The two players transformed Manchester City into serial winners but will be remembered very differently “Sign Silva first, I will come.” In the summer of 2010, so the story goes, Manchester City’s chief executive Garry Cook was trying to pull off two of the biggest deals in the club’s history. But there was a problem. Yaya Touré was on the verge of joining, but wanted to make sure City signed David Silva first. The Valencia man’s response? “Sign Yaya first, I will come.”They both did and the rest – at least, as of Sunday evening – is history. As Silva took his leave from the Etihad Stadium pitch after his final appearance in English football, the absence of a crowd...
Midfielder’s superb FA Cup semi-final showing against Manchester City suggests a remarkable turnaroundWhen Granit Xhaka stalked off the pitch against Crystal Palace in October, flinging off his shirt and swearing at the fans booing him down the tunnel, it felt like the sort of yarn that normally has only one ending. And so it was no surprise to see him here nine months on, putting in a statement performance against one of the world’s great midfields in a resounding FA Cup semi-final victory at Wembley. Hang on. May have got my lines mixed up there. Will get back to you.Perhaps we should no longer allow ourselves to be surprised by things like this. After all, players mature and wither. Form...
Overturning their two-year Champions League ban should not be seen as a reason for celebrating in the streets, but this is football so it probably will beIf you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine. If there was ever any doubt that Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed was playing this game to win, such thoughts will have been erased for good by the success of Manchester City’s stunning, potentially transformative appeal against the judicial processes of European football.This being football, the success of City’s supremely powerful legal team in junking a flawed two-year ban will no doubt be cast in the most binary terms. Related: Pep Guardiola clear for £150m transfer spend after Manchester City...
He will do well at Manchester City, but for the national side he represents a genuine point of difference in a midfield too conservative to succeed regularlyThere’s a game you can play that involves listing the most random internet voice to have brought you a disproportionately grave piece of world news. This is something that happens more and more at a time when just having internet access means everyone, everywhere is suddenly a source of breaking news.And so we get to hear about the abdication of the Queen via a retweet from the bass player in Shed Seven, or discover Europe is about to be consumed by a tsunami through a trending online spat between Fiona Bruce and Darren Bent....
City played like princes, made Liverpool gasp for air, and handed out a thrillingly fluent, thrillingly pointless 4-0 thrashingThe French have a phrase for things such as this. L’esprit de l’escalier describes that moment on the stairs when you think of exactly the right witty riposte, just 10 minutes too late.There was something of that spirit here on an engrossing mid-summer night at the Etihad Stadium. Manchester City played like princes, made Liverpool gasp for air, and handed out a thrillingly fluent, thrillingly pointless 4-0 thrashing to the club football champions of the world. Related: Sterling and Foden star as Manchester City rain on Liverpool's title parade Related: Manchester City 4-0 Liverpool: Premier League – as it happened Continue reading...