City - match report

Chain reaction of mistakes ushers in 2-0 defeat against City

Schalke in sober mood after a deserved home defeat -  after the 2-0 reverse to Manchester City the Royal Blues were left with the task of dissecting the reasons why the game unfolded the way it did.

Expectations ahead of the clash with the English side had been very high. City, who fielded a strong side despite the loss of superstar Robinho, had been accused of being more concerned with the forthcoming derby against local rivals Manchester United than the UEFA Cup. Yet the visitors showed from the off that they were out to make life as difficult as possible for the home side.

For their part Schalke made a reasonable start against a City side who were content to defend very deeply. "In the first half an hour the game was fairly even. We had one or two opportunities like the one for Jermaine Jones, for example", said coach Fred Rutten, referring to the moment when the Schalke midfielder forced City goalkeeper Joe Hart into a superb save in the ninth minute.

But the visitors were a constant threat on the break via the fleet-footed Shaun Wright-Phillips, Stephen Ireland and Daniel Sturridge. "We were well organised at the back and picked the right moment to launch our counterattacks", said a satisfied Mark Hughes.

One of these breaks saw City take the lead through Benjani. "The first goal was a chain reaction of mistakes. Kevin Kuranyi lost possession, but they were still a long way from our goal. What followed was one individual error after another", was how Rutten aptly described the run-up to the goal.


Having gone one down Schalke seemingly fell to pieces. With every passing minute it became clearer that the Royal Blues lacked the ideas to break down City's defensive bulwark. "We had the game under control the whole time and didn't allow Schalke to mount any pressure", said Hughes on this phase of the match.


After the interval the Schalke fans began to give voice to their disappointment. And the mood didn't get any better when Stephen Ireland doubled City's lead on 66. "We didn't perform well enough to win the game", said Rutten. "In the final half an hour there was no belief that we could draw or even win the game. We had the occasional chance, but not the confidence to score." Indeed, Pander made a mess of the final ball when in a promising position on 69, and seven minutes later Asamoah was unable to convert a header when ideally placed.

City's game plan had worked perfectly: "On paper it was a difficult task for us, but in the end we won quite easily", noted Hughes. "It was an excellent performance by the whole team from the first to the last minute." Rutten's analysis had a very different air about it: "I feel we deserved to lose the game. We're very disappointed, even though we were up against a very good team", the Schalke boss said. "It hurts to lose, but we'll have no time to dwell on it because we have another important game in Stuttgart on Sunday."

Schalke: Neuer - Rafinha, Westermann, Bordon (Höwedes 73'), Pander - Jones, Engelaar - Rakitic (Asamoah 63') - Farfan, Kuranyi, Altintop (Sanchez 80')
Manchester City: Hart - Richards, Kompany, Dunne, Garrido (Ball 46') - Hamann - Vassell, Wright-Phillips, Ireland, Sturridge - Benjani (Jo 84')
Goals: 0-1 Benjani (32'), 0-2 Ireland (66')
Referee: Tudor (Romania)
Attendance: 54,142 (sold out)
Yellow cards: - Richards, Ireland