Sorry Branislav Ivanovic, but this is on you.
At the point where this begins, clearly there should have been more pressure on Gareth Barry as he prepares to cross the ball into the box. Even here though, there’s no obvious danger – Chelsea have got a high defensive line, and all the Manchester City players are accounted for. Here, Ivanovic has Carlos Tevez is goal-side on his left, and Sergio Aguero to his right.
…but then watch how much space Aguero manages to put between him and Ivanovic by the time the ball arrives. There’s a full video below, and that shows this far better than the stills can, but all Aguero does is spin away and into space – there’s nothing particularly subtle about, and Ivanovic just doesn’t react at all.
All that considered, the header Aguero produces is lovely and it really demonstrates his awareness of both where the goal and Petr Cech both are. There’s not a lot of pace on the ball, but just the direction is enough to wrong-foot Cech and allow the header to drop into the net via the post. There’s no blame attached to Cesar Azpilicueta, because his priority is Samir Nasri, and by the time he notices and tries to cover for Ivanovic’s busted marking assignment, he’s not in any position to challenge Aguero properly.
A well-taken goal, but one which Chelsea should never have conceded.
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