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lack of creative spark prevented City from securing top spot in UEFA
Cup Group A against Paris St Germain, in the opinion of Mark Hughes.
Injuries
saw to it that the Blues were shorn of Robinho and Shaun
Wright-Phillips for what turned out to be a goalless draw with Paul le
Guen’s side, who spurned several good chances themselves, while Elano
hobbled off just after half time with a groin injury.
FC Twente’s
win over Schalke means that City must get a better result than Steve
McLaren’s team when the final round of games takes place on December
18th in order to win the group, and after the game the City boss said:
“We
are guaranteed second position in the group after tonight’s events, and
ideally we want to finish on top because you then miss out on the
Champions League teams that drop into the competition. When we started
the main aim was to get past the group stage, which we did with a
little bit to spare so then we wanted to finish by topping the group.
“It
was a difficult night, credit to PSG because they came with a game plan
to get people behind the ball and were prepared to concede ground
before hitting on the break. We needed to be patient, there were a few
misplaced passes when opportunities presented themselves.
“Tonight
was part of a learning experience, we have not got a great deal of
experience as a team or a club in Europe and at times you have to show
some patience do draw people out or not get anxious. That hampered us
at times tonight.
“I think PSG were quite pleased with a point,
so going into the last game as long as we get a better result than FC
Twente we will be top of the pile.
“We missed a bit of
creativity,” he added. “Shaun & Robinho certainly give us that, and
that can be the difference in the type of game we saw tonight. We
needed a touch of individual brilliance to open PSG up in the final
third.”
Elano’s injury could see him miss Saturday’s Barclays
Premier League game against Fulham and possibly more, according to the
early prognosis.
“He pulled his groin, so we will check him in
the morning but they are usually a minimum of two to three weeks. I
hope it is not as bad as it could be, but he’s certainly out for the
weekend and maybe the week after as well,” Hughes concluded.
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