It’s hard not to start off by saying how excited I am that Man City lost. We are the last big team standing but as Man City has learned (twice now), pulling off the FA Cup is not as easy as it appears. This was really a game that wore on me while watching. I was concerned going in as Everton are a solid club with great players and a very good manager. All things aside, we pulled out a great win with a much more lopsided score than what really played out on pitch. 

One interesting pick to play this one out: Sanogo. Kind of surprising given that Bend-over has found the net when leaned on early in the year when we were a bit injury depleted (yes, I can’t believe I am saying that either). Aside from Sanogo, you could tell we ran a very solid lineup out there. To me, however, the biggest addition and difference maker was the Ox. AOC has been a beast in the absence of Theo. He is the attacking prowess and pace we need on the counter; a great addition to the starting lineup. The effort he exuded in earning that penalty was fantastic and exactly the kind of effort we needed from him; pure quality from a great, young winger. The other big benefit to this match was Flamini (although I am not the biggest fan of both Flamini and Arteta on the pitch but in the absence of Jack I get it). 

What was a breath of fresh air was seeing a rejuvenated Ozil provide for our first goal (lovely slot) and then an assist later on. I don’t care what people say, that lad is pure quality and you don’t go starting for Germany and Real Madrid without grande cajones. It was only a matter of time before he perked back up after a much needed rest (come on, it’s his first year in the BPL and that has to carry with it adjustment if you believe all the hype of it being the best in the world-maybe…). 

It was nice seeing TV5 getting the start but boy did he have a few bone-headed mistakes that really could have been detrimental to the outcome of this game. In the end it didn’t ruin our chances but I think the rust was apparent at times (really makes you appreciate what Kols/BFG partnership means to our club). 

Lastly, you can’t deny this was a great boost for the big OG. Two late goals not only sealed the game but are the exact confidence booster a striker needs going into our CL match with Bayern; especially given that he nailed a brace in less than a half. The fact that Ozil walked away with another assist helps too and hopefully they will carry that confidence into our CL clash. 

The wonderful part about this game is that our boys hung 4 on a solid team without exhausting all out players. It also helps knowing that our lads can hang with Bayern in their home stadium and hopefully this year we nab that one necessary goal to see us through one more round. 

It is looking more and more like Chelsea/Man City are going to dominate our league cup. I know mathematically we still can throw a wrench in it all but we have to really run the table in order to keep pressure on and have a chance. It is looking more and more like the FA may be our only silverware (fingers crossed) this year. Big question right now, which is more likely: We run to the top of the league table OR we pull through to the next CL round? Yeah…