Commanding City return to winning ways

The champions returned to winning ways after a stellar performance at home to Sunderland, where- for the first time this season- Joe Hart was not beaten by the opposition.

Seven changes were made from the side that drew to Dortmund midweek. James Milner, Gareth Barry, Carlos Tevez,  Micah Richards, Mario Balotelli, Alexsandr Kolarov and Joleon Lescott were all brought into the side.

It was a dream start for City however, with Carlos Tevez being brought down on the edge of the area, after Carlos Cuellar was lucky to escape with just a yellow card. Balotelli and Kolarov stood over the free kick, much like the scenes of last year’s spat against the same time, but this time it had a much more positive ending for City.

Balotelli let Kolarov take the free kick, and the Serbian replied by smashing a left-footed curling shot into the top corner. Mignolet maybe could have done better, despite the quality of the strike. Kolarov ran off the crowd, giving Balotelli a little point and a big smile. 4 minutes in, 1-0 City.

Sunderland hit back, pressing City quite high and forcing them to move the ball around much faster than the Blues would have liked. It took City till the 15^th minute to carve open Sunderland again, with Mingolet stopping Zabaleta’s shot from point-blank and Tevez firing inches wide from the follow up.

The game was then dominated by City up until half-time, with the champions camped in the Sunderland half. The visitors hung on however, and it was 1-0 at the break.

Sunderland came out at half-time with an attacking intent, and Micah Richards made a crucial block on his return to deny Steven Fletcher. Seb Larsson was drifting around superbly and creating space for his team mates.

City then started to turn the screw, with Micah Richards having a header cleared off the line, after a powerful drive from Yaya Toure. Richards then attempted a rather ambitious overhead kick, which never stood a chance of going in. The biggest chance in this period fell to Mario Balotelli, after a superb low cross from Kolarov, but Mario just couldn’t reach it.

Two main men from today's showdown

It was 2-0 not long after, with Kolarov putting in another low cross, this time to Aguero, who had replaced Balotelli. The Argentinian made no mistake on this occasion, though.

The chances now flowed, with the creativity of Silva and the power of Yaya Toure causing Sunderland all sorts of problems. Despite this, it took a save by Mignolet on Richards and Tevez, a Silva chip that hit the bar before the industrial Milner finally added a 3^rd, with a deflected free-kick finding the mark. It was nothing less than he deserved.

City fans definitely go home happy with a clean-sheet, and a creative guile that epitomised their season last year.

Ellis Gittings