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Impressive Hamburg sink City

Sat 26 Jul, 06:45 PM


Manchester City's preparations for their UEFA Cup qualifier were dealt a blow after they suffered a 1-0 defeat to an impressive Hamburg side.Midfielder Jonathan Pitroipa scored the only goal of the game for Martin Jol's side after he took control of a loose ball in the box and slotted it past City goalkeeper Joe Hart.

Pitroipa proved to be a constant threat to the City defence and the Burkino Faso international could have doubled the German side's lead six minutes later but he failed to take advantage of a mistake by City captain Richard Dunne.

Mark Hughes' side, which included Felipe Caicedo from the off, came out stronger in the second half but failed to take their chances. Martin Petrov came closest for the visitors but his left-foot shot from the edge of the penalty area sneaked past the post.

Kasper Schmeichel put in an impressive performance after coming on to replace Hart at half-time. The Dane pulled off good saves to deny Nigel de Jong and Anis Ben-Hatira.

City face Faroe Islands side EB/Streymur in the second leg of their UEFA Cup first qualifying round tie at Barnsley's Oakwell ground on Thursday.

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  1. Lol, its a pre-season friendly not the FA-Cup final. I don't know, all these bitter Rovers !!

    From st1967@..., on Mon 28 Jul 10:52AM

  2. City were poor throughout the whole match. Caicedo didn't operate well as a lone striker as he wasnt able to hold the ball up and wasted possesion.
    City's midfield Petrov and Elano in particular had no decent time on the ball as hamburg looked like, not only did they want the win more, but that they had the skill to neutralise any threat.
    Ball at left back....left back in the dressing room would have been a better position...I can't understand how Ball continues to get a first team squad number. He didn't win a single 1 on 1 encounter, irrespective of who he was facing.

    Friendly results dont matter that much...but the manner in which the result comes about is...V poor from City

    From Andy, on Sun 27 Jul 11:07AM

  3. coyne456: It is just one meaningless game with an experimental side. Why are you getting so worked up over a friendly? Probably just bitter because you lost your best manager in over 10 years to a bigger club!
    My prediction for this season: City 7th, Blackburn 11th

    From haz_r_1980, on Sat 26 Jul 9:18PM

  4. early days,early days,let us see when it counts,

    From Natalie, on Sat 26 Jul 8:03PM

  5. THE GRASS ISNT ALWAYS GREENER IS IT MR HUGHES !!!!! YOU MAY HAVE GONE TO A BIGGER CLUB BUT YOU WILL FIND NOT A BETTER CLUB . BLACKBURN WINNERS AT BENFICA . CITY LOOOOOOOOOSERS AT HAMBURG

    From coyne456@..., on Sat 26 Jul 7:42PM
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