Article by Ally White
With a crushing victory of 5-1 over Birmingham on Sunday at Manchester City Stadium, Manchester City consolidated fourth place of next year’s Champions League. Manchester City reached 62 points and will continue in the fourth position of the classification zone for the next edition of the Champions League, regardless of what happens in the game against Tottenham, which postponed its match because the team is competing at the FA Cup. On the other hand, Birmingham, after this tough lost ended with the same 46 points.
This game was an easy one for the Citizens, who were controlling and attacking since the beginning of the match, seeking goals for the three points that will get them closer to the Champions League positions.
The City was unable to show its dominance on the scoreboard until the half hour, when, at minute 38, Emmanuel Adebayor was fouled inside the area. The penalty was done by the Argentinian Carlos Tevez, who with a remarkable technique put the score 1-0 in favor of City.
Two minutes later, Nedum Onuoha topped a header to send the ball at the back of Birmingham’s net. This second goal made the first half a nightmare for the visitors, as the City was taking advantage of all its goal opportunities.
A few moments later, at minute 42, Birmingham was able to reduce the scoring thanks to James McFadden, who from one of the sidelines made a pass to the area that Cameron Jerome finished off with a great shot, beating goalkeeper Shay Given to put the scoreboard 2-1.
But the good moment for the visitors didn’t last long since a minute later, Emmanuel Adebayor extended the advantage again, shooting inside the area and putting the ball inside Birmingham’s net.
The first half ended 3-1 in favor of Manchester City.
For the second half, the tone of the game was the same as the Citizens turned to the offense to search for more goals. And at minute 74 they celebrated again, when Nedum Onuoha shot from outside the area and placed the ball on the right fork of the arch to add the fourth goal for City.
As the minutes passed, the Blues started to get frustrated as they couldn’t develop their game plan. Near the end of the match at minute 88, Adebayor scored the fifth in front of the Blues, who were left stunned as the horrifically uneven match came to a close.
At the end of the match, Adebayor said he was happy with the way his team played as well as his good performance in the last few games. The former Arsenal striker also stated that his team is looking to win the last few games and maintain the fourth place of the League.
“I am pleased with my form as this has been the worst season of my life. I got suspended, I got injured, I got attacked. I am just very happy on the pitch now and enjoying myself playing football.”
“It is important we do everything to stay in that fourth position until the end of the season. We have big confidence with some important games coming up and we are ready for them. We are scoring a lot of goals and that is good for us,” said Adebayor.
With this result, the Manchester City reached 64 points in the fourth place of the Premier League, while Birmingham is in ninth place with 46 points.
Manchest City’s next match will be against Manchester United on April 17th while Birmingham City will face Hull City on the same day.
About the Author
Ally White has been a prominent writer on daily Spanish League Soccer; sports news and the sportsbetting industry for many exceptional sport web sites. You may reprint this article in its full content, please note no modifications to it are accepted.