Manchester City v CSKA Moscow: Champions League – live!
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Version 0 of 1. 9.40pm GMT21:40 Full-time: City 1-2 CSKA On a night where they were fighting for their Champions League lives, City were brainless. They started the match with their now characteristic sluggishness, were short of ideas throughout, and then threw a series of tantrums that led to them finishing with nine players. They need to Beat Bayern Munich in their game to have even a slim chance of reaching the next round and reclaiming some of the dignity they lost tonight. This was an emphatic flop. Manuel Pellegrini will need to summon a lot more creativity than his team mustered if he is to put a positive spin on this fiasco. Updated at 10.22pm GMT 9.36pm GMT21:36 90+3 min: Aguero goes down in the box again: this time it looked like he had a case for a penalty, but the ref gives him nothing. 9.34pm GMT21:34 90+1 min: I didn’t see the sign indicating how much time is being added on for City tomfoolery. 9.33pm GMT21:33 89 min: City continue to find new ways to embarrass themselves: Aguero hurtles into the box, realises his shot will be blocked by Ignashevich ... and goes down in search of a penalty. The ref books him for simulation. Justice. Updated at 10.00pm GMT 9.30pm GMT21:30 86 min: Nasri becomes the latest City player to make a fool of himself, running over to take a childish swipe at a Milanov. Oddly, the ref decides against even booking the Frenchman. 9.28pm GMT21:28 86 min: City fans are chanting “cheat”. It’s unclear if they are making an accusation against the opponents or offering their own team some advice. 9.28pm GMT21:28 84 min: Musa forces Hart into a fingertip save with a shot from 20 yards. . “Regarding the non-yellow card for Wernbloom a few minutes ago, it looked to me like the yellow card was given to the other lad for kicking the ball away after the foul was given against Wernbloom,” says helpful John Davis. “ Understandable decision in that case.” 9.25pm GMT21:25 RED CARD! Toure sent off! Now that’s just dumb. Toure, already on a yellow, shoves Eremenko to the ground after being impeded. City are finishing in tatters. The English champions are a shambles. Updated at 9.50pm GMT 9.24pm GMT21:24 81 min: Eremnko dissects City’s defence with an excellent pass. City are pardoned when Musa mis-hits an attempted pass to Milanov. 9.22pm GMT21:22 79 min: “We’re Manchester City, we’ll fight to the end,” roar a handful of locals. A bit more oomph from the start would have been in order too. 9.21pm GMT21:21 78 min: Toure attempts to dispense justice from the freekick again, but this time Akinfeev reads his intentions and is well placed to save. 9.20pm GMT21:20 77 min: Moments after Toure escapes a second yellow for a tug on Wernbloom, Wernbloom pulls back Aguero at the edge of the CSKA box - but the ref issues the yellow card to Iganshevich, the wrong player, meaning Wernbloom, who was already booked, is allowed to remain on the pitch! 9.18pm GMT21:18 75 min: Ooh! A loose pass by the visitors allows City to spring forward. But Akinfeev surges off his line to make a crucial intervention and deny Dzeko. 9.17pm GMT21:17 74 min: CSKA are really riffing in City’s pain now, pinging the ball around nicely, making City be the piggies in the middle. Updated at 9.17pm GMT 9.16pm GMT21:16 73 min: Further blues for City, who are already down to 10 men and have made all their substitutions: Kompany is limping and there are doubts about his ability to play on. 9.15pm GMT21:15 72 min: Corner to City and Nasri and Aguero try to wriggle their way into shooting space. Dzeko meets the setpiece but can only flick it over the bar. 9.14pm GMT21:14 71 min: Milanov curls a sweet freekick into the sidenetting from the edge of the area. 9.13pm GMT21:13 RED CARD! Fernandinho sent off The midfielder cops a second yellow card for a deliberate obstruction as a CSKA player hared into the box in pursuit of a return pass. City are sinking here ... 9.12pm GMT21:12 69 min: The removal of Fernando has had the effect of returning central midfield primacy to the visitors, who seem eager to take advantage and are starting to threaten again. 