TENSATIONAL!
Kompany sees red but City march on
DAVID SILVA turned on the style to make sure 10- man Manchester City still have control in the title race.
The Spaniard scored a stunning opener and set up Edin Dzeko’s late goal as the Blues survived the sending- off of skipper Vincent Kompany.
City are playing catch- up with leaders Chelsea but have games in hand and wins like this make sure Manuel Pellegrini is not waiting for other teams to slip up. They had to survive a second- half battering from Hull, but City got the job done – even though they were down on numbers.
Nikica Jelavic was a handful for the City defence and his strength led to Kompany’s red card.
The Belgian defender took too long to sort his feet out and Jelavic pinched possession.
Kompany desperately tried to recover but could only haul down the Croat and referee Lee Mason had no choice but to show red.
City’s response was almost instant. Hull failed to close down quickly and Yaya Toure’s pass found Silva, who let fly from 20 yards out with a left- foot curler that gave Allan McGregor no chance.
City went close to making it 2- 0 when a clearance found its way to Pablo Zabaleta. The Argie
full- back’s first touch teed him up perfectly, but his volley crashed off the underside of the bar and onto the line before being cleared.
Hull still have work to do if they are to secure survival and boss Steve Bruce clearly thought this was a chance to add to their points tally.
Defender James Chester carried the ball forward and fed Shane Long, but his turn and shot was beaten away by Joe Hart.
Sub George Boyd gave Hull more threat and he was convinced he should have had a penalty midway through the second half.
But replays showed he’d dived and Hart went ballistic as Mason waved away the appeals. The City keeper was booked for his reaction – Boyd was not for his embarrassing play- acting.
Guilty
Pellegrini’s side should have killed the game off through Fernandinho with 18 minutes left.
It was their first attack of the second half and Silva’s deflected shot found the Brazilian eight yards out, but he somehow managed to shoot wide.
Ahmed Elmohamady’s crosses from the right were a threat and Jelavic should have equalised with five minutes left, but failed to get enough on his header.
At the other end, Dzeko was guilty of missing a better opportunity when he fired straight at McGregor.
But the Bosnia striker made up for it in the 90th minute. He latched onto a fine through- ball by Silva and fired low beyond McGregor to seal three points that could prove massive in City’s season.