Monday, February 21, 2022

MIRROR IMAGE | "AND IT'S THERE! THREE-TWO TO SPURS!!!"

MANCHESTER CITY 2-3 TOTTENHAM  |  MANCHESTER CITY 2-3 TOTTENHAM

Thursday 9th May 1981  |  Saturday 19th February 2022

Reeves goes to Aleksik's left. Mahrez goes to Lloris' left. The excitement mounts. 


✅ 💣 CARNAGE AGAINST TOTTENHAM | Has there been a fixture in City's last half century that has so regularly featured madcap games? Today we feature the FA Cup final replay, but there have been many other moments of unbelievable drama between the two clubs: the 4-3 FA Cup turnaround under Kevin Keegan, the 5-2 home win under Brian Horton, the 2-3 reverse in the Premier League, again under Keegan, as well as a glut of recent goal avalanches at the Etihad and White Hart Lane. It is truly a fixture to underline in your calendar if you like watching football matches that might make you soil your trousers. And you will notice, I have not even mentioned the Champions League. 

✅ ⚽ PENALTY LIFTS THE ROOF | In the 81 Cup final, having gone behind early on to Ricky Villa's goal, Steve Mackenzie swiped in a quick equaliser, before an early second half clash between Paul Miller and Dave Bennett resulted in a penalty to the Blues, converted under enormous pressure by Kevin Reeves. City ahead and now all they had to do was hang on.... Fast forward to 2022, an injury time handball allows Riyad Mahrez to level things at 2-2, converting a penalty under enormous pressure. All City had to do now was ride out the last two minutes of time added on....

✅😖 SPURS PLAYER PERFORMING LIKE AN ABSOLUTE PLANK TURNS INTO WORLDBEATER JUST AT THE RIGHT MOMENT | Ricky Villa, scorer of the Cup Final's "most memorable goal ever" Ⓒ, when he ran an improbable slalom around the entire City defence before scoring, had been anonymous in the first game. So bad in fact that he was substituted by Keith Burkinshaw. Likewise, Harry Kane, with four solid months behind him this season of playing like a man who has had lead poured into his jockstrap, suddenly took flight to put in a shift that in some quarters has even been called the best individual performance in Premier League history (yes, I know, but you get the drift). Both Villa and Kane would end up with two goals in their respective wake-up matches.


✅👶 CITY GIVING YOUTH A CHANCE |  Phil Foden has passed the 150-appearances mark and is well on his way to extricating the last of Neil Custis's imaginary bench splinters from his elegant posterior. With McAtee and Palmer leading the drive to be included with him, the Academy roll-out continues to produce solid talent. In the 81 Cup Final, three of City's four-man Ricky-Villa-practice-bollard set-up were homegrown. In Ray Ranson, Tommy Caton and Nicky Reid, the club had three of the best young defenders seen for a generation. With Dave Bennett up front, the final side was packed with local talent. 

✅🧴 THINKING OF LIVERPOOL  |  Tottenham's win brought second-placed Liverpool back into focus. With a lead that was 12 points now down to six, with a game in hand and the two sides still to meet, the title race is back on. In 1981, City had one more fixture to fulfil after the 2-3 defeat to Spurs at Wembley, but, although Liverpool won it at a canter, it did not stop them from finishing in 5th spot, nine points behind champions Aston Villa. They did have the small matter of a European Cup final to prepare for a week later, a fixture City will be hoping to participate in for the second successive season come May.

Dave Bennett in action at Wembley.









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