Just what was Nasri thinking?

They have dodged humiliation in the pub and the jokes at work on Monday morning. But it’s not over just yet. You’ve got a free-kick to defend.

Joe Hart has told Carlos Tevez that he doesn’t need him in the wall. So, you will be the key man on the right of the three-man wall. As Robin van Persie tells Wayne Rooney that he’s going to have a pop, you know that the ball is coming your way. All that matters is getting in the way. But something’s playing in the back of your mind. You don’t fancy this. You played with Robin at Arsenal and he knows how to hit a ball. This is going to be coming at you hard. Very hard.

It’s cold. You don’t want that ball crashing into your face. It’s going to hurt. But will it hurt as much as that ball flying into the net at 60mph . . . ?

We don’t know the thought-process of Samir Nasri in those manic moments and we probably never will. But we can guess at what was running through his mind as Van Persie lined up his free-kick in the 93rd minute at the Etihad Stadium. We’ve all been there. That Sunday morning in the freezing cold and you’re on the end of the wall as that opponent with thunder thighs readies himself for a piledriver from 25 yards. Some of you reading this will have dodged it. Some of you would never consider ducking out of the way. But there are very few people who are paid £150 000-a-week to help their team win a football match.

Roberto Mancini’s words said it all. He pointed out that he only had “two-and-a-half” players in the wall to defend the free-kick. Just what was Nasri thinking?

As Van Persie readied himself, Nasri seemed uncomfortable in the wall. He looked like he didn’t want to be there. While Edin Dzeko and Gareth Barry — the two of the “two-and-a-half” — stood firm, Nasri wriggled about, sensing that he was a human target.

When Van Persie steps up to take the free-kick, he can probably sense Nasri’s nerves. He would know enough about his mental strength from their time together at Arsenal. What he would not have predicted is that Nasri would bottle it in such a blatant manner.

As the ball leaves Van Persie’s foot, the Frenchman is already tucking himself behind Dzeko. By the time the ball is level with the wall — or to be precise, in the exact position where Nasri should have been standing — he is hiding behind Dzeko. His eyes are closed, his back is now facing Van Persie and his protruding left leg (it should have at least been his right) is a token attempt to block the shot. When the ball sneaks into the far corner of Hart’s goal, Nasri knows he’s let himself down. He’s let the team down. He’s let down the 42 000-plus City fans inside the Etihad Stadium. — Mailonline.