Manchester City 2 – 0 AaB Aalborg

Result: Man City 2 – 0 AaB Aalborg

Man City have one foot in the next round of the UEFA Cup after a comfortable victory over a poorer-than-expected AaB Aalborg side on Thursday night. Goals from Felipe ‘Hugh Jarse’ Caicedo and Shaun Wright-Phillips eased the Blues into the lead and they never looked like relinquishing their vice-like grip. The Blues now head to Denmark with a 2 – 0 advantage, meaning that if City score, then Aalborg must net four times to progress.

The visitors arrived in Manchester with a burgeoning reputation having already drawn against Man United in the Champions League, but any sort of promise was not evident as City dominated from the off, creating numerous chances, many of which they should have buried. Aalborg were very underwhelming, and their chances of advancing to the quarter-final stages now look bleaker than a Manchester morning in winter!

Unlike the other English sides, City have taken this tournament very seriously

Team News

With ‘Nifty Nige’ de Jong ineligible for this competition, Blues boss Mark Hughes was already forced into one change in midfield, but it soon became two as Belgian international Vincent Kompany was ruled out with the toe injury that has been plaguing him for a while. He remains a doubt for Sunday’s tough trip to Chelsea, but is expected to recover in time for the second leg of this tie. Defender Micah ‘I’m not the Cleverest of People’ Richards was restored to the City back-line, with Pablo Zabaleta moving forward into a holding midfield role. Brazilian superstar Robinho also returned to the starting eleven after his recent ankle problems, whilst Felipe ‘Hugh Jarse’ Caicedo retained his place up front, despite the growing calls for Ched Evans to be given a chance.

The visitors, unbeaten in eleven games before this match, handed a start to former Sheffield United striker Luton ‘I Can’t Score Without a Balloon Helping Me’ Shelton, whilst former Wigan midfielder Andreas Johansson played in the centre of the park. The brilliantly named Anders Due, who was due another good performance after his match-winning role against Deoprtivo La Coruna in the last round, was given a berth of the right-hand side of midfield, whilst Caca (no, not that one), also started.

City Line-Up (4-3-3)

                                               Given

Richards             Dunne                              Onuoha                Bridge

                                             Zabaleta

                            Elano                                Ireland

SWP                                                                                       Robinho

                                             Caicedo

Subs: Hart, Garrido, BERTI, Fer******, Vassell, Evans, Etuhu

Report

City, keen to assert their authority early on, started quicker than Usain Bolt can run the 100m! The Blues created chance after chance as Aalborg started shakily, so it was no surprise when Felipe ‘Hugh Jarse’ Caicedo opened the scoring after just eight minutes. Robinho played a delightful one-two down the right with Stephen ‘Superman’ Ireland and played the ball with pace into the feet of the Ecuadorian battering ram, who turned his defender on the edge of the box with remarkable ease and stroked the ball under the body of the keeper from just inside the box to give the home side the perfect start.

Felipe ‘Hugh Jarse’ Caicedo celebrates his goal with Elano and SWP

City continued to press as SWP, Micah Richards and Superman all went close to adding a second goal, whilst the paltry crowd of just 25,000 were doing their best to lift the atmosphere around the ground, teasing the “supporters” who decided to stay at home by singing ‘If you’re watching on the telly, you’re a cu**’ The home side, so often this season accused of being guilty of not taking their chances, were intent on furthering their advantage and the second goal of the game came from a superb strike from the best part of 25 yards by SWP. Pickling the ball up in his own half before turning past the challenges of a couple of defenders, the tricky winger proceeded to unleash an unstoppable effort, which dipped and swerved past the outstreched hands of Karim Zaza in net.

Aalborg were clearly startled by this City onslaught and the visitors nearly reduced the deficit just after the half-hour mark, when Thomas Augustinussen managed to side-foot the ball wide of the target with a gilt-edged opportunity. Half-time was fast approaching when City should have been awarded a clear-cut penalty following some majestic work by Robinho on the left. The Brazilian star manoeuvred his way into the box, where he decided to whip out his full array of step-overs and bamboozle Michael Beauchamp. Following approximately 65,291 step-overs, the defender got bored and cruelly hacked down Robinho, who fell rather theatrically to the ground. Everyone in the stadium expected the whistle to blow for the penalty, but for some unknown reason, the referee from Luxembourg decided to carry on with play and reprimanded the Brazilian for diving. Even Rob Styles would have given a penalty!!!

