Craig Noone was brilliant all day for Cardiff City, but it wasn't enough for points at the Etihad as Manchester City rose to a 4-2 victory. The Citizens are now a perfect 11-0 at home in the Premier League , though Arsenal has kept the pace and continue to hold top of the table with 51 points.
City controlled possession throughout the majority of the first half and Edin Dzeko opened up the scoring in the 14th minute. David Silva finessed his way into the box and found Dzeko in front of the net for a 1-0 lead. Dzeko's goal was overshadowed by a potential handball by Silva, but the tap-in gave City their 100th goal of the season in all competitions.
Cardiff City would respond midway through the half when Noone took advantage of a defensive lapse by the Citizens to even the score at 1-1. The Bluebird's equalizer was quickly countered by City's relentless attack just four minutes later as Jesus Navas cleaned up a loose ball in the box to take back the lead.
Manchester City continued to push forward after the break and Alvaro Negredo came close on two separate occasions before being subbed off in the 60th minute for Sergio Aguero. The Argentinean has missed a month of Premier League action due to injury, but he returned in style with a goal and an assist in the 4-2 win.
Aguero connected with Yaya Toure in the 76th minute and the Ivorian midfielder finished it off to take a two-goal lead. Just three minutes later, Aguero dazzled his way past Cardiff's back line and perfectly placed his shot into the top-right corner to seal the victory for the Citizens.
Frazier Campbell scored a consolation goal for Cardiff City in the final minutes, but Manuel Pellegrini's side came out on top after a dramatic 3-2 loss in the first meeting between the two clubs earlier this season. Manchester City will now hit the road to face West Ham in the Capital One Cup Semi-Finals on Tuesday before returning home for the F.A. Cup against Watford next weekend. Their next test in the Premier League will be at White Hart Lane against Tottenham on January 29th.
