"Manchester City have made three changes during the break as we head into the second half here at Maine Road. Emile Heskey is off for Ole Gunnar Solskjær, Tony Grant makes way for Keith Curle, and Paul Lake—who picked up an injury in the first half—is replaced by Ian Ferguson. Looks like the manager is looking to shake things up after a tough opening 45 minutes," the commentator announced.
21 Emile Heskey ⇄ 31 Ole Gunnar Solskjær
10 Tony Grant ⇄ 4 Keith Curle
22 Paul Lake ⇄ 24 Ian Ferguson
As both teams' players emerged from the tunnel, the home and away coaches stood at the sidelines.
O'Neill, with his jacket unbuttoned and hands in his pockets, wore an impassive expression. Meanwhile, Sam Allardyce summoned his team's captain, ominously lecturing him about something. His expression was fierce enough to suggest he wanted to devour him whole.
The referee soon blew his whistle, and the match started with a Blackpool kick-off.
