Manchester City: Pyrrhic Victory

Manchester City triumphed over Everton in the semi-final of the Capital One Cup, but in doing so they lost a key player going forward.

As I followed last night’s dramatic and thrilling win by Manchester City over Everton, to progress to the final of the Capital One Cup, I ran the full gamut of emotions. Disappointment, hope, excitement, anger at BBC Radio Commentator Robbie Savage, elation, shock, horror, devastation, anger at BBC Radio Commentator Robbie Savage. Roughly in that order.

City conceded early, sacrificing their away goal advantage that they never ended up needing. From Luis Fernandinho’s equalizer 6 minutes later until the end of the game, I was never worried about Everton getting back into it and they never did. It was as much a Manchester City rout as any game we’ve seen this year, that match against the Korean national team excepted, and the scoreline in many ways flattered Everton. But the shock, horror and devastation was still there and in many ways was worse than if the game had gone the other way.

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In the first minute of injury time, disaster struck. Substituted in the place of Yaya Toure on the 66^th minute of the game, Kevin De Bruyne made an immediate impact on Manchester City’s play and fortunes. Within 4 minutes he had scored, making the game equal on aggregate, with a sublime strike past the keeper from a short cut-back from Raheem Sterling. Messrs Savage et al spent a long time analysing the fact Sterling clearly passed the ball from over the line, but the goal stood and it was a beauty.

Then 7 minutes later, elation. An absolute peach of a cross from De Bruyne found a rising, who else, Sergio Aguero who gave the keeper no chance. Who says he can’t score with his head? De Bruyne, having both scored and provided the assist for the winner, was the hero of the day, further proving his worth for the Sky Blues. But if only that was the end of the story, we could have ended with celebrations tempered only by biased and inappropriate radio commentators. Alas, it was not to be.

That first minute of injury time changed the dynamic. Not for everyone. I found myself alone watching the game feeling like a lead balloon. Falling awkwardly, knee buckled below him, De Bruyne collapsed in a heap with a writhe of pain. Everton’s goalie tried to pick him up, only to realise this was a pretty big deal and not the kind of antics he may expect from other teams in the league (Hello Chelsea) of just falling down in the penalty box.

The whole incident led to De Bruyne being stretchered off to an aghast, perhaps more packed than ever, Etihad that felt like it had just had all the wind taken from its sails. Make no mistake, Manchester City won the battle last night, but it may well have cost them the war. De Bruyne’s performance shows he is an integral part of the side, a match winner without whom City can, logically, expect not to win as many matches.

How many matches? As reported by BBC Sport, it could be as many as 6 weeks before we see the Belgian back in a sky blue shirt:

"“Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne is likely to be out for around six weeks after injurying his right knee in Wednesday’s League Cup semi-final win over Everton.Games Kevin De Bruyne likely to miss:30 Jan: A v Aston Villa (FA Cup fourth round)2 Feb: A v Sunderland6 Feb: H v Leicester City14 Feb: H v Tottenham Hotspur20-21 Feb: FA Cup fifth round24 Feb: A v Dynamo Kiev (Champions Lg last 16 1st leg)28 Feb: v Liverpool (League Cup final, Wembley)2 Mar: A v Liverpool5 Mar: H v Aston Villa”"

It’s true that early fears were that this would be a season-ending injury for De Bruyne, given the potential risk of any kind of damage to the cruciate ligament. While exact details are not yet known, it would appear to be more likely to be the medial ligament at this time and thus six weeks doesn’t sound unlikely.

The question must be asked however, was this really wise? Certainly City had the desire to make it to Wembley for the final, and they did just that, but manager Manuel Pellegrini must surely have considered this to be a cost too great. Citizens are looking far beyond Wembley this year, with a mere three points separating them from the top of the table and the Champions League looming. It’s hard to justify losing one of your best players to progress in, if not a Mickey Mouse Trophy then, a competition that falls behind the others on the pecking order of importance.

Further, it’s clear that Pellegrini intended to rest De Bruyne, which made sense given his somewhat stumble in production from being overplayed. It’s obvious that when they brought him on that it was of necessity, but a more prudent manager may have decided not to take the risk. You can’t just not play your best players for fear of injuries, but you can at least give them a full game’s rest every now and then to ensure they are at the peak of physical abilities.

It could be argued that Pellegrini intended to do so for Saturday’s fourth round game against bottom of the table Aston Villa, but it would be perhaps even more foolhardy to write off Villa who have little else to play for this year.

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Either which way, it’s too late for De Bruyne and Manchester City. While this is a blow to their chances going forward, at least we can expect to see De Bruyne back fit again this season. A return to form for David Silva would more than tide us over till that time, when the two can work in tandem again. I have no doubt that I will continue to run the gamut of emotions each game, perhaps, for a time though without those brought by Kevin De Bruyne and Robbie Savage.