Robinho should have been awarded a penalty when he was felled in the box

The second-half commenced with Aalborg pushing for a crucial away goal, but to no avail. Dunne and Onuoha were proving to be solid at the back, whilst Pablo Zabaleta was doing a sterling job in the heart of midfield. Elano’s corners were surprisingly impressive and Nedum Onuoha should have scored from one of them when he rose highest, but succeeded in heading just over the bar with Zaza stranded. City were now rampant, with SWP at the heart of everything good about the Blues as Superman went close with yet another effort whilst Robinho nearly set up Hugh Jarse to add a third. 

Welsh striker Ched Evans then replaced Hugh Jarse up-front to the delight of at least one of my readers and immediately caused problems for the Aalborg defence with his determination and strength. Mark Hughes was now intent on closing out the game, so replaced SWP, who received a standing ovation, with the returning Kelvin Etuhu, sporting a ridiculous ginger-dyed hairstyle. The whistle went for full-time, leaving City firmly in the ascendancy heading into the second leg.

SWP was irrepressible in this match, and scored the second goal

Key Battles

Shay Given ‘v’ Karim Zaza

Given had a comfortable match, being forced into making one a couple of routine saves. Zaza never oozed confidence, although he did make a few decent stops – Winner = Given

Shaun Wright-Phillips ‘v’ Anders Due 

SWP scored a superb goal and was thoroughly sensational. He looked lively and caused umpteen problems for the Danish side. Due was due a good game, but he failed to deliver, due to the tight marking he was given by Micah Richards – Winner = SWP

Richard Dunne ‘v’ Luton Shelton

Dunney was awesome and his suspension seems to have done him the world of good. The Aalborg striker was ineffective and lacked any support up-front. He needs to play a crucial role in Denmark if Aalborg ar to progress – Winner = Dunne 

Robinho turns into Superman as he tries to control the ball

Player Ratings

Given – Made a couple of good low saves, but had a generally untroubled night. Kicking was occasionally wayward, but handling was constantly excellent – 8.5

Richards – Vast improvement from the chav. Looked interested, defending solidly, and galloping forward whenever possible. Should have scored one of his chances – 9

Dunne – Back to his brilliant best. Unbeatable in the air and surprisingly alert on the ground, he offered Shelton hardly anything – 9.5

Onuoha – As solid as a rock at the back, defending manfully. Was a threat from attacking set-pieces and should have scored from a corner – 9

Bridge – Left exposed on occasions due to the non-existent tracking back of the less than industrious Robinho, but coped well and attacked at every opportunity – 8

Zabaleta – Shunted forward into the holding midfield role in the absence of Kompany and performed admirably. Won a huge amount of tackles and his distribution was simple, yet highly effective – 9

SWP – Caused problems for the Aalborg defence with more regularity than Stoke signing a Senegalese player!!! Scored a superb goal and was brilliant throughout the match, tracking back well and creating havoc – 9.5

Elano – Not as influential as was against Aston Villa, but still played an important role. Spread the play well, picking out Robinho on countless occasions with long-range passes. Good corners for once and worth an extended run in the team – 9

Ireland – The indefatigable Irishman worked his socks off, covering every blade of grass. Defended well and attacked at speed and with success – 9

Robinho – Set up Caicedo’s goal and should have had a stone-wall penalty. Lost the ball a few too many times in crucial areas when he tried to do some tricks, so he must learn to keep it simple at time – 8

Caicedo – Scored a goal, but otherwise unimpressive. Lacks any movement up-front, and fails to win enough aerial battles – 7

Subs:

Evans – Replaced Hugh Jarse after an hour and caused a few more problems for the Danes. Should have been sent off for a lunge on the keeper, but at least he made his presence felt – 8.5

Men of the Match: Richard Dunne and Shaun Wright-Phillips