Aris Salonika 0 Manchester City 0: match report
Read a full match report of the Europa League last-32 first-leg match between Aris Salonika and Manchester City at Kleanthis Vikelidis, Greece on Tuesday February 15 2011.
Sitter: Edin Dzeko missed a great chance for Manchester City to score against Aris Salonika in Greece Photo: GETTY IMAGES
By Rob Stewart 7:04PM GMT 15 Feb 2011
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Manchester City's players had green lasers beam into their faces but it was Edin Dzeko who was decidedly off-beam in this Europa League tie as he fluffed the chance to make a bit of history.
Television pictures showed that visiting players were targeted as they took their stations at a corner won in the early stages of this encounter that would probably have been won comfortably by a dominant City side had Dzeko not missed a sitter early on that would have set the stage for his team to become the first team to win a European game in this neck of the woods.
City manager Roberto Mancini made four changes to the team that started the Manchester derby last weekend with Kolo Toure, Jerome Boateng Edin Dzeko, and Shaun Wright-Phillips, coming in for, respectively, Vincent Kompany, Joleon Lescott, Pablo Zabaleta and the injured James Milner.
Mancini’s charges were up against a team named after Ares, the god of war, and intent on stretching their 24-game, 40-year unbeaten home run in European competition and the fireworks as the sides lined up set the tone for a raucous evening in Greece’s second city on the shores of the Aegean.
Despite the intimidating surroundings at the Kleanthis Vikelidis Stadium, City almost monopolised possession early on and would have been ahead in the ninth when David Silva created space for himself tested goalkeeper Michalis Sifakis from 25 yards only to see his shot beaten away.
City maintained the upper hand as Aris failed to get a look in and Edin Dzeko should have put his team ahead in the 15th minute when he was played in by Aleksander Kolarov but after Silva took a touch he casually side-footed the ball straight at Sifakis from close range and his effort was palmed away.
It was not the stuff expected from a player deemed to be worth £27 million when City signed him from Wolfsburg last month.
In what was turning into a one-sided contest and Dzeko had another sight of goal in the 27th minute after being teed up by Shaun Wright-Phillips but his shot from the just outside the penalty box lacked conviction and was easily gathered by Sifakis.
Dzeko then tried his luck from distance after being played in by Gareth Barry but screwed his 20-yard shot high and wide of the target in what seemed like a sign of desperation from the Bosnian.
Joe Hart then gave Aris a helping hand when, after he comfortably saved Michel’s header in a sudden flurry of activity in his box, City’s goalkeeper ended up handling the ball outside his area as he ran into Barry when he tried to hoof the ball upfield.
Hart would have been relieved to see the resulting free-kick from midfielder Darcy Neto curl just wide of his right-hand post in a rare moment of anxiety for City’s 1,000-strong travelling support.
Aris raised their game after the break but were unable to seriously trouble Hart as Mancini back four hardly put a foot wrong although Neto did test the England international with a free kick before he denied Juan Toja.
Dzeko seemed to have made up for his early lapse in the 63rd minute when he rose to meet Barry’s cross but his header was pushed over the crossbar by Sifakis in acrobatic fashion.
Hart then pulled off a brilliant save to foil Neto who would have been forgiven for thinking he had opened the scoring when he let fly from 25 yards but the keeper’s fingertips pushed the rising shot to safety.
Dzeko then took aim from 25 yards but saw his effort veer just wide of he Aris goal as the game hotted up.
Mancini sent on Mario Balotelli in place of the disappointing Wright-Phillips and Dzeko was taken off as the game drifted towards the final whistle with City now surely confident of securing a place in the next stage of the competition a week on Thursday in Manchester with Besiktas or Dynamo Kiev awaiting the winners in the group of 16.
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