TheSportsCampus

Manchester City welcomed reigning Europa League champions FC Porto in the second leg of their round of 32 tie, looking to seal passage into the next round after their crucial away win in the first leg. The Citizens taught Porto a lesson in counter attacking football and emerged comfortable winners against their opponents, with their frontline banging in 4 goals.

Any hopes that Porto had of making early inroads were dashed within a minute as Sergio Aguero scored the quickest goal of the tournament to give his side the lead. Roberto Mancini’s men created a host of chances in the first half, but Porto somehow managed to cling on and keep the deficit to just one goal. However, with the visitors increasingly going forward, City were always expected to score on the counter and they did just that in the 77^th minute, with Edin Dzeko slotting home after being set up by Aguero to put the result beyond doubt, with Porto facing further misery as defender Rolando was sent off immediately afterwards for protesting.

The night though was far from over and City made their one man advantage count as they scored their 3^rd in the 83^rd minute, this time through David Silva, with David Pizarro providing the assist. Three minutes later the Chilean turned scorer to complete a 4-1 rout and send the defending champions out of the competition.

Hosts Manchester City began with their usual 4-2-3-1 lineup with Sergio Aguero spearheading the attack and Mario Balotelli being demoted to the bench. In a marked change over his usual formation and similar to the one he used in the last encounter between these two sides, Roberto Mancini deployed Yaya Toure just behind the striker along with Samir Nasri and David Silva on the wings, with Nigel De Jong and Gareth Barry holding fort at the centre of the field. The backline was a familiar one with Vincent Kompany starting alongside Joleon Lescott at the centre, with Micah Richards on the right and Gael Clichy on the left.

FC Porto on the other hand started with a 4-3-3 formation with the defence comprising of Rolando and Nicolas Otamendi at the centre with Maicon and Alex on either side. Fullback Alvaro Pereira meanwhile was suspended for this match. The three man midfield saw Joao Moutinho play alongside Lucho Gonzalez and Fernando while the front three consisted of Brazilian hitman Hulk, Silvestre Varela and James Rodriguez.

City were the favourites to progress at home, having bagged a crucial away win and it took them just 19 seconds to take the lead as Toure intercepted Otamendi’s pass and sent Aguero clear on goal, with the Argentine making no mistake in finding the back of the net.

City were dominating the opening stages of the match and were looking really threatening while going forward. The visitors on the other hand were struggling to string passes together and were not posing any threat to the Manchester club.

The hosts had a golden chance to double their tally in the 16^th minute as Toure was sent clear on goal, but the Ivorian saw his attempt saved by goalkeeper Helton. Almost immediately afterwards, Varela had a very similar chance at the other end, but he too had his attempt saved by Joe Hart.

Porto began to grow in stature as the game progressed, although they were still unable to trouble City’s backline as much as they would’ve liked and were looking pretty vulnerable at the back as well. Their fragility again came to the fore in the 29^th minute as Aguero was once again sent clear, this time by Nasri. The striker who was being closed down by Helton then chose to lob the ball and saw his well taken effort hit the bar as he was denied his second of the night.

As Porto pushed on for an equaliser, City began defending in numbers in an attempt to hold on to their lead. The visitors though were leaving a lot of space at the back, thereby leaving themselves vulnerable to counter attacks.

City again had a great opportunity on the counter in the 41^st minute as Aguero surged ahead and managed to find Toure with a square ball. The Ivorian though made a meal of things and took too long to shoot, although he still managed to somehow find a return pass to Aguero. The Argentine, who is usually a composed finisher, lashed out at the ball as his attempt went way off target. Porto had the last chance of the half as Rolando cushioned a header following a corner to Otamendi. The defender though could not control his volley and failed to even hit the target as the sides headed into the break with a 1-0 scoreline.

City again started the half brightly and created their first opportunity in the 48^th minute, with Nasri sending Aguero through. The striker made a run down the right and tried to cut the ball back to Silva, only for the Spaniard to be closed down by a defender and the chance to go begging.

Porto managed to find the back of the net in the 57^th minute courtesy of James Rodriguez, only for the goal to be correctly disallowed as Hulk was adjudged to be in an offside position. The Brazilian then managed to wriggle his way into the box with the ball just minutes later, only for him to be dispossessed just as he was about to take a shot.

The flow of the game was brought to a halt in the 62^nd minute as Maicon’s boot caught his teammate Otamendi on the face and the defender had to be substituted, with Cristian Rodriguez taking his place. Porto were desperately in need of a goal, although City were looking fairly comfortable at the back and looked set to win the match.

The victory was ensured in the 77^th minute, when Aguero sent substitute Edin Dzeko through on goal with an excellent pass and the striker made no mistake as he converted the easy chance with aplomb. Porto were also reduced to 10 men following the goal with Rolando receiving his second booking of the night for protesting that the striker should have been ruled offside. Just six minutes later, City scored their third of the night courtesy of David Silva as another substitute David Pizarro set the Spaniard up with an easy finish after he was released by Dzeko on the right.

The result turned into a drubbing just 3 minutes later as Pizarro found the back of the net after Porto’s attempts to dispossess Dzeko resulted in them unwillingly passing the ball to the unmarked Chilean inside the box.

Porto just seemed to lose focus towards the end of the game and were deservedly punished by the Citizens. There were no further goals in the game though as City ensured qualification to the Round of 16 in style, with the aggregate scoreline reading 6-1 in favour of the English giants.

Mancini will be ecstatic with his side’s confident display. However, he must now quickly turn his attention to the Premier League once again, with a match against relegation contenders Blackburn coming up on Saturday, the 25^th of February. Porto on the other hand will be highly disappointed. This was always going to be an uphill battle for them after that first leg loss although the manner in which they were defeated was quite astounding. City’s next opponents in this competition will be either Legia Warsaw or Sporting Lisbon, depending on the outcome of their match tomorrow, with the first leg of the Round of 16 tie scheduled to be held on the 8^th of March.

Teams:

Manchester City: Hart, Clichy, Lescott, Kompany, Richards, De Jong, Barry (Milner 57’), Y. Toure, Silva, Nasri (Dzeko 69’), Aguero (Pizarro 80’).

Subs: Pantilimon, Zabaleta, Savic, Milner, Pizarro, Dzeko, Balotelli

Porto: Helton, Maicon, Rolando, Sandro, Otamendi (Rodriguez 63’), Gonzalez, Moutinho, Rodriguez (Defour 81’), Fernando, Hulk, Varela (Sapunaru 63’).

Subs: Bracali, Sapunaru, Rodriguez, Defour, Podstawski, Kleber, Djalma

Final Scoreline: Manchester City 4-0 Porto (Aguero 1’, Dzeko 77’, Rolando red card 77’, Silva 83’, Pizarro 86’) (Agg. 6-1)

File Photograph Copyright:·Ryu Voelkel

This article is the exclusive copyright of·TheSportsCampus, and permission to reproduce it has not been granted.