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  • Anelka (8), Anelka (25)
  • Date:2006-12-23
  • Kick-off:15:00
  • Venue:City of Manchester Stadium
  • Attendance:40157
  • Referee:Riley, M

Live Commentary

90mins

The fourth official indicates there will be three minutes of added on time

89mins

Nolan chips in the ball towards Anelka but the Frenchman can't direct the header and only manages to put it over the bar

89mins

Nolan smashes in a shot from the edge of the area but its just wide of Weaver's left hand post

88mins

Vassell gets on the end of a through ball but can't chip it over an on rushing Jaaskelainen who does well to save

86mins

Henrik Pedersen is brought off for Ricardo Gardner

85mins

Barton is sent off for a very high tackle on Faye and is given a straight red for violent conduct

82mins

Bolton's corner is cleared by Dunne but his header is met by the right foot of Pedersen who can only smash the ball straight back at Dunne's head

82mins

Anelka skips past two City players, making his way into the penalty area but Dunne with a timely tackle to stop the Trotters forward

81mins

Barton's free kick finds its way to Dunne who headers the ball back across goal for Miller but the City midfielder is caught offside from Dunne's header

80mins

Hunt is booked for refusing to give the ball back to City after conceding a free kick

77mins

Vaz Te is able to hammer the ball away from the corner as Bolton seem in complete control

77mins

Samaras pass forces Faye to put the ball over his own cross bar as City win a corner

76mins

City are lacking a cutting edge up front as they fail to prove to be any threat to Bolton's lead

74mins

Faye is booked for a bad tackle on Samaras

72mins

Ricardo Vaz Te comes on for El-Hadji Diouf who is booed as usual

71mins

Distin picks out Vassell inside the penalty area but the Bolton back line step up and catch the England striker offside again

69mins

Diouf is booked for kicking the ball away after it had gone out of play

68mins

Suart Pearce feels Bolton are taking too long over a throw in and gets a talking to from the referee for his objections

67mins

Trabelsi wipes in a cross from a quick corner and Samaras goes in for the ball but Campo manages to clear away

65mins

Vassell gets in a cross for Ireland but Tal is able to clear the ball away as Bolton manage to contain another City attack

61mins

Anelka has a chance for a hat trick but Dunne does well to close the Frenchman down and stop the shot

58mins

Vassell goes down under a heavy tackle from Meite inside the area but Mike Riley waves away City protests

55mins

Diouf has a shot from a free kick on the left wing but it was never threatening Weaver as the ball ends up in the stands

54mins

Georgios Samaras and Ousmane Dabo come on to replace Paul Dickov and Ben Thatcher as City look to change to a more attacking formation

52mins

Barton's corner comes to nothing as Dickov is adjudged to have fouled Jaaskelainen

51mins

Barton wipes in a free kick from the right towards the near post, forcing Jaaskelainen to push the ball around the post for a corner

50mins

Vassell brings down a pass from Trabelsi but the striker can't get his shot away as three Bolton defenders close him down and cleat the ball away

49mins

Dickov gives the ball away as City continue to waste possession

45mins

Campo chips the ball into area and Faye gets on the end of the ball but can't direct it towards the goal and the ball goes wide

45mins

City get the game restarted as the home side search for a goal while Bolton hope they can carry on their good first half form

45mins

HALF TIME: MANCHESTER CITY 0-2 BOLTON WANDERERS: Anelka is the difference here at Eastlands helping Bolton to a half time lead against a City side who seem to be missing a striker as they fail to create much

45mins

Speed picks up a poor clearance and fires its straight back but its just wide of Weaver's left hand post

45mins

There will be two minutes of added on time indicated

42mins

Dickov is booked after a late tackle on Diouf showing his frustration after giving the ball away

41mins

Vassell finds himself through the Bolton defence but no one is with him as the England striker can't keep possession

39mins

Dickov is caught offside as the disciplined Bolton defence stop another City attackDickov is caught offside as the disciplined Bolton defence stop another City attack

36mins

Campo plays a delicate free kick into the penalty area but its nervously cleared away by the City defence who look shaky against the Bolton free kicks

34mins

Diouf chips the ball over the top of the City defence but fortunalty for the blues nobody could reach the ball for BoltonDiouf chips the ball over the top of the City defence but fortunalty for the blues nobody could reach the ball for Bolton

30mins

Barton with another set piece delievery finds Vassell with a free header but he can't direct it towards the goal and its behind for a goal kick

29mins

another Bolton cross by Speed is put in looking for Anelka but Weaver is quick to react and claim the ball under pressure

29mins

Diouf crosses in for Pedersen but Onuoha sprints back to clear away from danager

27mins

Bartons takes a deep free kick but its Jaaskelainen who is the first to reach it, palming the ball away and then claiming at the second time of asking

25mins

MANCHESTER CITY 0-2 BOLTON WANDERERS (ANELKA): Anelka doubles the Trotters lead after a quick counter attack left the frenchman with the simple task of stroking the ball home from close range

21mins

Miller and Barton combine to set up Onuoha with a chance to cross but its a poor pass from the young English man, wasting the chance

19mins

Barton tries to pick out Vassell with a long ball over the top but its just too far for the striker as Jaaskelainen takes the ball away from him

18mins

Pedersen tries to swing in another cross for Bolton but its blocked by Onuoha as City escape

13mins

Barton's corner picks out Dunne who gets his head to the ball but can only direct it over the bar as City continue their fight back

12mins

There is chaos in the penalty area and the ball finds its way to Nedum Onuoha who hits his shot straight at Pedersen, defelcting the ball behind for a corner

