London - What will Manuel Pellegrini make of Manchester City if he gets to watch the DVD of this game? The rain may edge him towards staying in Malaga, but he will see plenty in City's display that could tempt him to the Etihad Stadium as the successor to Roberto Mancini.
The City team picked by club stalwart Brian Kidd produced a dominant display, albeit against a relegated side, and there were enough reminders of the quality throughout their squad to whet the appetite of any prospective coach. Only a failure to convert a decent percentage of their chances prevented a rout. A tribute to their departed boss, or relief at his departure? The answer to that, you suspect, will stay in the dressing room.
But there was definitely - and Pelligrini could take this as a negative or a positive - a display of loyalty to Mancini from the City fans. There were banners in the colours of the Italian flag that read “Forza Mancini” and “Grazie Mancini”. Another commemorated the exact time of Sergio Aguero's title winning goal a year ago.
“It feels like a step back,” was the verdict on Mancini's departure from two supporters draped in light blue before the game. So not looking forward to the arrival of Pelligrini, then? “He's all right, probably a better man manager than Mancini. But we'd prefer Mourinho.”
With the news that David Platt had “declined the invitation” to stay at City breaking just as the teamsheets were being handed out, it was tempting to wonder whether the dugout would gradually empty during the evening as more members of Mancini's backroom staff decided to walk the plank in solidarity. When Kolo Touré left the field in the 15th minute after going down with no opponent anywhere near him, the natural assumption was that he had suddenly decided to decline the invitation to keep playing.
Kidd resisted any temptation he might have felt to wear a Mancini-style scarf in City colours, opting for a sensible rainproof top instead. He made four changes to the side that began Saturday's FA Cup Final. Pablo Zabaleta was suspended after his red card at Wembley, but the absence even from the bench of Vincent Kompany, the captain, was unexplained.
As for the game, a match that must have looked glamorous to Reading fans when they first scanned the fixtures last summer, began against a backdrop of empty blue seats and persistent rain. The section reserved for City fans was the most sparsely-attended of all, but many of the 400 or so from Manchester began chanting Mancini's name within 30 seconds of kick-off before celebrating arguably the pinnacle of the Italian's stay, the 6-1 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford last season.
Reading gave an early reminder of why they are going straight back to the Championship when Alex McCarthy was forced to make a double save from James Milner and Sergio Aguero after possession had been given away. Yaya Touré had a shot charged down and Carlos Tevez saw a point-blank header blocked by McCarthy but was offside.
After 39 minutes they went ahead, Reading obligingly standing back and admiring as Milner exchanged passes with David Silva before passing unopposed to Aguero, who prodded the ball home past a group of blue and white statues. Cheers from the City fans and another chorus of 'Mancini'.
It was the least City deserved for a dominant display, but whether their quality or Reading's feebleness was responsible was difficult to judge. The second half followed the same pattern, City passing effortlessly through the immobile Reading ranks. Tevez had a shot blocked by Adrian Mariappa then shot over, Milner did as he pleased down the right and McCarthy sprawled to turn away Yaya Touré's daisy-cutter.
Kidd looked on impassively from the technical area. His style is more understated than that of Mancini, to put it mildly, and his name does not sound as good when sung. But the performance was a big improvement.
It looked as if Reading would distort the scoreline, first when Adrian Mariappa's header was nodded off the goal line by Tevez and then when Jem Karacan's rocket shot was saved at full stretch by Joe Hart. But two minutes from time City substitute Edin Dzeko dribbled through to make it 2-0.
The Independent