Manchester City were knocked out of the Uefa Cup on Thursday after they lost 4-3 on aggregate to Hamburg.
City go close but are knocked out of Uefa Cup by Hamburg
Manchester City were knocked out of the Uefa Cup after they could only muster a 2-1 win in their quarter-final second leg against Hamburg to lose 4-3 on aggregate.
City's European adventure came to a devastating end at Eastlands just when it looked as though they had their German opponents on the ropes.
After a 3-1 first-leg defeat a week ago Mark Hughes' men knew exactly what they had to do and they began the game in bullish mood.
In their eagerness to snatch an early goal the hosts were caught cold and Hamburg took the lead through Paulo Guerrero on 12 minutes.
City were level five minutes later when Elano slotted home a penalty to bring the hosts back into the game.
The home side burst out of the traps after the interval and took the lead on 50 minutes when Felipe Caicedo slotted home from just inside the area.
City began to throw everything at their opponents but their challenge was ended when captain Richard Dunne received his marching orders with 15 minutes remaining for two yellow cards.
Lightening quick
Despite City's lightening quick start Hamburg threatened to kill off the tie as early as the 12th minute when Guerrero profited from Pitroipa's strong run and cross to open the scorings on 12 minutes.
The hosts didn't let their heads go down and instead upped the tempo and they were back on level terms just five minutes later.
Elano shot straight at Piotr Trochowski from the edge of the area but the midfielder was adjudged to have handled with the referee pointing to the spot.
The Brazilian midfielder stepped up and confidently fired low to the keeper's right and suddenly the Eastlands crowd began to believe again.
Elano was close to doubling his tally for the night when he sent a free-kick from all of 30-yards shuddering against the cross bar just minutes before the interval.
City began the second period knowing that they needed to score two goals to force extra-time and they began just as brightly as they did in the first period.
But this time their energy and verve was rewarded with a second goal. Stephen Ireland threaded a pass into the area and Caicedo benefitted from a Joris Mathijsen slip to turn Jerome Boateng and pass the ball home left footed.
Hughes' side were inches from adding a third when Elano saw his free-kick come back off the post and from the resulting corner Caicedo should have grabbed his second of the game.
Elano's corner was swung in low and hard and Frank Rost could only parry to the feet of the striker but the Ecuadorian, from all of two yards, put his effort over the bar.
Havoc
Robinho and Elano were causing havoc all over the pitch and they combined superbly as City continued their search for that all important third goal.
Elano chipped a beautifully weighted pass over the top of the Hamburg defence that Robinho exquisitely brought under his spell but his shot was blocked by the feet of Rost.
Just as City began to bombard the Hamburg goal they received a killer blow when captain Richard Dunne was sent-off for two bookable offences on 75 minutes.
The momentum soon began to swing in favour of the away side with Pitroipa taking advantage of Micah Richards' tired legs and crossing for Olic but the striker's point blank effort was saved by Shay Given.
City responded as Richards collected a loose ball on the right hand side of the area. The full-back played a neat one-two with Robinho to give him a clear shot at goal eight yards out but his effort seared well over the bar.
| Manchester City |
Team Statistics |
Hamburger SV |
| 2 |
Goals |
1 |
| 1 |
1st Half Goals |
1 |
| 6 |
Shots on Target |
6 |
| 10 |
Shots off Target |
8 |
| 7 |
Blocked Shots |
4 |
| 7 |
Corners |
6 |
| 21 |
Fouls |
13 |
| 12 |
Offsides |
1 |
| 1 |
Yellow Cards |
0 |
| 1 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 73.6 |
Passing Success |
68.7 |
| 25 |
Tackles |
24 |
| 56 |
Tackles Success |
75 |
| 49.9 |
Possession |
50.1 |
| 47.3 |
Territorial Advantage |
52.7 |
|
