Manchester City 4 Leicester 2: Roberto Mancini's revolution is on target for FA Cup glory

19 January 2011 01:50
The Manchester City fans have a new goal celebration that involves turning their backs on the field and bouncing up and down. Suffice to say it needs a little work. [LNB]But if the 'Poznan' named after and stolen from City's recent Europa League opponents from Poland still requires practice, Roberto Mancini's team are beginning to function more fluently. [LNB]City have lost only once in domestic competitions since the end of October. It is a run that is threatening to seriously involve them in the closing stages of the league title race and, whisper it quietly, could yet even win them a trophy. [LNB][LNB] No chance: Leicester keeper Chris Weale dives in vain as Carlos Tevez (second right) gives City the lead after 15 minutes[LNB] [LNB]After drawing 2-2 with Sven Goran Eriksson's Championship team 10 days ago, this could have been a difficult night for City. [LNB]Indeed, it looked like being one when referee Mark Halsey erred in allowing Paul Gallagher to cancelout Carlos Tevez's early goal from the penalty spot. [LNB]But City have a little more backbone these days and responded with two goals in a minute fromPatrick Vieira and Adam Johnson to take the game away from Leicester.[LNB]In the second half they could evenafford to miss a penalty of their own. Tevez who has 16 goals thisseason may be troubled by the fact that he has missed two in his lastfive games, but on thisoccasion it did not matter.[LNB] No mistake: Patrick Vieira hits City's second[LNB]The lively Leicester winger LloydDyer, who dived to win his team their early penalty, did break clear toscore a goal out of nothing with seven minutes to go. [LNB]Briefly, memories of the weekend's mad late scramble at home to Wolves in the league came to mind.[LNB]This time there was to be no drama, though. City broke to kill off the game with a low strike from defender Aleksander Kolarov. [LNB] Clinical: Adam Johnson latches on to David Silva's through ball and fires past Weale[LNB]Mancini badly wants to win this competition. He knows what a trophy would mean to his football club. [LNB]But after seeing City concede sevengoals in three games, the Italian warned his players to tighten up atthe back if they want to be contenders for a trophy. [LNB]Mancini said: 'If you don't concedea lot of goals then at the end of the season you will win something forsure, so we should improve. It's about concentration. [LNB]'I don't like this. It's good forthe fans but I prefer 4-1 or 1-0. We thought that the game wasfinished, then we conceded. In the last three games the defending hasbeen so-so. We must improve.'[LNB] Short-lived: Paul Gallagher's (left) penalty briefly put Leicester level[LNB]Former City manager Eriksson added: 'I'm sure they are one of the teams who can win the PremierLeague. It would be nice if they won the FA Cup.' [LNB]Johnson should have scored early when he was played clear and City took the lead soon after.[LNB]It was a poor goal from Leicester'spoint of view as Tevez turned on to a throw in, bustled his way pastJack Hobbs and then drilled a shot across goalkeeper Chris Weale in tothe far corner. [LNB] [LNB] Fighting spirit: Lloyd Dyer beats Joe Hart to hit Leicester's second[LNB]At this stage, it was easy to see City kicking on. Perhaps they would have done so, had referee Halsey not intervened. [LNB]Dyer was being wildly optimistic as he dived over Lescott's leg in the 19th minute. How remarkable,then, that Halsey chose to award a penalty. It was a poor decision butGallagher made the most of his team's fortune by drilling the penaltylow past Joe Hart. [LNB] [LNB] Stars in stripes: City wore the 1969 FA Cup kit for Neil Young, who has cancer, while the scoreboard gets the wrong team[LNB]MATCH FACTS MANCHESTER CITY (4-2-3-1): Hart 6;Zabaleta 7, Kompany 6, Lescott 6,Kolarov 7; Vieira 5, Milner 6; Johnson 6,Y Toure 6 (Jo 79min), Silva 8 (Barry 64, 6); Tevez 8. Subs not used: Given, K Toure, De Jong, Boyata, Nimely. Booked: Vieira.LEICESTER CITY (4-5-1): Weale 6; Naughton 5, Bamba 6, Hobbs 5, Berner 6; Dyer 7, King 6, Abe 7, Wellens 6 (Oakley 46, 6), Gallagher 7 (Moussa 30, 6); Howard 5 (Waghorn 68, 6). Subs not used: Neilson, Teixeira, Logan, N'Guessan. Booked: Dyer.Man of the match: Carlos Tevez.Referee: Mark Halsey 6. [LNB]Encouraged by 7,000 travelling supporters, Leicester were in the game for a while. But a superb, chipped pass from Tevez in the 37th minute played Pablo Zabaleta indown the right. [LNB]When the full back fed David Silva close to goal, hisshot was deflected off the line by Souleymane Bamba for Vieira to scorefrom close range. [LNB]A minute later, Silva released Johnson with a perfect pass and this time the City player scored with confidence past Weale. [LNB]At half-time the game looked over. It would have been had Tevez not missed his penalty after Hobbs tripped him in the 57th minute. [LNB]Instead, Leicester made itinteresting with seven minutes left when midfielder Yuki Abe played anunintentional one-two off Halsey's legs and put Dyer through to score. [LNB]On this occasion unlike Saturday against Wolves there was to be no breathless finish. [LNB] Manchester City v Leicester: The action from Eastlands as it happenedRooney's not even the best striker in Manchester! Balotelli blasts United rivalSilverware is silverware! FA Cup should be top priority, insists Man City star De Jong All the latest Manchester City news, features and opinion [LNB]  Explore more:People: Patrick Vieira, Roberto Mancini, Adam Johnson, Sven Goran Eriksson, David Silva, Joe Hart, Carlos Tevez, Paul Gallagher Places: Poland

Source: Daily_Mail