City take crucial first-leg advantage
Shaun Wright-Phillips scored a spectacular goal
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Thursday, 12, Mar 2009 10:26
Manchester City are firm favourites to progress in the Uefa Cup after claiming a first-leg 2-0 win over Aalborg at Eastlands.
City played fluent football for much of the game and were rewarded with goals from Felipe Caicedo and a brilliant strike from Shaun Wright-Phillips.
Brazilian star Robinho had been an injury doubt for City but was passed fit and showed his worth to the team early on. It was his ball into the Aalborg penalty area which was expertly controlled by Caicedo and the big Ecuadorian held off the defender and then coolly found the back of the net.
City took their foot off the gas after taking the lead and this led to Aalborg having more possession and grow in confidence. Andreas Johansson surged into the penalty area and then slipped the ball in for Caca who managed to turn Richard Dunne but saw his shot saved by the feet of Shay Given.
Despite Aalborg enjoying the better of the possession, City still looked threatening on the break and doubled their lead on the half-hour mark with a stunning strike from Wright-Phillips.
The England winger found the ball on the right-flank and had three defenders in front of him, but cut inside two of them and thundered the ball into the top right-hand corner from 25 yards out.
Aalborg had a great opportunity to grab a goal back when the ball ricocheted off Elano into the path Thomas Augustinussen, but the Aalborg skipper saw his shot go narrowly wide from inside the penalty area.
City were denied a certain penalty on the brink of half-time when Robinho fooled Michael Beauchamp with an array of step-overs and the Aalborg defender clipped Robinho and brought him down, only for the referee to somehow fail to see it the foul.
City were superb in the second period and it looked like only a matter of time before they scored their third. Wright-Phillips would have been disappointed not to have scored his second goal when he was put through on goal by a defence-splitting ball by Elano, but the former Chelsea man fired his shot wide.
Mark Hughes' men continued to search for a third goal but instead had to settle for a 2-0 win, but will go in as huge favourites in the second leg in Denmark next week.