In the absence of Vincent Kompany, Kolo Toure and Matija Nastasic, Javi Garcia was dropped into the centre of a makeshift back four for the trip to Loftus Road.
The greatest compliment you could give to the former Benfica man is that his presence was barely noticed, as he slotted in with confidence and composure alongside Joleon Lescott, continuing his recent fine form as part of adaptation to the Premier League.
Combine this versatility with his first-half 40-yard howlitzer which so nearly broke the deadlock and a sublime point-saving last-ditch tackle on Adel Taraabt and you have our latest Spotlight subject.
CityTV: Spotlight
Deep, deep-lying playmaker...
Mixed Zone
It wasn’t exactly a headline grabbing performance from Javi due to the nature of the game but there were plenty of compliments around for the Spaniard if you’re willing to dig around.
The Manchester Evening News awarded Garcia 7/10 in their player ratings.
“GARCIA 7 The pressure was rarely on the makeshift City defence, but he did not look out of place, and almost scored a screamer”
The paper also detailed the ex-Real Madrid man’s contribution in his match report.
“Javi Garcia, playing as a makeshift centre-back alongside Lescott, then saw an audacious 45-yard half-volley whistle just wide, before he was called into action at the other end,” Brennan wrote.
Loic Remy latched onto a quickly-taken Stephane Mbia free-kick and fired a low strike from an acute angle that would have tested Hart had it not been for a deflection off the Spaniard’s heel.
...Manchester Evening News...
David Clayton (of this Parish), also praised Garcia in the official match report - although he disagrees with the Manchester Evening News journalist on how far out Javi’s incredible strike for goal was.
“Then the impressive Javi Garcia saw a quite spectacular 35-yard volley dip inches past Cesar’s post on 22 minutes as City pressed for the all-important opening goal. Was it destined to be one of those nights?”
35, 45-yards, or somewhere inbetween? You decide.
The Manager’s Verdict
Roberto Mancini pointed to his summer signing’s performance as a bright spot on an otherwise disappointing night in West London.
Stat Attack
While stats don’t tell the whole story, they can shed an interesting light on a player’s contribution - check out these chin-stroking tidbits courtesy of must-follow Twitter account, OptaCity.
Clearing Lines: Javi made more clearances than any other City player against QPR (5).
Libero: Garcia completed 100% of his 32 passes in the first-half.
Stronghold: He also made more blocks than any other City player in the game.
Sharp-shooter: Javi has the highest shooting accuracy in the squad this season with 63% of his shots on goal at least working the goalkeeper.
Pass-master: He boasts an impressive 90% pass completion rate this season (512/570).
@MCFC
Finally, just in case you’re not completely convinced by our first Spotlight subject, we find out just what was said about Javi’s performance on Twitter last night.
Join us on Monday afternoon for the next Spotlight feature - fingers crossed a hat-trick hero will come to the fore when Liverpool visit!
