Ireland inspires City in Germany |
 |  | | |
| |||
'Hughes hails perfect City show'
Goals from Benjani and Stephen Ireland gave Manchester City a precious Uefa Cup victory at Schalke.
Benjani found the back of the net in the 32nd minute following a neat cross from Daniel Sturridge, who featured instead of the injured Robinho, before Ireland doubled the lead in the 67th minute.
The win in Gelsenkirchen puts Mark Hughes' side top of Group A and they need just one point from the final two pool matches to secure passage to the next round. "It couldn't have gone any better for us," Hughes said, "we had a game plan and the players executed it perfectly – it was a very accomplished performance."
The City manager made two changes from the side that beat Arsenal 3-0 at the weekend, with Sturridge replacing Robinho, who was nursing an ankle injury. The former Germany international Dietmar Hamann also found himself in the starting line-up, replacing Pablo Zabaleta (thigh). Vincent Kompany and Richard Dunne featured as centre-backs, with Micah Richards and Javier Garrido completing the back four. Also missing for the visitors were Elano, for personal reasons, and Gelson Fernandes (hamstring).
Sturridge set the pace for an entertaining first half just five minutes into the game when he delivered a dangerous cross from the left which flew past everybody. Joe Hart then made a spectacular diving save after Heiko Westermann had sent Jermaine Jones into the clear with an incisive midfield pass.
The Germany midfielder pulled the trigger from 14 yards out on the right, but Hart diverted the ball for a corner. The Schalke goalkeeper Manuel Neuer was alert too, catching a promising cross from Richards under pressure. After Hart saved a 20-yard volley from Jones, Darius Vassell tried his luck with a shot from outside the right corner of the box which flew well wide.
There were chances on either side, with Neuer saving a header from Vassell and Hart clearing from Kevin Kuranyi inside the six-yard box. The visitors eventually opened the scoring in the 32nd minute following a superb counter-attack.
Kompany turned the ball over for Sturridge to dart down the left wing and the 19-year-old outstripped his opponent and fired in a low cross. It failed to reach Ireland in the middle but Benjani was there at the far post to sweep the ball home.
Schalke failed to create any significant openings in the rest of the half but were vulnerable to counter-attacks, with Neuer denying Ireland from 14 yards out. The rebound was driven in by Benjani and Ireland knocked it home – only for the linesman to raise his flag.
Michael Ball replaced Garrido after the break as City's defence continued to stand tall against Schalke's toothless attacks. It was the visitors who had the first chance of the half when Shaun Wright-Phillips' right-footed shot from 30 yards out forced Neuer into a good save. Richards then saw the first yellow card of the match for stopping a Halil Altintop counter-attack. The resulting free-kick, however, brought no danger.
Ireland was also cautioned shortly afterwards – but moments later, in the 67th minute, the midfielder found the back of the net for a second time, this time legitimately. Benjani had a strike blocked in the left channel, and the ball landed at the feet of the unmarked Ireland who easily beat Neuer with a low shot.
The sell-out crowd of 54,142 fans grew impatient with their team's fruitless attempts to break down City's defence. Substitute Gerald Asamoah came closest in the 76th minute, but his header from seven yards out was superbly saved by Hart. Jo then replaced Benjani in the 84th minute, and the in-form striker received a standing ovation from the 3,000 City fans in attendance as the game drew to a close.
Schalke 04: Neuer; Westermann, Rakitic (Asamoah, 63), Bordon (Howedes, 73), Pander, Engelaar, Jones, Rafinha, Farfan, Altintop (Sanchez, 80), Kuranyi. Substitutes not used: Schober (gk), Kobiashvili, Ernst, Zambrano.
Manchester City: Hart; Richards, Kompany, Dunne, Garrido (Ball, h-t), Wright-Phillips, Hamann, Ireland, Vassell, Mwaruwari (Jo, 84), Sturridge. Substitutes not used: Schmeichel (gk), Evans, Ben-Haim, Berti, Logan.
And finally, the Daily Telegraph look over the fence at downtown Salford ahead of this weekend's Manchester derby...
'Manchester United's Alex Ferguson looks down on Manchester City'
An incredulous look spread across Sir Alex Ferguson’s face on Thursday when it was suggested that Manchester City posed a significant threat to his United side.
"Where are they at the moment?’’ enquired Ferguson of Mark Hughes’ 11th-placed City. "Excuse me!’’
United’s manager was too busy assessing how to reel in the sides heading the Premier League to look down the table. "At this moment in time,’’ said Ferguson, "our threats are still Chelsea and Liverpool, who are sitting above us. Aren't they? That’s the focus.’’
Ferguson’s slightly dismissive reaction to City echoed Wayne Rooney’s verdict. "If City were winning trophies, it would irritate me,’’ observed the United striker, "but while they are still lingering in mid-table, I am not really too bothered about it.’’
The build-up to the Manchester Derby invariably involves plenty of rhetoric, some of it heated, much of it mischievous, but this run-in to another episode of Niggling Neighbours differs from previous years. City boast a United legend beginning to knock them into substantial shape, as seen by Thursday night’s success at Schalke 04 and Saturday’s defeat of Arsenal, and Hughes will doubtless take the verbals from the Glaswegian as a compliment. City are also backed by fabulously wealthy owners who have already recruited the bewitching skills of Robinho for an English transfer record of £32m.
Like a seasoned poker player assessing another contestant joining the table with a fistful of chips, Ferguson knows how to deal with rich opponents.
"Roman Abramovich came in and bought all those players that summer and they (Chelsea) won the league in the next two years but the one thing you can say about this club is that it can accept a challenge and do something about it,’’ said Ferguson. "We had to do something about it or we would be second for ever more. We accepted it and fortunately we have won the last two titles.’’
To build a trophy-winning team, Hughes has money to spend, and players like Portsmouth’s Lassana Diarra and Blackburn Rovers’ Roque Santa Cruz are obvious targets during the January transfer window. But Ferguson had a warning. "It's easier said than done (spending money),’’ said the United manager. "That's when decision-making has to come into it, and it's Mark who is left with that responsibility.
"In the case of Chelsea, it has worked. They've stayed at the top and they're not spending money the way they did when Abramovich came onto the scene. They've built up a very strong squad of experienced internationals. But you can look at other examples where it hasn't worked. So what Mark does with the money at City is for the future. But I don't think January is the best time to buy players.’’
Speaking at United’s Carrington training ground, Ferguson’s thoughts then turned to the title race. " At this moment we are playing catch-up and we're a game behind Chelsea and Liverpool. The second half of the season promises to be much better for us.’’
ไม่มีความคิดเห็น:
แสดงความคิดเห็น