Jovetic hits brace as Man City makes an early case for title defense

Photo: Stevan Jovetic scores for Manchester City against Liverpool. He hit a brace as City ran out 3-1 winners at the Etihad. (Getty Images)

On a day when Mario Balotelli completed his move from Milan to Merseyside, it was the young Montenegro striker Stevan Jovetic who stole the headlines as the former Manchester City striker walked back into the Etihad Stadium as the enemy. The 24 year old Jovetic, who hit a brace, looked extremely sharp and getting back to his best after enduring a nightmare with injuries at the start of his Man City career. He was voted the man-of-the-match in their 3-1 home victory.

The Noisy Neighbours are quite loud at the moment while their cross town rivals are enduring a rough start to the new season. Manuel Pellegrini’s men looked very much a strong unit that is all but ready to successfully defend their title. They are a very powerful unit capable of playing excellent football and conjure up moments of genuine top quality as a team. They have added some good players in the transfer window while the likes of Samir Nasri, David Silva, captain Vincent Kompany and Sergio Aguero looked hungrier than ever with just two games played in the season so far.

Liverpool was threatening at times but didn’t look like the the team that finished in second place, just 2 points behind City last season. They used the ball well in midfield but lacked craft and incisiveness in the attacking third. They were a bit naive with their approach in attack which could be down to the lack of a proven talent in that department. There are quality attackers in their ranks but not many proven talent.

The defending champions looked the most impressive team thus far and has taken maximum points from their two outings. Their strength in depth is frightening and they will improve as the season progresses. It seems as if they can go up a few more gears and could be in for another season where scoring is for fun. It took Kun Aguero just 23 seconds to hit the back of the net after coming on as a substitute which shows the quality in their play as a team as well as their individual class.