AL AIN // The young Manchester City supporter at the petrol station on the Dubai-Al Ain Road eventually got his wish.
Dressed in sky blue and with dad in tow, he was asked which one of his heroes he was most looking forward to seeing on arrival in the Garden City, where his City faced Hamburg at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium.
The Manchester club may be owned by Abu Dhabi’s royal family, but being English Premier League champions and a team with pretensions of ruling Europe, too, they cannot frequent the UAE as much as the natives would like.
Read more: Manchester City starlet George Evans provides spark against Hamburg
So the match with the Bundesliga side on Wednesday night, albeit a friendly, provided the perfect opportunity to star gaze and witness up close some of the finest players on the planet.
“Aguero,” said the young fan, face beaming, although his father revealed a penchant for Vincent Kompany.
The Belgian might be the City captain – and the guy who hoisted the Premier League trophy high above his head back in May – but Kompany? Dads can be so uncool sometimes.
At least, there was one person to depart Al Ain significantly satisfied. While the official team sheet stated otherwise, Sergio Aguero took his place on the substitutes bench and was introduced on 70 minutes to a raucous reception.
Seems everyone has a soft spot for the dynamite Argentine with firecrackers in his boots.
In truth, there was already enough talent on show to whet the appetite. City began with Edin Dzeko, Aleksander Kolarov, Stevan Jovetic and Frank Lampard in their line-up and would later call upon Pablo Zabaleta and Gael Clichy: all established members of a squad that sits second in England’s top tier.
Kompany did not make an appearance. No doubt the wish was for him to avoid aggravating the hamstring injury that recently robbed him six weeks of playing time.
Instead, Kolarov led the side, although it was steered throughout by a tireless James Milner.
The England international was the game’s standout, initially in an advanced role, before slotting – seamlessly as always – into a deeper position in midfield vacated by Lampard, who left the pitch after 20 minutes.
Yet Milner was always present. His most telling contribution came in the 75th minute, when the contest was winding down and the teams had been heavily altered.
As keen observers of this season’s Premier League can attest, Milner does not do half-hearted; all lungs and legs, emphasised most acutely when he collected the ball on the halfway line, drove to the left flank and crossed perfectly for Dzeko to chest and strike home.
That made it 2-0 to City, who had taken the lead five minutes after half-time when Jovetic, a sporadic threat during the opening exchanges, was found by a raking pass from George Evans, City's academy youngster.
The Montenegrin controlled expertly and swept a bouncing ball past Drobny Jaroslav, the Hamburg goalkeeper, whose hand was not strong enough to prevent the shot trickling across the line.
So City made “home” advantage count. More arduous assignments lay in wait – Middlesbrough in the FA Cup on Saturday and then Premier League leaders Chelsea the following week – but, for the most part, this would have ticked the boxes.
Manuel Pellegrini, the City manager, appeared to agree, arriving on the pitch at full-time. No doubt, he was content in the knowledge his side are ready for what should be an exciting conclusion to the 2014/15 campaign.
jmcauley@thenational.ae
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