He couldn’t have dreamed of a better debut. Coming off the bench on the hour mark at the Etihad Stadium, Sergio Aguero took just eight minutes to find the net for Man City and proceeded to tear Swansea apart with a mesmerising performance to send his side joint-top of the Premier League. An intelligent flicked assist for David Silva’s third was followed by an outstanding thirty-yard strike as the £35m man firmly announced his arrival in England’s top-flight.
With Edin Dzeko also finding the net, it was a good night for two of Roberto Mancini’s big money forwards, though Mario Balotelli won’t be too pleased with his role as an unused substitute at the Etihad Stadium last night. City now travel to the Reebok Stadium next Sunday in an early-season top of the table showdown- Owen Coyle’s Bolton will be hoping Aguero doesn’t get ninety minutes this time round.
Game Stats
Swansea had the better of possession with 57% but City proved the far superior goal threat, with 25 shots to their visitors 6. Indeed, the score line could have been considerably greater if it wasn’t for the heroics of the Swans new keeper Michael Vorm- the summer signing from Utrecht had a busy evening as City had 15 shots on target to Swansea’s 3.
Brendan Rodgers’ side played 620 passes to their hosts’ 460, with 520 short passes compared to City’s 400. Much of Swansea’s threat is through their lightning-fast wingers and there’s no surprise they played 81 long balls to City’s 28, with the pace of Nathan Dyer and Scott Sinclair crucial to their attacks. City’s 8 through balls saw their opponent’s defence carved apart time and again- they had 76% of all efforts inside the eighteen yard box, while the majority of Swansea’s shots were long-range attempts- 67% came from outside the box.
Attack Zones
The home side’s play was fairly even in distribution across the pitch- 32% came from the left, 36% through the middle and 33% on the right. With David Silva drifting inside from the flank to direct proceedings and Yaya Toure the biggest goal threat (he had 9 shots), City kept much of their play central.
Swansea were the polar opposite- only 21% of their play came down the middle, with 36% left and 43% down the right had side. Their right-back Angel Rangel saw more of the ball than any player on the pitch- he had 107 touches and made 79 passes.
Player Positions
With so much of City’s attacking play coming from a central area, Gael Clichy(22) and Micah Richards (2) offered plenty of width from deep. The roles of wide men Adam Johnson (11) and David Silva (21) couldn’t be any different- Johnson’s more direct play sees him the furthest forward of any City player while Silva, the playmaker, drops deep and roams looking for the ball.
Despite Swansea’s greater possession, only 19% of the play was in City’s final third. It’s easy to see why here- when in possession, their players were stationed far too deep to threaten their opponents. While Scott Sinclair (11) stayed wide left, Nathan Dyer (12) was narrow on the other flank- Rangel (22) was almost as far forward from right-back.
Key Performers
Man City
David Silva is the heartbeat of this Manchester City side. The Spaniard made 49 passes-second only to Gareth Barry for the hosts- with a brilliant 92% accuracy. Silva played 2 through balls, made 4 key passes and had 2 successful dribbles as he prompted and probed for openings. He also had 4 shots, with 2 on target and 1 finding the net, as he picked up a WhoScored.com rating of 8.53
Sergio Aguero was the undoubted Man of the Match, despite playing just thirty minutes. Aguero may only have made 9 passes but showed his creativity with 2 key passes when in possession. The Argentine also had 1 successful dribble and a total of 5 shots, with 3 on target an indication of his eye for goal and shooting accuracy. His 2 goals and 1 assist earned Aguero a WhoScored.com match rating of 9.30.
Swansea
As mentioned, Michal Vorm had an exceptionally busy night. The Swansea keeper made a total of 12 saves –many of them outstanding- to keep the score line down. Vorm was better in distribution than Joe Hart, his opposite number, with a 55% pass accuracy to Hart’s 50%. He also had 78 touches compared to Hart’s 31, an indication of just how much the ball came his way. Vorm picked up a match rating of 7.96, the best of any visiting player.
The Swans right winger Nathan Dyer had the best defensive stats on show- he made 6 tackles, more than any player, and 2 interceptions as he broke up City attacks on several occasions. Dyer also impressed creatively- he was joint-top for Swansea’s key passes, with 2, and also had 2 successful dribbles. Dyer made a total of 35 passes with an 86% accuracy, picking up a WhoScored.com rating of 7.16.
What a great start!