Manchester City 6 Portsmouth 0: SHEIKH MANSOUR bin Zayed Al Nahyan picked the wrong day to inject realism into his €250-million takeover of Manchester City.
"We are building a structure for the future, not just a team of all-stars," said the Arab billionaire on completion of the due-diligence process yesterday, having heeded the scorn that greeted the transfer wishlist divulged on deadline day.
He may be too late, for Mark Hughes's team have already begun to indulge in fantasy.
In contrast to the new owner, City chose the perfect time to impress a gallery with global domination on the mind. Before Khaldoon Al Mubarak, who will become City's new chairman when Sheikh Mansour's takeover is formally concluded tomorrow, and Thaksin Shinawatra, the outgoing owner who will stay on as honorary president, Hughes's team recorded their biggest Premier League win. The men from Abu Dhabi hope to establish a gulf between their new investment and the rest in years to come. But one was very evident here.
Whether it was City's magnificence or Portsmouth's appalling display that produced this mauling divided the respective managers as deeply as the goal count.
"That was the best performance I've managed by a country mile," said Hughes.
"We were poor. Our defensive play was abysmal," said a shell-shocked Harry Redknapp.
The truth is somewhere in between and yet there was no mistaking the potent cocktail of City's Brazilian technique and home-grown strength and spirit.
The result was unbridled joy for the City faithful as Robinho illuminated their afternoon with a performance of technique and no little effort, and Hughes substituted the British-record signing, his compatriot Jo and the outstanding Stephen Ireland simply so all three could enjoy standing ovations.
"If ever there was a day to impress people this was the one," remarked the City manager. "It was a fantastic team performance, with some brilliant individual displays from Stephen Ireland, Robinho, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Vincent Kompany. We have set a high standard . . . and the aim is to strive to even greater heights."
Talk of Champions League qualification will not sound so fanciful if they do.
Robinho instigated the rout with a delightful pass that released Jo behind the visiting defence, took him around David James and saw him score into an empty net.
James's failure to deal with an Elano corner to his near post enabled Richard Dunne to bundle in a second and the game was effectively up after only 20 minutes.
The first "Oles" were heard five minutes later. Portsmouth had chances either side of the interval, but they did not get the run of the ball or display any resilience. City's movement and work ethic produced an exhibition.
Ireland's tenacity and vision produced Robinho's second successive goal at home for his new club, via Jo, before the midfielder's pass enabled Wright-Phillips to beat James at his near post.
A backheel from Wright-Phillips gave the young substitute Ched Evans his first goal for the club and the winger was heavily involved in the sixth when he challenged James for Javier Garrido's left-wing cross and Gelson Fernandes converted the loose ball.
• Guardian Service
