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Eriksson's Man City lose 1-0 to Valencia
Sven-Goran Eriksson's Manchester City lost 1-0 to Valencia in a preseason friendly on Saturday, his first home game since taking charge.
- Indo-Asian News Service
- Updated: August 06, 2007 06:05 PM IST
Read Time:2 min
Manchester:
David Silva scored for the Spaniards in the ninth minute.
The defeat marred the carnival atmosphere which greeted Eriksson and new owner Thaksin Shinawatra at the City of Manchester Stadium.
But Eriksson insisted he was pleased with the performance against a strong Champions League team.
"I'm very positive, we played one of the best teams in Europe," Eriksson said. "We will have an exciting team this season, with young, good football players."
Eriksson, who blushed as fans gave him a pre-match standing ovation, has spent around 30 million pounds of Thaksin's money on eight players since being appointed on July 6.
The Swede now has a week to prepare his global recruits for the start of Premier League season next Saturday when City travels to West Ham.
"I would be a liar if I said I didn't wish for a bit more time," Eriksson said. "But I liked what I saw and I am much more positive than I was this morning. We will be better next week for sure."
Eriksson is under pressure to improve on City's 14th-place finish in the 20-team league under his predecessor Stuart Pearce.
Cheering fans mobbed Thaksin as he arrived at the stadium to the strains of Thai music, and the accolades continued when he took his place in the directors' box.
Thaksin, who lives in self-imposed exile in London, gained control of City with an 81.6 million pound takeover last month.
City was unable to end its scoring drought at home, despite late efforts by newcomers Rolando Bianchi and Geovanni. City netted just 10 goals at home last season - the final time on New Year's Day - setting a Premier League record.
"I'm sorry we couldn't score a goal - we deserved that," Eriksson said. "The goals will come in the Premier League, I hope."
Valencia's goal came after a wayward pass by Switzerland under-21 captain Gelson Fernandes, one of five new City signings in the staring lineup.
Joaquin Sanchez had his shot parried by Kapser Schmeichel, giving Silva a clear view on goal to dampen City's celebrations.
Sven-Goran Eriksson's Manchester City lost 1-0 to Valencia in a preseason friendly on Saturday, his first home game since taking charge.David Silva scored for the Spaniards in the ninth minute.
The defeat marred the carnival atmosphere which greeted Eriksson and new owner Thaksin Shinawatra at the City of Manchester Stadium.
But Eriksson insisted he was pleased with the performance against a strong Champions League team.
"I'm very positive, we played one of the best teams in Europe," Eriksson said. "We will have an exciting team this season, with young, good football players."
Eriksson, who blushed as fans gave him a pre-match standing ovation, has spent around 30 million pounds of Thaksin's money on eight players since being appointed on July 6.
The Swede now has a week to prepare his global recruits for the start of Premier League season next Saturday when City travels to West Ham.
"I would be a liar if I said I didn't wish for a bit more time," Eriksson said. "But I liked what I saw and I am much more positive than I was this morning. We will be better next week for sure."
Eriksson is under pressure to improve on City's 14th-place finish in the 20-team league under his predecessor Stuart Pearce.
Cheering fans mobbed Thaksin as he arrived at the stadium to the strains of Thai music, and the accolades continued when he took his place in the directors' box.
Thaksin, who lives in self-imposed exile in London, gained control of City with an 81.6 million pound takeover last month.
City was unable to end its scoring drought at home, despite late efforts by newcomers Rolando Bianchi and Geovanni. City netted just 10 goals at home last season - the final time on New Year's Day - setting a Premier League record.
"I'm sorry we couldn't score a goal - we deserved that," Eriksson said. "The goals will come in the Premier League, I hope."
Valencia's goal came after a wayward pass by Switzerland under-21 captain Gelson Fernandes, one of five new City signings in the staring lineup.
Joaquin Sanchez had his shot parried by Kapser Schmeichel, giving Silva a clear view on goal to dampen City's celebrations.
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