Swansea City v Manchester City: Match Review

SWANSEA CITY 0 - 0 MANCHESTER CITY


City prolonged their chase for second spot on Saturday with a revolting bore draw against Swansea.

The blues endured an early assault with Spanish duo Michu and Pablo Hernandez passing up excellent opportunities to score. The Welsh side also had a legitimate penalty appeal turned down when Matija Nastasic carelessly collided with Michu.

Dyer and Hernandez provided Mancini with a sly lesson on the effectiveness of width as they teased and tortured the legs of Zabaleta and Clichy down the flanks. Their incessant pressure made sure the PFA Team Of The Year member and his French counterpart couldn't supplement their own team's attack.

All City's possession proved fruitless as Vorm's goal remained untested. At half time, Edin Dzeko was introduced into the fray in place of the anonymous Yaya Toure; the FA Cup (hopefully) in his mind. 

The Bosnian could only supply laughs, however. As City finally carved open the Swansea defence, Dzeko was presented with an open goal to calmly place the ball inside.

He didn't, and the blues drew. Again.

Player Ratings
 Joe Hart 6
He will have been surprised not to have been tested. The inaccuracy of Michu and Hernandez meant the England stopper couldn't get his gloves warm.

 Pablo Zabaleta 6
Struggled with the pace of Hernandez who was Swansea's main threat.

 Vincent Kompany 7
Solid as ever and ensured City's impressive defensive record stayed in tact.

 Matija Nastasic 6
Started the game clumsily and was lucky not to give away a penalty. Sured up in the second half.

 Gael Clichy 6
A similar performance to Zaba, except he had to deal with Nathan Dyer.

 Yaya Toure 5
We all know how much Yaya loves Wembley and we can only hope that he was saving his legs for next week. Lethargic.

 Gareth Barry 7
Instrumental in the high possession percentage.

 James Milner 7
Couldn't provide City with any width and so moved into a more central position in the second half. Like Barry, provided a basis for City's high possession percentage.

 Samir Nasri 6
Failed to influence the game as much as he has been doing in recent weeks. 

 David Silva 6
Had a double effort brilliantly stopped by Vorm in the second half, but should have put City in front with a number of efforts. Frustrating afternoon for Merlin.

 Sergio Aguero 6
Had no provision and with no provision, a goalscorer can't score. 

Substitutes

Edin Dzeko 4 - Came on to try and score a goal, but instead produced the miss of the season.

Carlos Tevez 6 - Should have been brought on earlier but couldn't make an impact.

Jack Rodwell 6 - Hopefully he can stay fit and give us a different option next season.