Maybe Patrick Vieira was being serious when he declared that Manchester City were still prominently involved in the title race. They have won five games in succession now to clamber above Tottenham Hotspur into the fourth Champions League qualification place on the back of Roberto Mancini’s appointment and with Carlos Tevez, on current form, the most prolific striker in the business.
Tevez’s hat-trick takes his total to 15 goals in 21 starts since his defection from Manchester United and the striker was oozing confidence on a night when Micah Richards scored the goal of his life. The only downside for Mancini came in the form of the first goal his side have conceded in the four games since he took over from Mark Hughes. Morten Gamst Pedersen’s left-foot shot prompted a brief flurry from the visitors but the margin of victory did not flatter City and, even if the seven-point gap to Chelsea looks a considerable divide, there is the unmistakable sense of a side playing with renewed vigour and optimism.
They have a striker who seems determined to show that Sir Alex Ferguson was wrong to demean him as not worth the £25.5m City paid to recruit him. Tevez collected the club’s player-of-the-month award before kick-off and City’s supporters must hope he can maintain this form when his former employers visit in the first leg of their Carling Cup semi-final next Tuesday. The Argentina international has now scored as many times as Wayne Rooney this season, despite playing one game less, and has more than Dimitar Berbatov and Michael Owen put together.
Afterwards Mancini described Tevez as one of the 10 best players in Europe and revealed he had tried to sign him when he was managing Internazionale. “He played very well,” he said. “You know Carlos; that is what he does. But I think all the team helped him. We aren’t looking at the table yet but I am seeing a lot of improvements.”
Blackburn are on a dismal run, without a league win since 22 November, and their manager Sam Allardyce spoke of it being a “real confidence knock”. Allardyce prides himself on discipline and organisation but there was a sloppy look about his team from the moment Tevez put the home side ahead after seven minutes.
It was a soft goal and Paul Robinson will feel particularly distraught, having come to meet Martin Petrov’s corner only to fumble his catch and spill the ball in front of Benjani Mwaruwari. In mitigation Keith Andrews had accidentally impeded his team-mate but it will still be classed as poor goalkeeping. Benjani, starting his first league game for 13 months and unexpectedly preferred to the fit-again Roque Santa Cruz and Robinho, snatched at his shot but Tevez darted forward to get his body in the way and redirect the ball with an unorthodox finish off his thigh.
Poor defending also played a significantpart in City doubling their lead, although it would be unfair to take anything away from Richards after the storming run that not only led to the goal but suggested the player’s confidence had returned after a difficult period. Richards took the ball from deep inside his own half, beating one man, then a second, moving into the centre circle and between two more challenges. It was some sight as he powered forward to the edge of the penalty area before slipping the ball into Benjani’s path. The striker’s shot came back off the post and spun into the path of Richards to score a goal that had begun 80 yards away.
Blackburn looked desperate. “I couldn’t believe what we were doing,” Allardyce said, and the visitors were punished again three minutes into the second half. Tevez has been described before as not a natural scorer but this was the finish of a man at the point of maximum expression, running on to Benjani’s cutback and stylishly curling the ball beyond Robinson from 25 yards.
Vieira, absent with a calf injury, must have enjoyed watching his new team-mates exert their superiority but Mancini was visibly annoyed about what he described as the “gift” of Blackburn’s goal when Vincent Kompany miscontrolled the ball in defence and Pedersen beat Shay Given with a curling shot.
The final flourish was provided by Tevez with another wonderfully taken finish from outside the area, despite the close proximity of three Blackburn defenders.
Carlos TevezManchester CityBlackburn RoversPremier LeagueDaniel Taylorguardian.co.uk
