Source: Daily_Mail
Manchester City 3 Wigan 0: Tevez hat-trick keeps Mancini's Champions League hopes alive
Maybe Hugo Rodallega knew something the rest of us didn't when he exchanged shirts with Carlos Tevez at half-time on Monday night. [LNB]Maybe he knew the Argentina striker was almost single-handedly going to keep Manchester City on course for the Champions League with a hat-trick in 12 second-half minutes. The goals took Tevez's tally to 25 for the season, with 19 in the league. [LNB] Shin shin: Hat-trick hero Carlos Tevez celebrates in unusual fashion[LNB]Whatever his reasoning, Rodallega walked away with Tevez's No 32 jersey and Tevez with the match ball after rescuing a victory that looked to be slipping out of City's reach. A victory that lifts City into fifth place, two points behind Tottenham in the race for fourth and must have delighted relieved boss Roberto Mancini. [LNB]No doubt they were helped by Stuart Attwell's decision to show defender Gary Caldwell a straight red card in the 56th minute for what the referee deemed to be a wild lunge at Tevez - who else? - when the match was still goalless. [LNB]Dismissed: Gary Caldwell is shown a red card by referee Stuart Attwell for his challenge on Tevez[LNB]Down to 10 men, struggling Wigan's resilience eventually crumbled in the face of Tevez's crusade. [LNB]They did not deserve to lose by three goals, but that is the kind of quality City knew they were acquiring when they persuaded the former United man to cross the Manchester divide last summer. [LNB]'Carlos was fantastic with three great goals,' said City goalkeeper Shay Given. 'We have a lot of big games coming up and every one is a cup final. It's the same for Tottenham, Liverpool and still for Aston Villa. It will be a terrific finish but we are pretty positive that we can do it.' [LNB]The Argentine was a thorn in Wigan's side from the off, teasing them down the flanks and driving his way into the penalty box at every opportunity. [LNB]Having been flattened by a crude early body check by Caldwell, Tevez picked himself up and took three defenders with him on a mazy run into the box to set up the returning Emmanuel Adebayor. [LNB]Moments later he should have scored himself, meeting Shaun Wright-Phillips' clipped cross into the box with a first-time volley that Wigan's reserve keeper Vladimir Stojkovic did brilliantly to keep out. [LNB]Another effort, a wonderfully disguised chip, caught Stojkovic off guard and bounced just past the far post. [LNB] Calamity: Wigan keeper Vladimir Stojkovic gets in a mess to gift Tevez his first goal[LNB]Tevez had more than his fair share of penalty appeals as well. Too many to keep count of, in fact. But Wigan simply could not contain him and it was no surprise that he was the vict im when Caldwell saw red soon after half-time. [LNB]The defender got some of the ball but was nevertheless guilty of a wild challenge in the eyes of Attwell, who produced a straight red card. It was Caldwell's third sending-off of the season, having been dismissed twice for Celtic. [LNB]This fixture had produced just three goals in the last four years between these two teams at Eastlands but Tevez managed to equal that in a matter of minutes. [LNB]First he played the ball into Patrick Vieira after 71 minutes and then went for the Frenchman's looping return pass into the box. [LNB]Stojkovic fatally made his first mistake of the night - coming out but hesitating as he came face to face with Paul Scharner and Tevez nipped into score in an empty net. [LNB]His second arrived only four minutes later when Javier Garrido cut in from the left and drove in a shot. Vincent Kompany got a touch in the crowded goalmouth and Tevez was lurking at the back post to score again. [LNB]Then, in the 84th minute, he broke down the right and skipped past Scharner's challenge before teasing Titus Bramble and curling in for his hat-trick. [LNB]He celebrated the second by pulling his shin pads out of his socks - each one bearing the name of his two young daughters - and one can only hope he put them back correctly because he finished the game sitting on the bench with an ice pack around his right shin.[LNB]Wigan had their moments, too. Scharner and Rodallega both fired just wide of Given's lefthand post in the first half and Rodallega went ever so close in the 53rd minute when Pablo Zabaleta lost sight of a long ball forward which rebounded off his back and into the path of the Colombian who steered his shot just wide. [LNB]MATCH FACTS MANCHESTER CITY (4-4-2): Given 6; Zabaleta 7, Toure 6, Kompany 6, Garrido 6 (Onuoha 87); Wright-Phillips 6 (Bellamy 47min), Vieira 6, De Jong 5, A Johnson 6; Adebayor 6, Tevez 8 (Sylvinho 87). Booked: Zabaleta, Tevez.WIGAN ATHLETIC (4-5-1): Stojkovic 7; Melchiot 6, Caldwell 7, Bramble 7, Figueroa 6; Rodallega 7, McCarthy 5, Thomas 6 (N'Zogbia 53), Scharner 6, Diame 7; Moreno 5 (Gohouri 81). Booked: Bramble. Sent off: Caldwell.Referee: Stuart Attwell.Man of the match: Carlos Tevez. [LNB]It was enough to test the nerves of Mancini who disappeared down the tunnel two minutes before the end of the first half and then spent much of the interval watching Craig Bellamy warm up. [LNB]The Welshman started on the bench last night, although it is unclear whether it was linked to City's investigation into comments he is alleged to have made after Mancini clashed with Everton boss David Moyes last week. [LNB]'Bellamy played well in the second half but we had three games in a week and I had to change some players,' said Mancini. [LNB]'There are seven games left and we must fight in every one. We must fight with Liverpool and Tottenham. We must play better than tonight and we will have a good chance.'[LNB] Manchester City 3 Wigan Athletic 0: All the action as it happenedManchester City defender Nedum Onuoha may snub England to play for Nigeria in World CupManchester City's Toure demands club stick with manager ManciniMANCHESTER CITY FC
