05-31-2023, 09:11 AM
First Leg: Hamburg 3 1 Man CitySecond Leg: Man City 2 1 HamburgAggregate: Man City 3 4 HamburgStarting on a ferry in the Faroe Islands and finishing with inflatable bananas in Manchester, Citys European journey has been quite an adventure! Encompa singcountries such as Denmark, Germany, Spain and Cyprus, the Blues have travelled acro s Europe Melvin Ingram III Jersey in the search for the UEFA Cup, but their journey came to a sudden halton Thursdaynight after a 2-1 victory over Hamburg meant they lost 4 -3 on aggregate to the Germans. A wonderful match, accompanied by a rip-roaring atmosphere from a capacity stadium, saw City reach heights previously unseen, as they came from one goal down on the night to lead 2-1, and came ever so close to reaching the semi-finals. Despite an early goal from Jose Paolo Guerrero, City never lost belief, and thanks to a penalty from Elano and a neat finishby Felipe Caicedo (no, Im not joking), they came within a whisker of causing one of the great UEFA Cup upsets in recent memory. Trailing 3 1 from the first leg, City knew they were staring down the barrel of defeat as they took to the hallowed turf of the City of Manchester Stadium, but a monumental effort, both on the pitch from the players, and off it with the fans, will live long in the memory for those who witne sed the spectacle. Rather than anger at the end as would have been expected following a City defeat, the home supporters were content with the effort displayed and although there was disappointment, it was not of the bitter kind. Hamburg, arguably the better side over the two legs, now advance to the next round, the semi-finals, where they will face a fellow German side, Werder Bremen, who overcame Udinese 6 4 on aggregate.A young City fan with a dodgy bottom lip joins in with the fun as Rashad Fenton Jersey he gets his face paintedTeam NewsAs expected, City manager Mark Hughes took a number of risks with his team selection, handing starting berths to injury doubts Pablo Zabaleta, Vincent Kompany and Wayne Bridge, and recalling to out-of-form Brazilian star Robinho. Sparky, no stranger to these European occasions having played at Manchester United and Bayern Munich, demanded the utmost effort from his team and of Robinho in particular. Devoid of the services of former Hamburg player Nigel de Jong and the ineligible Valeri Bojinov, Hughes was further depleted by the lo s of influential midfielder Shaun Wright-Phillips, who failed to recover in time from his injury. Elano was recalled to the side as he aimed to show the manager his undoubted talents, whilst there was a surprise name up-front, with Ecuadorian battering ram Felipe Caicedo preferred ahead of either Danny Sturridge or Ched Evans.Hamburg, led by Martin Jol, the former Tottenham manager, were without key defenders Collin Benjamin and Guy Demel, and recalled goalscorer from the first leg Jose Paolo Guerrero in place of Croatian striker Mladen Petric. The visitors opted for a 4-4-2 formation, hoping to score twice and push the game out of Citys reach, and their wide men in particular, Piotr Trochowski and Jonathan Pitroipa, were dangerous on the counter-attack.City Line-Up (4-2-3-1) GivenRichards Dunne Onuoha Bridge ZabaletaKompanyElano Ireland Robinho CaicedoSubs: Hart, Logan, Garrido, Petrov, Fernandes, Evans, SturridgeFelipe Caicedo, seen here competing for the ball with Joris Mathijsen, was a surprise inclusion in the City sideReportWith a capacity attendance expected, fans were Clyde Edwards-Helaire Jersey arriving earlier for the kick-off, as an atmosphere more accustomed to the Britannia Stadium reverberated around Eastlands. Supporters harked back to the 1988/89 season as they carried with them bright yellow inflatable bananas, a paddling pool (thankfully with no water in) and a variety of other blow-up a sortments. The noise that accompanied the players out onto the pitch was the loudest I have ever heard watching the Blues, and if ever Robinho was in doubt that this was the occasion for him to produce, he could not have failed to have been impre sed by the cacophony of sound.A sight to behold the bananas were out in forceThe game started, and although no clear-cut chances were created, it was obvious that City were in the ascendancy. The tempo was fantastic, with Elano at the forefront of everything. However, for all the Blues attacking, they could not find a way through, and as would become a frustrating recurring theme throughout the match, Felipe Caicedo was caught offside three times within the first ten minutes.But then, on twelve minutes, disaster struck. With the Blues already facing an uphill task, they could ill-afford to concedea goal, but concede they did, when, following some scrappy work on the right, the ball found its way to Jose Paolo Guerrero, who slottedhome past the helple s Given. Hamburg George Karlaftis Jersey , at this stage, led 4 1 on aggregate. Tie over?Guerrero celebrates his early goal with Ivica Olic and Piotr TrochowskiIt would now require a Herculean effortfrom City to advance to the next stage, as they needed three goals without reply just to take the tie into extra-time. But they were given a helping hand in the form of the referee, who fortuitously awarded the home side a penalty in the sixteenth minute for a handball by Trochwoski after an Elano shot. The ball seemed to strike the Hamburg player on the hands inside the penalty area, so the referee, Nicoli Rizzoli from Italy, was within his rights to award the spot-kick, but Trochowski had turned away and was only a short distance from Elano as the Brazilian shot. But no-one inside the ground was complaining (apart from all the Hamburg fans) and Elano, as he should have done against Sunderland, stepped up to take the penalty. Everyone knew where it was going, but despite the goalkeeper diving the correct way,the accuracy and pace of the penalty sawthe ball find its way to the corner. The comeback was on.Elano shows the urgency required by City after scoringthe penaltyCity sensed the momentum was Malik Herring Jersey with them and surged forward at every opportunity. Caicedo under-hit a pa s to Robinho when the Brazilian would have been through on goal had the pa s from his fellow South American beenbetter. Stephen Ireland, hitherto not involved in the game, found the side-netting after a sumptuous cro s from