9.10pm GMT21:10 67 min: A well-timed block by Berezutski thwarts Aguero, who was trying his luck from 20 yards. 9.09pm GMT21:09 9.09pm GMT21:09 67 min: CSKA substitution: Doumbia off, Milanov on. 9.08pm GMT21:08 66 min: Toure booked for a late tackle on Fernandes. 9.07pm GMT21:07 65 min: City substitution: Fernando off, Dzeko on. 9.07pm GMT21:07 64 min: The City threat is growing, with CSKA being increasingly stretched. 9.05pm GMT21:05 62 min: Akinfeev spreads his legs quickly to kick away a low shot from Milner after a shrewd through-ball by Toure. Updated at 9.21pm GMT 9.02pm GMT21:02 60 min: The introduction of Fernandinho at half-time has given City a little more control in central midfield but so far they are still grimly short of creativity further forward, Nasri having yet to exert any influence. 9.01pm GMT21:01 58 min: Milner scurries down the left, turns on to his right foot and then curls a cross towards the far post. Aguero lunges at it but can’t connect. 8.59pm GMT20:59 55 min: Toure works up some righteous fury and bounds past Musa and Wernbloom and into the box, then goes down in the vicinity of Berezutski. The City fans appeal for a penalty with a lullaby, and the ref is unmoved. Updated at 9.25pm GMT 8.56pm GMT20:56 53 min: Fernandinho clips a well-aimed ball towards Aguero, but Ignashevich backtracks smartly and manages to head it clear before the Argentinian could pounce. 8.54pm GMT20:54 50 min: Schenikov charges through a feeble tackle by Zabaleta - the challenge of a dilettante, in fact - and sends in a cross that Kompany clears. 8.52pm GMT20:52 48 min: City are running around gamely but, as in much of the first period, it’s CSKA Moscow who have the brains. They piece together a fine flowing move that ends with Musa hurtling down the right and firing in a vicious low cross that Hart has to grab in extremis. “Scandal!” howls Steven Forstneger. “Roma are resting Ashley Cole, Adem Ljajic, Francesco Totti, Miralem Pjanic and Gervinho against Bayern after their previous hiding and a big game against Torino coming up. And they’re 1-0 down in the first half as well!” 8.49pm GMT20:49 46 min: City are back out, presumably after Manuel Pellegrini held all of their heads under the cold water tap for the entire break. The manager has also, and quite rightly, hauled off Navas and Jovetic. Nasri and Fernandinho are on. 8.40pm GMT20:40 “Does this performance put the weekend’s results into a different perspective?” wonders David Wall. “10-men or not, how did United lose to this shower...Van Gaal out!” 8.34pm GMT20:34 Half-time: City 1-2 CSKA City are on the brink of sporting humiliation: another early European elimination would be unacceptable if it came about as meekly as this. Their heads are not right, their defensive is dozing and, on this evidence, their team selection is wrong: Nasri, for instance, needs to be thrown on in place of Navas, who has yet again been ineffective. “Given that Man City have shelled out hundreds of millions on world class players, manager, and facilities and they’re still sub-par in Europe, the only remaining excuse is the fans,” hoots Elliot Crowe. “Sheik Mansour needs to go out and buy 50,000 high quality fans with a proven track record at the highest level, and then finally they might have a chance in the champs league.” Updated at 8.38pm GMT 8.31pm GMT20:31 43 min: An impatient collective groan as Milner dawdles in taking a throw-in gives a reminder that City fans are indeed present. Their side are looking a little desperate at the moment, full of running but short of ideas. CSKA are looking comfortable. 