City beaten at home, while Villa claim easy away win in Uefa Cup
Valeri Bojinov was unable to guide Mark Hughes' team to a win
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Thursday, 14, Aug 2008 10:26
Manchester City have suffered a disappointing 1-0 home defeat at the hands of Danish side FC Midtjylland in the Uefa Cup second qualifying round.
A sluggish City side created very little and a goal from Danny Olsen was enough to secure the Danes a famous win.
It was a much better night for the Premier League's other representative as Aston Villa cruised to a 4-1 win away at FH Hafnarfjordur. Goals from Gareth Barry, Ashley Young, Gabriel Agbonlahor, and Martin Laursen, has all but certainly guaranteed Villa's passage into the next round.
It was a depressing night at the City of Manchester Stadium as barely a handful of City fans watched their side go down to a defeat which means they will now have to win the away leg in Denmark in a fortnight.
City conceded after just 15 minutes as captain Richard Dunne clumsily gave the ball away on the halfway line and Midtjylland broke and surged towards the penalty area, with City defenders scrambling to get back, Olsen fired home from the edge of the penalty area.
Despite having the likes of Elano, Michael Johnson, and Martin Petrov in their side, City created very little.
Only youngster Daniel Sturridge looked impressive for the Premier League outfit. The 18-year-old was closest to scoring for City in the first-half as he struck the woodwork with a shot from 20 yards.
A chorus of boos rung around the stadium as the players walked off at half-time. But the home side started the second-half in much better fashion.
A cross-field by Elano found Petrov free in the penalty area, but the Bulgarian smashed his volley over the bar. Petrov struck the woodwork with a free-kick ten minutes later, but that was the closest City got and now they will need a great performance in Denmark to progress.