Slick City end Porto's UEFA Europa League defence
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
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Manchester City FC 4-0 FC Porto (agg: 6-1)
Three late goals and Sergio Agüero's after just 19 seconds took the English side through to the round of 16 at the expense of holders Porto.
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The UEFA Europa League trophy slipped from holders FC Porto's grasp on a rainy evening in England as goals from Manchester City FC's Sergio Agüero, Edin Džeko, David Silva and David Pizarro consigned them to a crushing 6-1 aggregate defeat.
A goal inside 20 seconds from Agüero was the worst possible start for a Porto side already with an uphill task after last Thursday's 2-1 home loss. All their subsequent possession and pressure came to naught, and their fate was sealed by a late collapse which brought three goals in the final quarter-hour, and a red card for the visitors' Rolando.
Unbeaten now in 16 European home outings, City will look to their last-16 meeting with Sporting Clube de Portugal or Legia Warszawa with confidence, even if they will be shorn of Yaya Touré after his booking tonight. They tightened their grip on this tie after just 19 seconds when Agüero, scorer of the late first-leg winner, inflicted further punishment on Porto.
Collecting Nicolás Otamendi's loose ball out of defence, Yaya Touré threaded the ball back between Fernando and Otamendi, sending Agüero clear to angle a low finish into the far corner of Helton's goal. City could now afford to sit back and look to hit Porto on the counter, something they nearly did when Yaya Touré was foiled by Helton and Agüero by the crossbar.
The visitors had chances of their own, but Silvestre Varela, clear on the left, failed to beat Joe Hart, while Otamendi blasted wastefully over from a corner. Porto's pressure increased after the restart but Lucho González poked a shot wide. When James Rodríguez did find the net from a low Maicon cross, he was denied by an offside call.
Porto's fate was sealed with 14 minutes remaining, when Agüero set up substitute Džeko to beat Helton. Rolando was immediately shown a second yellow card and the visitors' heads dropped. Cue a Silva tap-in, supplied by Pizarro, and the latter's first City goal, capitalising after the ball was inadvertently touched into his path by Cristian Săpunaru.
