. And when Yaya played the ball across the face of goal, all Edin had to do was tap it into the empty net from two yards out. However many times you watch what happened next, you still can’t quite believe it. Džeko somehow contrived to hit the ball against his standing leg and the ball rebounded away from goal to be hacked to safety. He booted the post in frustration, while the fans behind the goal didn’t know whether to laugh, cry or exclaim ‘Ye gods, even Diana Ross would have buried that one!’

Kevin De Bruyne v Chelsea (H), Premier League, December 2016

City had produced a dominant display against leaders Chelsea which, but for some poor finishing and appalling refereeing, would already have seen the points safe. As it was, with an hour gone, they were a goal to the good and pressing for a crucial second. Yet another incisive move freed Raheem Sterling down the right, and he fizzed a perfect low ball across the face of the goal, cutting Thibaut Courtois and the back-peddling defenders out of the equation. Arriving at pace at the far post was Kevin De Bruyne and, as he slid in to turn the ball into the open goal from just three yards out, more than 50,000 fans were out of their seats to celebrate what would surely be the game’s decisive moment. Instead, they stood with open-mouthed astonishment as Kevin somehow contrived to send the ball crashing against the crossbar and bouncing away to safety.

Within a few minutes, Chelsea had gone down the other end and equalised with their first chance and the game changed irrevocably. Two more eminently preventable goals followed and City’s simmering sense of injustice led to red cards and damaging suspensions for Sergio Agüero and Fernandinho. The six-point shift and psychological impact of City snatching defeat from the jaws of victory would have an enormous impact on the title race, making Kevin’s miss one of the most expensive in City’s history. We still love him, though …

HIS periodic chippiness and indolence, not to mention his agent, may have prevented Yaya from securing the place in Blue hearts which the likes of David Silva, Vinny Kompany and Sergio Agüero enjoy, but his contributions when it really, really mattered make him the most important player in City’s modern history. The biggest of big-game players, Yaya has delivered the goods so often that his place amongst the club’s all-time greats is beyond dispute. Here are ten of his greatest hits.

Manchester United (Wembley), FA Cup, April 2011

This was more than just City’s chance to reach a first cup final for 30 years; it was the opportunity to cement their new-found status as genuine rivals to the Forces of Evil. But, for Alex Ferguson, it was the ideal occasion to keep the noisy neighbours well and truly in their place.

Wembley’s first Manchester derby generated an atmosphere which can seldom, if ever, have been matched, before or since. And in this cauldron of tension and emotion, Yaya in every sense stood head and shoulders above the rest. After City’s tentative start nearly allowed United to take an unbreakable grip, it was Yaya who inspired City to get back in the game and ultimately to dominate it. And it was Yaya who scored the only goal, intercepting Michael Carrick’s pass, powering through Nemanja VidiĆ’s desperate attempt to hold him back and then sliding his shot beneath Edwin van der Sar to send the masses of Blues behind the goal into an orgy of ecstatic celebration.

Stoke City (Wembley), FA Cup, May 2011

Having come through the semi-final against United, City now had to make it count. The final was a struggle, City on top throughout but Stoke putting up the stout resistance everyone anticipated. Moving towards the final 15 minutes, it was clear that one goal would be enough to lift the trophy.

Cometh the quarter hour, cometh the man. Some intricate play in the Stoke box led to the ball being partially cleared, and it bounced away invitingly towards the edge of the area. Advancing to meet it with his left foot was Yaya, who struck it with all his considerable might to send it searing past Thomas Sørensen. City had struck silver for the first time in 35 years but they, and Yaya, certainly hadn’t finished yet …

Manchester United (H), Premier League, April 2012

It’s ‘Manic Monday’, the biggest Manchester derby in history. City are one up at half-time and the tension and excitement are almost unbearable. It’s all kicking off between Mancini and Ferguson and there are plenty of Blues in the ground who have been waiting for weeks to be here but who now can hardly bear to watch. Just one fluky goal for United and the dream would be over.

We should have known better. One man was utterly determined to make sure there was no way back for the Reds, and that man was Yaya. In one of his mightiest displays, he seemed to be everywhere, brushing United players aside as if they were eight-year-old schoolboys. Tonight, he was inexhaustible, time and again making those surging runs, time and again getting everyone in the crowd out of their seats. And though he couldn’t quite apply the finishing touch and put his team out of reach, the message to United was clear. You’re getting back into this one over my dead body.

Newcastle