8.28pm GMT20:28 39 min: “Can you mention something about the visa row surrounding Tosic,” pleads Jennifer Craig. “The Russian press is going mad because he has supposedly had his passport seized after arriving in the UK on a transit visa, which gives him 48 hours in the country, instead of on a work visa.” That’s right, Jennifer, Tosic is not playing and here is the explanation provided by CSKA’s sporting director, Roman Babaev. I don’t have time to look any further into it at the moment: Initially there was a discrepancy and he was issued not a tourist visa, but a transit visa. The English consulate advised that Serbs do not really need a tourist visa, they may arrive as transit passengers without a visa and it is issued on the spot. Nevertheless, the transit visa was issued, so he had the right to stay in the UK for 48 hours, that is enough. But the English border guards showed some over-adherence to the rules and found on the internet that he is a CSKA player, and felt that he had come to England to work. They demanded a wok visa, which is impossible and unacceptable. After a long time of wrangling, he was admitted to the country because they had no right not to (let him in), as he had a visa. However, they seized his passport, which is also the first time in our experience that a passport of a citizen of another country has been confiscated. ‘The English migration service has received several requests from the Serbian consulate in England and the Russian embassy in England. They considered the matter at length and in the end, not only did he not go to the match, he was even forbidden to be a spectator at the stadium and they demanded that he leave the territory of Manchester before the match. Will we submit a protest? English people still can’t calm down, but, I think there is already no sense in it, because it already won’t affect the result, but it’s not very pleasant. I am sure that this would not have happened in any other European country. 8.24pm GMT20:24 36 min: CSKA are looking the more accomplished now, with City still full of vigour but flustered and disjointed. They need to get their heads back pronto. 8.21pm GMT20:21 GOAL! City 1-2 CSKA (Doumbia 33) Oh City! They had just enjoyed an encouraging bout of play but CSKA tore forward on the counter and City folded, with Clichy botching attempted clearances, allowing CSKA to thread the ball through to Doumbia, who produced an immaculate finish from 16 yards! Updated at 8.45pm GMT 8.19pm GMT20:19 32 min: Akinfeev fumbles a corner. In the ensuing scramble Jovetic tries to poke the ball into the net from seven yards, but the keeper redeems himself by saving with his right leg. 8.18pm GMT20:18 30 min: A decent spell by City appears to have sown the jitters in their opponents: Ignashevich concedes a corner by stroking the ball out of play, apparently while trying to pass to a team-mate who wasn’t there. 8.15pm GMT20:15 27 min: This time it’s City who launch a counter-attack after a CSKA raid breaks down. Wernbloom puts an end to the charge with a shameless block. All that was missing was a shield and riot gear: he really wasn’t going to let anyone through there, and clobbered Toure on halfway. Lucky to get just a yellow card. Updated at 8.16pm GMT 8.13pm GMT20:13 25 min: CSKA are growing in confidence. They seem happy for City to have the ball in innocuous places and then try to nick it off them and attack on the counter. They look full of menace when they go forward, and City alarmingly exposed. 8.10pm GMT20:10 23 min: Another symptom of City’s frazzled or lazy state-of-mind: Clichy, under little pressure, sends a ball across his own backline and into the path of Doumbia, who scampers towards the area before being crowded out by recovering City defenders. 8.08pm GMT20:08 22 min: Toure floats a ball from mid-way into the box. A defender tires to nod it clear but Aguero collects it and bustles his way into the box before unleashing a shot that stings the hands of Akinfeev. Updated at 9.04pm GMT 8.07pm GMT20:07 20 min: That pre-match din has abated and it’s as if Uefa have suddenly decreed that this match has to be played behind closed doors too. Or maybe the home fans are just nerve-wracked by the vulnerability of their team. Either way, time for the CITY KLAXON! Updated at 8.07pm GMT 8.05pm GMT20:05 19 min: What a miss! A superb ball from Dzagoev spliuts City’s defence open and sends Doumbia racing through on goal. The striker hesitates a tad and the ball gets slightly got under his feet, allowing Dimichelis to get back and apply pressure. Doumbia still gets his shot off but fires wide from the edge of the area. 8.03pm GMT20:03 17 min: Toure collects a pass from Navas and tries to barge his way into the box ... but treads on the ball and knock it out of play instead. 