Another Manchester City corner, another Patrick Vieira goal. While the defence was distracted by Mario Balotelli's collision with Krystian Pearce, the ex-Arsenal midfielder was able to rise and power home Aleksandar Kolarov's wicked delivery. He didn't need a deflection to get the ball past Stuart Nelson this time, easily beating the defender at the near post with a powerful finish. So that's Vieira with his brace, City up 2-0 with half an hour to play, and the tie more or less wrapped up, I'd say. It's not for lack of opportunity for visiting Notts County, but their fine play (they started the second half very brightly after a strong first half display) looks like it'll have been in vain.
Manchester City Vs. Notts County: Patrick Vieira Gets His Brace
Balotelli, on a yellow card and now probably a headache, has been replaced by Carlos Tevez, which is just about the last thing City's League One guests wanted to see. They've now got a very tough task ahead of them - putting two goals past Joe Hart in thirty minutes without conceding more. I wouldn't put it past them, but it seems pretty unlikely at this point. Who'd have thought it would have been City's set pieces that won the match?
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