Manchester City chose the perfect time to impress a gallery with global domination on the mind as it excelled against Portsmouth to record its biggest Premier League win, writes Andy Hunter.
Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan picked the wrong day to inject realism into his �200m takeover of Manchester City. "We are building a structure for the future, not just a team of all-stars," said the Arab billionaire on completion of the due diligence process, having heeded the scorn that greeted the transfer wishlist divulged on deadline day. He may be too late, for Mark Hughes' team have already begun to indulge in fantasy.
In contrast to the new owner, City chose the perfect time to impress a gallery with global domination on the mind. Before Khaldoon Al Mubarak, who will become City's new chairman when Sheikh Mansour's takeover is formally concluded, and Thaksin Shinawatra, the outgoing owner who will stay on as honorary president, Hughes' team excelled against Portsmouth to record their biggest Premier League win. The men from Abu Dhabi hope to establish a gulf between their new investment and the rest in years to come. But one was very evident here.
Whether it was City's magnificence or Portsmouth's appalling display that produced this mauling divided the respective managers as deeply as the goal count. "That was the best performance I've managed by a country mile," said Hughes. "We were poor. Our defensive play was abysmal," said a shell-shocked Harry Redknapp. The truth, as always, is somewhere in between and yet there was no mistaking the potent cocktail of City's Brazilian technique and home-grown strength and spirit. The result was unbridled joy for the City faithful as Robinho illuminated their afternoon with a performance of technique and no little effort, and Hughes substituted the British record signing, his compatriot Jo and the outstanding Stephen Ireland simply so all three could enjoy standing ovations.
"If ever there was a day to impress people this was the one," remarked the City manager. "We did that and more. From start to finish the desire and determination in our play, the ability to pick the right pass and to create chances was evident. It was a fantastic team performance, with some brilliant individual displays from Stephen Ireland, Robinho, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Vincent Kompany. We have set a high standard with this performance and the aim is to strive to even greater heights." Talk of Champions League qualification will not sound so fanciful if they do.
Portsmouth were 3-0 victors at Everton on their last away trip but were made to look a shambles as City comprehensively clicked for the first time since Abu Dhabi money transformed their bank balance and ? ambitions. Hughes's side were superior in every department, their defence immune to the errors that swiftly undermined Portsmouth's game plan, the midfield blessed with greater understanding and invention and, as befitted their billing, the Brazilian strike force of Jo and Robinho leading the visitors' rearguard on an irrepressible dance. For David James, Sol Campbell and Sylvain Distin this was 90 minutes on the rack.
Robinho instigated the rout with a delightful pass that released Jo behind the visiting defence, took him around James and saw him convert into an empty net. The England goalkeeper's afternoon plummeted thereafter. James's failure to deal with an Elano corner to his near post enabled Richard Dunne to bundle in a second and the game was effectively up after only 20 minutes. The first "Oles" were heard five minutes later. Portsmouth had their chances either side of the interval, Jermain Defoe squandering a glorious invitation seconds after the restart, but they did not get the run of the ball or display any resilience. City's movement and work ethic produced an exhibition.
Ireland's tenacity and then vision produced Robinho's second successive goal for his new club, via Jo, before the midfielder's measured pass enabled Wright-Phillips to beat James at his near post.
A backheel from Wright-Phillips gave the young substitute Ched Evans his first goal for the club and the England winger was heavily involved in City's sixth when he challenged James for Javier Garrido's left-wing cross and Gelson Fernandes converted the loose ball. The only problem for Hughes is having to tell his new employers that not every day is like this at City, although Sheikh Mansour appears to be learning fast after announcing to the world that Cristiano Ronaldo et al would be on their way in January.
The sheikh added: "We are ambitious for the club, like you, but not unreasonably so and we understand it takes time to build a team capable of sustaining a presence in the top four of the Premier League and winning European honours." It is performances and victories such as this that bring clarity to such lofty ambitions.
The resultsSeptember 21Chelsea 1 (Kalou 80) drew with Manchester United 1 (Park 18). Half-time: 0-1; Hull 2 (Turner 18, Neville o.g.-50) drew with Everton 2 (Cahill 73, Osman 78). Half-time: 1-0; Manchester City 6 (Jo 13, Dunne 20, Robinho 57, Wright-Phillips 68, Evans 78, Gelson 83) bt Portsmouth 0. Half-time: 2-0; Tottenham 0 drew with Wigan 0; West Brom 1 (Morrison 34) lost to Aston Villa 2 (Carew 27, Agbonlahor 29). Half-time: 1-2.
September 20Blackburn 1 (Derbyshire 84) bt Fulham 0. Half-time: 0-0; Bolton 1 (Davies 14) lost to Arsenal 3 (Eboue 26, Bendtner 27, Denilson 87). Half-time: 1-2; Liverpool 0 drew with Stoke 0; Sunderland 2 (Chopra 81 & 90+2) bt Middlesbrough 0. Half-time: 0-0; West Ham 3 (Di Michele 8 & 37, Etherington 53) bt Newcastle 1 (Owen 67). Half-time: 2-0.
September 15Tottenham 1 (Bent 87) lost to Aston Villa 2 (Reo-Coker 5, Young 54). Half-time: 0-1.
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