9mins

Dickov with a great header forces Jaaskelainen to claw the ball back from right on the goal line as City threaten to eqaulise

7mins

MANCHESTER CITY 0-1 BOLTON WANDERERS (ANELKA): Anelka scores against one of his former clubs after smashing the ball past Weaver thanks to Hunts pin-point pass

7mins

Dickov with a cross for Barton but Abdoulaye Meite is there to scramble the ball away

5mins

Bolton's corner is cleared away but only to Speed who fires in a volley from just outside the box but the Weslh veteran was leaning back, blazing the shot over the bar

3mins

Another deep cross from Bolton looking for Henrik Pedersen but Onuoha manages to get a vital touch to clear the ball from danager

1mins

Pedersen tries a long range shot early on but its high over Weavers bar

0mins

Speed swings in a deep free kick but its over everyone heads as Bolton pile on the pressure right from the start

0mins

Mike Riley blows his whistle and we are under way here at Eastlands with Bolton starting the match

0mins

Man City are missing Richards, Reyna and Hamann who are all injuryed as well as Corradi who is still suspended. Bolton welcome back Diouf from suspension but will have to do without Davis who is suspended.

0mins

Manchester City XI: Weaver, Onuoha, Dunne, Distin, Thatcher, Trabelsi, Barton, Ireland, Miller, Vassell, Dickov. Bolton XI: Jaaskelainen, Hunt, Meite, Ben Haim, Pedersen, Nolan, Campo, Faye, Speed, Anelka, Diouf.

Match Preview

Stuart Pearce will demand an improved first-half showing as Manchester City welcome Bolton Wanderers to Eastlands for Saturday's derby clash.

The Citizens came out of the starting blocks in sluggish fashion last Sunday against Tottenham and found themselves two goals down by half-time.

Joey Barton pulled the home side back into the match after a half-time roasting from Pearce, who had already come under fire himself from the unhappy home fans - one of whom was prevented from confronting the manager by the police.

But by then the damage had been done and, after successive Premiership defeats, the Blues now find themselves back in the bottom half of the table.

Just three points now separate City from the relegation zone and Pearce will be hoping his side's excellent home form - which has seen them lose just once at the City of Manchester Stadium all season - can carry them through against Bolton.

Bernardo Corradi will miss out through suspension which means Paul Dickov should retain his place in the attack, but at the back there are questions marks over the fitness of Micah Richards after the England defender limped out of last week's defeat with a dead leg.

Back-to-back wins have pushed resurgent Bolton Wanderers back to the fringes of the Champions League places.

Sam Allardyce's side rode their luck at times in last week's visit to Aston Villa but secured the points courtesy of a second-half Gary Speed penalty.

The Trotters are currently level on points with fourth-placed Arsenal and the prospect of European football for the second time in three years is a very real possibility.

With no fresh injury worries, Allardyce looks set to keep faith with the side that beat Villa last weekend which means Ricardo Gardiner - who has come off the bench in the last two games - will have to wait to make his first start for eight months after returning from a cruciate knee ligament injury.


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Match Report

Nicolas Anelka ensured there was no Christmas cheer for Manchester City on his return to his former club.

The Bolton Wanderers striker silenced the boo boys as he scored two first-half goals which heaped more pressure on City, whose worrying slide down the Premiership table continued following back-to-back home defeats.

Anelka who failed to find the net in his first eight Premiership matches for Bolton, has now found the scoring groove with five in the league and six in total for the campaign.

Micah Richards and Claudio Reyna were ruled out by injury, while Georgios Samaras was relegated to the substitutes bench for City.

Manager Stuart Pearce brought Nedum Onuoha into defence and Stephen Ireland and Ishmael Miller into midfield, enabling Darius Vassell to switch inside from the flank to partner Paul Dickov up front.

Bolton were without the suspended Kevin Davies and the injured Stelios Giannakopoulos as Tal Ben Haim and El Hadji Diouf returned to the starting line-up.

Anelka took only eight minutes to break the deadlock with an excellent finish to a neat passing move which he had begun.

Nicky Hunt provided the final pass and Anelka found the net with a clinical finish low inside the near post of keeper Nick Weaver.

City were unlucky not to be on level terms moments later when Bolton keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen made a brilliant save to keep out Dickov's close-range header, with the Scot claiming the ball had crossed the goal-line.

And not long after City had a penalty appeal rejected after Onuoha's shot appeared to strike the hand of Henrik Pedersen.

Bolton doubled their advantage against sorry City midway through the opening period with an effort he could not miss.

Pedersen played the ball in low from the left and it eluded the entire City defence, leaving Anelka completely free at the far post to pick his spot low to the left of Weaver.

And City left the field at half-time to what is becoming an all-too-familiar chorus of jeers from their disgruntled fans.

Jaaskelainen denied City for a second time early in the second half with an athletic save low to his left to turn away Joey Barton's free-kick.

Pearce made a double substitution ten minutes after the re-start as Ben Thatcher and Dickov were replaced by Samaras and Ousmane Dabo as City switched to a 3-5-2 formation.

City were denied a second penalty shortly before the hour when television replays revealed Abdoulaye Meite failed to win the ball and clearly fouled Vassell from behind.

Despite Pearce's tactical re-jig, City were unable to gain a foothold back in the game in the final half-hour as Bolton defended resolutely to hold on to their lead.

And City's troubles increased in the dying minutes when Barton was sent off following a crude lunge at Abdoulaye Faye.

Though contact was not made, referee Mike Riley produced a straight red card so Barton will now miss City's remaining three games of the holiday period.

Manchester City

Bolton Wanderers

Corners

82

Fouls

2316

Goal attempts

59

Shots off target

26

Offsides

62

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