Carlos Tevez was outstanding in Manchester City’s 1-0 win at home over West Bromwhich Albion on Tuesday. The Argentine may have earned a place in Roberto Mancini’s lineup for Saturday’s FA Cup final with Wigan after creating the game’s only goal in the 35th.
City are now seven points clear of Chelsea in second place and ten points below champions Manchester United, while West Brom, who have not won in seven games, remain eighth.
Steve Clark’s formation for the start of the match was quite unorthodox; the 3-5-2 formation still couldn’t help the visitors get a goal though they tried.
Romelu Lukaku started the early trouble at the heart of City’s defence, shooting narrowly wide from 25 yards and then heading straight at goalkeeper Joe Hart after City failed to clear their lines from a free- kick.
Gradually, the host began to assert themselves as Jack Rodwell hooked a shot over the bar after West Brom goalkeeper Boaz Myhill fumbled a free- kick, while Tevez shot just over and James Millner lashed wide from Samir Nasri’s cross.
Tevez’s contribution was quite magnanimous and after rattling the bar with a shot from 25 yards, he teed up Dzeko with the opening goal.
Nasri robbed Youssouf Mulumbu in midfield to release Tevez down the right, who looked up and picked out Dzeko upfront. Dzeko then shot a difficult side- foot volley past Myhill from 15 yards.
The first half ended with City rampaging the visitors’ defence but couldn’t get the desired second goal.
West Brom came back in the second half with more determination to get a goal out of the fixture. Markus Rosenberg saw a brilliant free- kick from 25 yards come back off the crossbar and from the rebound, Hart sprang to his right to parry a header from Billy Jones, after which Hart had to turn a low shot from James Morrison around the post. City reacted sooner with Rodwell narrowly failing to convert a cross from Tevez and then testing Myhill in a scramble afterwards.
Thereafter, Myhill thwarted Millner, while Hart saved a bobbling effort from Rosenberg, and West Brom substitute Shane Long spurned a good chance to equalise when he shot into the side netting.
In the other match of the day Swansea came from behind twice to defeat Wigan Athletic at the DW stadium.
Goals from Roger Espinoza and James McCarthy helped the host take the lead twice, while Angel Rangel, Itay Shechter, and Dwight Tiendalli were at the home team’s end causing more havoc to their relegation woes.
The loss means Newcastle, Norwich and Sunderland, who are all three points clear of Sunderland would have breathed a sigh of relieve, as the permutation continues in search of the last relegation team.
Swansea goalkeeper Michel Vorm was carried off on a stretcher late on after clashing with teammate Ben Davis in an aerial collision.
