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Manchester City 2 Blackburn Rovers 2: City's perfect 10 denied in late controversy of Santa Cruz goal

Ian Herbert
Friday 28 December 2007 01:00 GMT
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Sven Goran Eriksson's hastily-assembled squad has delivered more than he might possibly have hoped this season but the one that got away did for his side's 100 per cent home League record last night, just as it seemed it might stay intact.

Roque Santa Cruz, a player Eriksson admits was on his radar this summer "I was just a bit too late," he revealed this week struck two goals, the second amid mighty controversy to clinch a point for Rovers, with City just six minutes away from a perfect 10 home wins out of 10. Linesman Darren Cann flagged that David Dunn was offside when David Bentley crossed from the right but changed his mind when the Paraguayan headed home. It was difficult to see how Dunn might have been "inactive" and not interfering with play but the Blackburn manager, Mark Hughes, praised him for being "strong enough" to change his mind.

The point deprived City of a chance to return above Liverpool into fourth place and left Eriksson wondering how a game which City so dominated for 45 minutes could have slipped from their grasp as they allowed Rovers increasing possession as the game wore on. Santa Cruz's record this season underlines Eriksson's expectations that he would flourish in the Premier League: he now has 13 goals and, buoyed by his hat-trick against Wigan, he has netted seven times in four.

It is Eriksson's conviction that a glut of fixtures which sees City play three times inside seven days, at a time when many in his league of nations are used to taking a Christmas break, will define how great this season's expectations might be and he rotated his squad as promised, keeping Elano and Dietmar Hamann on the bench.

For 20 minutes, City seemed to lack much fluidity without the Brazilian, with none of the requisite understanding between Stephen Ireland and Gelson Fernandes which City fans have become accustomed to in their nine successive home wins in the League. But Eriksson could not, in his wildest dreams have anticipated the 10-minute passage of play during which Martin Petrov's pace down the City left destroyed Zurab Khizanishvili no fewer than four times. There was a hint of what was about to pass when, on 20 minutes, a one-two with Ireland sent Petrov running free down the left to cross accurately for Rolando Bianchi. The Italian miscued with his left foot when anything but scoring seemed impossible.

Within five minutes, Khizanishvili allowed City and Petrov another chance. The Bulgarian picked out Darius Vassell this time, who was unchallenged as he headed City ahead. But the quality of City's defending has belied their home record at times and there was more evidence of its fragility within a minute when Micah Richards first handed Rovers a free-kick by fouling David Bentley on the left, then failed to mark Santa Cruz, whose head Bentley found with a deft free-kick.

Rovers had not learned the lesson about Petrov, though, and within two minutes of an extraordinary passage of play he was away down the left again to help put City back ahead skipping over the challenge of Christopher Samba and crossing for Bianchi, who watched the retreating Ryan Nelsen play the ball into his own net.

That Petrov was sent through a fourth time before the passage of play was out Brad Friedel intercepting this time did little to improve the mood of Mark Hughes, whose obvious displeasure with his side's defending was compounded by their failure to move out of defence in any numbers.

Joe Hart saved well to his right from a trademark 30-yard free-kick from Morten Gamst Pedersen but Blackburn provided little sign of the form which has put them among the sides, like City, most likely to inveigle their way into the top four this season. Blackburn had won just one of their last eight Premier League matches before this game taking a mere five points and they were showing it.

Hughes took the most obvious course of action at the start of the second half, putting the suffering Khizanishvili out of his misery and moving Brett Emerton to right-back with McCarthy introduced alongside Santa Cruz. But within minutes, Petrov was off again, crossing just beyond Bianchi.

Rovers looked far sharper, Samba tasked, with Emerton, to halt the Bulgarian express began limiting the relentless supply line to Petrov down the left with Emerton helping him out. Pedersen and Bentley fashioned the beginnings of a late fightback in which the new striking combination of Santa Cruz and McCarthy looked much more potent and it took a brave block from Richards as Santa Cruz raced into a fierce strike.

Eriksson, desperate for the points to maintain City's momentum, introduced his talisman Elano and the Brazilian took less than five minutes to show his worth, controlling immaculately with his chest and volleying a first-time right-foot shot just over with Friedel rooted to the spot.

Just when it seemed that City had awoken to Rovers' threat, however, Santa Cruz dispatched his second header inside the near post. "I guess [the linesman] realised he was [initially] wrong," said Santa Cruz.

Manchester City (4-1-3-2): Hart; Onuoha, Dunne, Richards, Ball; Corluka; Vassell, Fernandes, Petrov; Ireland, Bianchi (Elano, 63). Substitutes not used: Isaksson (gk), Geovanni, Hamann, Garrido.

Blackburn Rovers (4-4-2): Friedel; Emerton, Khizanishvili (McCarthy, h-t), Nelsen, Samba; Berner, Reid, Dunn (Tugay, 90), Pedersen; Bentley, Santa Cruz ( Roberts, 90). Substitutes not used: Brown (gk), Olsson.

Referee: H Webb (Yorkshire).

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