MANCHESTER CITY 1, STEAUA BUCHAREST 0 (6-0 AGGREGATE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE PLAY-OFF WIN FOR MAN CITY)
- Joe Hart starts and is named captain; his every touch is cheered, the Etihad stands on demand for him, and he applauds fans at the end
- Debuts for Pablo Maffeo and Angelino; youngster Tosin Adarabioyo comes on
- Fabian Delph puts City 1-0 up with a 56th minute header from Jesus Navas’ cross
- Kelechi Iheanacho goes off injured after pulling up while chasing an Angelino pass
There was a thumbs up and applause for all corners of the Etihad at full time from captain Joe Hart, who looks increasingly on his way, as City confirmed qualification for the Champions League group stages with a 1-0 win on the night to win 6-0 on aggregate.
Both sides made changes for what was effectively a dead rubber but Fabian Delph’s second half header ensured that City won both legs and won the tie after Pep Guardiola sacrificed a little possession to play even higher up the pitch and make riskier attacks.
The tactic worked with Fabian Delph’s second half header sealing victory although City sacrificed some possession to win the game.
Pablo Maffeo had already been handed a full debut but Angelino also made his City bow in the second half alongside Tosin Adarabioyo after Delph’s goal.
The one fly in the ointment was what looked like a serious injury to Kelechi Iheanacho which left City playing without a recognised striker after Sergio Aguero wasn’t risked.
Pep Guardiola makes tough decision over Joe Hart but stands by it
Pep Guardiola was adamant that as Manchester City manager he had to make tough calls, whatever the consequences, after the show of affection from City fans towards captain Joe Hart during the game which he returned with applause to all corners after the final whistle.
It seemed like a fond farewell for the City captain who Guardiola accepted had done a lot more for the club than he had in his month in charge, and despite the fact that Claudio Bravo has been pictured in Manchester ahead of a medical and expected transfer he would not comment on the Barcelona ‘keeper.
Guardiola said: “I am here to take decisions. I make a lot of decisions, sometimes good, sometimes bad but I try to be honest I can’t deny what I feel. I have been honest with Joe and the other players in the squad.
“Joe made much more of this club than I have in a month here.
“I don’t know what City fans will feel. I would like everyone to be happy with the decisions I make but it’s impossible. I take decisions which affects players.
“I analyse what I see on the pitch and off the pitch and I have to take decisions but I can’t deny what I feel.”
Despite fielding a much-changed team, Guardiola seemed to be frustrated with City’s first half showing and had animated words with John Stones and debutant Pablo Maffeo on the touchline during the first half before risking more in attack in the second half which ultimately brought a deserved goal to win the second leg.
Of Stones, he said: “In our build up we had too many people behind the ball, and not enough people in the right position.
“John Stones, Fernando, and Kolarov against one player makes no sense. We had to be two against one.”
Guardiola explained that he committed more players forward during the build-up in the second half which sacrificed possession for more chances on goal. He said “We created more chances after the break.”
He added: “We had a lot of possession in the first half but created almost nothing which I didn’t like.
“I wanted more chances after a good build up. If you have a good build up everything is easy. Without that you have passes without chances.”
“In the second half we were much better.”
Despite a first half intensive coaching session from the sidelines he had praise for debutant Pablo Maffeo, adding: “Maffeo played well. He’s an intense, aggressive guy but still young and has room for improvement. He’s smart and intelligent.
“When Sagna and Zabaleta can’t play he will help us a lot.”
Debuts for Pablo Maffeo and Angelino
Hart made his first start of the season for City, with a debut for Pablo Maffeo at right back after Pep Guardiola confirmed that Bacary Sagna would be unavailable due to injury.
Defending a 5-0 first leg aggregate lead, the biggest since the play-off round was introduced in 2009/10, Guardiola opted for wholesale changes with one eye on the visit of West Ham on Sunday.
Only three players remained in the team following the 4-1 win at Stoke – John Stones, Aleksandar Kolarov, and Jesus Navas.
Hart was handed the captaincy despite the presence of Yaya Toure – also making his first start of the season – while Pablo Maffeo made his City debut at right back.
There was a lot of good will towards England ‘keeper Hart, with cheers every time his name was read out and when he touched the ball with signs praising him on display around a half full Etihad – including “A good Hart these days is hard to find”.
He had a confident first touch to send a couple of short passes safely to Gael Clichy within the first five minutes. He was cheered when finally being called into action in the second half to make a save or race off his line to make a clearance and the Etihad stood for him when the call rang around the stadium.
City’s stand-ins had a muted start to the game and, although they did test Valentin Cojocaru with some shots the 20-year-old was not given anything really testing to do other than save from a couple of chances by Iheanacho and an acrobatic volley by Nolito.
Guardiola himself must have been somewhat frustrated by the slow build-up by City’s stand-in team too, calling over Pablo Maffeo and John Stones for some animated in-game coaching during the first period.
City toiled against a much changed but unambitious team from Romania who were making a better fist of it than their senior counterparts back home last week.
In truth, their more defensive approach gave Hart little to do other than be cheered relentlessly by the home fans every time he touched the ball, and pointedly make nine very easy short passes to his defenders.
City took more risks in the second half, pushing even further up the pitch and risking the loss of possession, and Cojocaru was forced into a save from Fabian Delph’s 55th minute shot as City looked for a more direct approach.
Fabian Delph’s header wins it for Man City
A minute later Jesus Navas’ 56th minute right wing cross was turned in by the England midfielder who headed in the opening goal after a strong build-up.
The goal was enough for a signal for two more youngsters to get a go, with Angelino and Tosin Adarabioyo coming on.
Like Maffeo, Angelino was making his City debut while Adarabioyo had already acquitted himself well in last season’s FA Cup defeat at Chelsea.
Hart saw more action in the second half, racing off his line to make a clearance and saving on his left side from Alexandru Tudorie.
City had late injury worries for Iheanacho, who had run himself into the ground throughout, pulling up with what looked like a hamstring injury while chasing down a pass by Angelino after running himself into the ground all night.
He stayed conscious but looked like he needed more serious attention as a nearby Steaua defender looked very concerned briefly and called for medical attention.
City were left without a recognised striker as Fernandinho replaced Iheanacho and the interruption allowed Steaua to mount several half chances for an equaliser with Jugurtha Hamroun going closest.