I seem to have taken a slightly different view of this game.
Having had time to think, pondering over the concerns and positives which have been gathered watching the game then even I have to say, admitting that I can be softly critical at times compared to other more positive views, we played a great open game, which I really enjoyed. I thought there was a similar vibe to the Arsenal game, if anyone watched it where you knew chances would be created, 9 goals vs 3 goals, id probably stick my hat on our game because of the the competitive nature and the fact you saw great attacking and defensive play rather than bonkers 9 goal game where the arse got their .... never-mind
I thought Sterling and Coutinho had good games, but Suarez was key to almost every attacking move we created, if not making space for others, then starting the move, or being part of a move, its scary good to have a player, who is our captain ! have that great attitude, vision and skill in our side and I am not talking about Stevie
Sterling made the runs, but i think Suarez and the rest did well passing the ball in to him at the right times and yes the offside was ... well really bad, I've seen us and other teams get the same before, maybe its my age so not as shocked as others, but you have to get back into it. Allen did well and got better through the game, looked strong, tenacious, good vision and some good through balls. Lucas and Henderson competed well, not more to say.
Onto Skirtel
I thought he played really well, personally think he stopped 3? chances with last ditch tackles, Negredo had 2 great chances which I thought would have been goals if Skirtel hadn't been there. The Kompany goal, well I think Kompany is a great footballer so yes Skirtel could not manage to stop him getting the header but its like criticising a defender who luis has just gone past, at this level with players this good, shit happens again its the picking yourself up of the floor which matters next, which I think Skirtel and the rest of the team did admirably well. Its a pity that one goal, which Kompany is well known for scoring, clouded the good things Skirtel and the rest of the team did to stop this game turning into a potential 9 goaler says more good things than bad, so back off
His shirt pulling, another one of those it shouldn't happen but it does happen in every game. However he sadly has got the spot light shone on him, has he become more blatant lately? I don't know, but i would not be surprised to see him get pulled up on something soon if he isn't able to stop this or become more subtle.
Mignolet was unlucky with the 2nd goal, not sure he had much chance with the 1st, as I believe Negredo using his left and the outside of his boot threw him, i was impressed Negredo took that option and funnily enough, im normally more critical of Mignolet than others, but thought he couldn't do much about that in this case. Joe hart on the other hand pulled off some great saves, was happy he was in at the start having put my foot on the " he's turned to complete shite " band wagon and not so happy he was playing at the end of the game.
I rate Man City, think they have some great players and a good coach however think we benefitted from having lescott on the field rather than Astrjic ? and Aguero could have made a difference but hey ho, it is what it is. I know we didn't have Gerrard, but think that worked for us in regard to this specific game to be honest. I agree with Chopper and others, as the 2nd half was more about City choosing to contain us, or try to rather than going for it as they did against Arsenal. However, I cannot stress enough the benefit to us as a squad and team, of only playing a game a week right now and as much as I enjoyed the game, we did lose and I still think City had the edge.
What struck me during the game, was that we almost looked a little chelsea like in their heyday under the moaner, btw i didnt like thinking that nevermind writing it, but some back handed praise to Brendan. We kept our shape really well, we moved up and down the pitch collectively, we transitioned well from defence to attack.
In summary, I'm very aware of the fact we are only playing a game a week which is a massive bonus, with more games how would we fare?, well that's for another day when we have that headache but right now this game made me actually believe we could be competing for a top 4 place, where as i thought we would come 6th? this season, i still thought that whilst we were top, yep I am a right miserable bastard ! but its still so tight in the league I really don't know whats going to happen, every point will count thats for sure. But right now, you have to take heart from a genuinely competitive performance like that and being part of a great game regardless of the result due to who and where we played.