No Celebration Needed: Classy Move by Manchester City's Benjani Mwaruwari

Sven Goran Eriksson came into the Sunday afternoon Premier League game against Portsmouth with added incentive after Thaksin Shinawatra's words midweek and his side delivered in convincing fashion as Manchester City eased past a ten-man Portsmouth side thanks to one particularly motivated striker.

While it may have seemed like any other Premier League fixture for a Manchester City squad decimated by injuries, Benjani Mwaruwari had a different approach as he took on his former mates in a match with European implications on the line.

Considered to be one of the Swede's key pickups in the January transfer window, Benjani  was a constant thorn against his former club as he responded to his critics with a 76th minute strike past David James—his second for the club since his move to Manchester.

Taking in a ball from Stephen Ireland, Benjani burst past Sylvain Distin on his way to seal Portsmouth's hopes for a fifth place finish with three matches to go. 

Creating chance after chance against a precariously shaken Pompey defense, Benjani used his strength and quality to inspire a squad shaken by injuries and management worries.

In particular, he had one opportunity where he took down a difficult ball down gracefully before blasting a powerful shot wide of the Portsmouth goal.

The Zimbabwe international was having a career year with 12 goals, including two hat-tricks against Derby and Reading, under Redknapp before electing to move to the Eastlands after hearing rumors about the possible arrival of Jermain Defoe from Tottenham—a move that left Pompey's top scorer at the time stranded between two cities.

Benjani eventually transferred over to join Eriksson on the transfer deadline day with a £3.87 million fee that is expected to escalate. 

Benjani was initially brought in by Harry Redknapp from Auxerre for £4.1 million and had won the hearts of Pompey fans with his work ethic and determination as he played a key role while at the club as Portsmouth is now exceeding expectations in both the Premier League and the FA Cup.

However, what was more amusing than the goal itself, was Benjani's refusal to celebrate with Stephen Ireland against his former club—noting that it would be disrespectful to do so against a club that he still holds in very high regard.

While football fans are often accustomed to the usual acrobatics from Nani or an overzealous celebration from a lad such as Joey Barton, it's easy for many of us to miss out on the classiest of moves by our Premier League heroes. 

It wasn't flashy or eye-catching in any sense but Benjani should be lauded for his behaviour towards his former club. He could have easily walked off strutting his moves along with his team mate but he elected to walk away with his head facing the ground—out of respect for his former team mates and club.

It was simply a first-class display in a situation like Benjani was faced with and one that we don't see often enough in professional football.