An efficient team defends as a group when they concede the ball and attacks as a group when possession is gained. Recently, despite Manchester City losing fewer games than any other Premier League side, their expensive centre-back pairing of Kolo Touré and Joleon Lescott has come under the microscope with the players' mistakes scrutinised. When confronted by the most productive of the top flight's striker partnerships in Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka, however, City struck upon a strategy to offer their centre-halves a shield.
Mark Hughes set his side out to ensure his back line had maximum protection assuming that Chelsea, even away from home, had the confidence to command the ball. Without Stephen Ireland, and having tried numerous combinations already this season, he had the opportunity to pair Gareth Barry with Nigel de Jong, players with more natural defensive qualities than creative instincts, together in the centre. They were assigned to track the outside men of the Chelsea diamond, Michael Ballack and Frank Lampard. Carlos Tevez was City's second striker but his natural game is to drop into midfield space to collect the ball. By playing deeper, he helped nullify Deco, offered extra help to De Jong and Barry and, crucially, gave City's midfield substance in front of their back four.
Such support and industry will have boosted Touré and Lescott's belief. Either side of the centre-backs, Micah Richards kept defensive shape, rarely raiding forward, and Wayne Bridge was supported well by Robinho who, somewhat surprisingly, showed that if an artist grafts he is even more appreciated by his colleagues. For, make no mistake, every high earner had to give his personal 100% for City to survive and conquer Chelsea's confident collective. Although the visitors lost discipline and became desperate in the latter stages, they can also point to a major effort in a game of classic confrontations. Never for the purist, it was a game for heavyweight challenges, tough tackling and little respect for reputations.
Lescott picked up Drogba whenever possible, challenging him by methods both fair and foul and the big Ivorian duly became distracted as he got as good as he gave. City's tightness and organisation was illustrated clearly by the fact that Lampard, so dangerous with his forward runs, was never able to get into a position to ping off one of his trademark thunderbolt strikes. De Jong blocked his charges forward in outstanding defensive fashion, while Barry admirably kept Ballack quiet.
With the opposition midfield not running beyond their individual markers (with or without the ball), Touré and Lescott felt more secure. Critics of Lescott have pointed to his inflated value, £22m, but it was the clever tactical nous of Everton that demanded that was the price to pay for his lost affections. In this game, paired with the quick, athletic Ivorian Touré, he proved why Hughes isolated his attentions on the Everton man. Indeed, the balance of Touré and Lescott looked more compatible here than it might had John Terry made the trip to Eastlands.
Lescott's covering of his left side and natural comfort on that side balances Touré's right-sided strength. When balls are played behind an advanced full-back colleague, they see the danger and cover that space, moving quickly over the ground. After Shay Given's excellent but fortuitous save from Lampard's penalty (goalkeepers are supposed to stay on the line, Mr Webb), Chelsea, more rigorous but less controlled, stormed forward only to find City were, for once, strong in their resistance. Once Ireland is fit and ready to return then Hughes will be confronted with a dilemma again in midfield but, for this occasion, he was rewarded with his selection.
