1. Harry Redknapp should be tempted to use his home approach in away games
Queens Park Rangers have been an exciting side to watch at Loftus Road recently with Bobby Zamora effectively linking up with Charlie Austin in a 4-4-2 formation. They have earned all their points at home as they usually lack an offensive threat in away games.
The Rangers manager has been forced to go for a more cautious 4-5-1 formation in away games, especially after they shipped a lot of goals earlier in the season but they cannot rely only on points from home matches to survive, so Redknapp must be tempted to pick away games where he can turn to a bolder approach.
2. Vincent Kompany’s injury reminded City how understaffed they are at the back
Eliaquim Mangala and Martin Demichelis usually have decent performances when they play alongside Kompany. They both started at the heart of City’s defence as Kompany was nursing a calf injury.
The Citizens clearly missed their captain as Mangala played Austin onside for QPR’s opening goal while Demichelis’ own goal gifted the R’s a second goal.
Without the commanding voice of Kompany at the back, Demichelis and Mangala also seemed unsure of how to execute Manuel Pellegrini’s demands of shifting their defensive line in transitions without dropping into their own penalty box.
3. Austin deserves an England call-up
Austin has already scored six goals in the league and they have required different types of finishes, which proves that he is a complete centre-forward. Roy Hodgson is yet to include the Rangers marksman in his current squad, but he was attending this game.
If the Three Lions boss can select Rickie Lambert with his recent form then he should definitely consider Austin as well.
4. Sergio Aguero is the new Luis Suarez
Redknapp described Aguero as the best player in the league since Luis Suarez left and it is hard to argue against that. City were clearly poor in this game and they had moments when they could not even string together enough passes to create chances.
Aguero was always lively though, and his brace came from half-chances that still demanded a lot from the Argentine. He is not just scoring important goals, he is repeatedly carrying Manchester City in games just like Suarez did for Liverpool last season.
5. QPR now have healthy competition for places
Joey Barton had a decent cameo against the Citizens after his recent return from injury. Barton was by far QPR’s best central midfielder before he was sidelined and now returns to a side in which Karl Henry and Sandro have both been playing well recently.
At the back, Rio Ferdinand will not be guaranteed a place when he returns from his ban after assured displays from Richard Dunne and Steven Caulker. Players like Niko Kranjcar, who were guaranteed places in the starting XI at the beginning of the season, now find themselves in the same situation which is a huge improvement for a side that struggled to assemble a decent starting XI just over a month ago.