8.01pm GMT20:01 15 min: CSKA have got their bearings back a bit over the last few minutes, keeping possession nicely. But each time they venture towards the City box, the hosts relieve them of the ball. 7.58pm GMT19:58 12 min: Milner curls in a corner, Akinfeev punches it to safety with two hands. 7.57pm GMT19:57 10 min: City have got their mojo back now: it seems that that Doumbia strike was the electroshock they needed: keep up this pace and verve and they look well able to sweep CSKA aside. The Russians are clinging on for now ... 7.54pm GMT19:54 GOAL! City 1-1 City (Toure 8) Toure’s wide awake now! That’s much more like it from the Ivorian, who atoned for his mistake for the CSKA goal bu curling an exquisite freekick over the ball and into the net from 20 yards! Updated at 8.28pm GMT 7.53pm GMT19:53 7 min: City’s response is gathering momentum ... until Jovetic is chopped down at the edge of the area, giving the hosts a freekick in a very inviting position. 7.53pm GMT19:53 6 min: Aguero receives a pass just outside the Moscow box and hold up long enough for Navas to lash up in support. He then plays the ball into the path of the Spaniard , who has a choice between crossing to the two team-mates in the area or shooting ... or shanking the ball high and wide. He went for the third option. 7.51pm GMT19:51 4 min: Milner and Jovetic forage down the left and eventually get off a cross, which Moscow clear with little ado. 7.50pm GMT19:50 That must have been a funny joke that Aguero told Toure before kick-off, as the Ivorian seemed to still have it on his mind as the freekick was being taken. He’s got some making-up to do now, and no mistake. 7.49pm GMT19:49 GOAL! City 0-1 CKSA (Doumbia 2) CITY KLAXON! Wakey, wakey! That is an absurd goal to concede! Clichy was unlucky to concede a freekick wide on the right; Natcho clipped it in and Doumbia eluded the sleeping Toure to nod into the net from six yards! Updated at 8.12pm GMT 7.47pm GMT19:47 1 min: City, in sky blue, kick off, but quickly lose possession to CSKA, in toilet paper white. 7.46pm GMT19:46 Sergio Aguero and Yaya Toure swap jokes before kick-off, laughing like two blokes with the best job in the world. Don’t they read the papers? Don’t they know football is supposed to be practiced with great piety and solemnity? How dare they have fun! Updated at 8.12pm GMT 7.44pm GMT19:44 Out they stride, the gladiators, and the atmosphere, for once, sounds suitably uplifting. Although the Champions League tune appears to be muffled by boos from the home crowd, who are presumably still miffed at the governing body for allowing people clad in CSKA colours to watch the first leg even though it was supposed to be behind closed doors. An appetising bit of needle to the occasions, then. 7.13pm GMT19:13 Preamble: Evening readers, and welcome to tonight’s lesson, in which we are going to try to figure out precisely what is going on inside the head of Manchester City. To help us with this, we have devised a homemade CITY KLAXON, which we will emit a rousing blast of noise every time it looks like City are about to nod off again. Can’t study these strange players if they keep falling asleep, readers. You might think that Manuel Pellegrini’s instructions and vibe should be enough to keep City awake but so far this season that has not been the case and, indeed, failure to extend their Champions League interest tonight will amplify suggestions that the Chilean needs to be rousted too. On the other hand, a stirring victory will put all that cant to bed, for a while at least, and set up those matches against Bayern Munich and Roma. Rise and shine, City, rise and shine! 6.30pm GMT18:30 Teams: Man City: Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany, Demichelis, Clichy, Jesus Navas, Toure, Fernando, Milner, Aguero, Jovetic. Subs: Caballero, Sagna, Nasri, Dzeko, Mangala, Fernandinho, Boyata. CSKA Moscow: Akinfeev, Mario Fernandes, Vasili Berezutski, Ignashevich, Shchennikov, Musa, Wernbloom, Eremenko, Natcho, Dzagoev, Doumbia. Subs: Chepchugov, Alexsei Berezutski, Nababkin, Efremov, Cauna, Milanov, Bazelyuk. Referee: Tasos Sidiropoulos (Greece) Updated at 7.01pm GMT |