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No Balotelli fireworks as City crumble

It was a day to forget for Manchester City, who lost at Swansea © PA Photos

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On a day that saw Manchester United leapfrog Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table, we round up the best and worst of the action...

Bench press
Manchester City's bench for the fixture with Swansea had netted 50 goals between them this season before kick-off; Swansea's starting XI and subs combined could boast 29. Oh, how the other half live.

No fireworks
The BBC interview with Noel Gallagher was great PR for Mario Balotelli on Saturday, and he was handed the chance to capitalise on that with a start against the Swans. However, the only other time he played at the Liberty Stadium - for Italy U-21s against their Welsh counterparts in September 2009 - he was totally nullified by a fine performance from Cardiff's Darcy Blake. Sure enough, once again he was anonymous.

Spot of bother
City goalkeeper Joe Hart gave away a penalty early on by bringing down Wayne Routledge - and, before Scott Sinclair could take the kick, Hart was right in his ear, trying to put him off. Boy, did it work: Sinclair's penalty was distinctly average, and the England international clawed it away in some style. The sort of intimidation Bret Hart (no relation... we think) would be proud of.

Barry chuckle
Gareth Barry got the old John Obi Mikel treatment at the Liberty Stadium, being hauled off shortly before half-time in favour of Sergio Aguero, as Roberto Mancini aimed to turn around a pretty dreadful performance. City didn't manage a shot on target until the 23rd minute.

Sav it!
With Joleon Lescott and Vincent Kompany out of the City team due to injury and suspension respectively, Stefan Savic was thrust into the starting XI. Safe to say he failed his big audition: his error, surrendering the ball to Wayne Routledge, led directly to Luke Moore's winner for Swansea.

Paul the other one
Reports over the last week have suggested Manchester United youngster Paul Pogba is destined to move to Juventus at the end of the season. Well, in his own way, Sir Alex Ferguson has debunked those stories. The Scot surprisingly named Pogba on the bench in the 2-0 win over West Brom, and threw him into the fray with 20 minutes left, bringing him on for Paul Scholes in a nice, passing-of-the-torch kinda moment. Not a dry eye in the house.

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