City stutter in league
Manchester City’s European aspirations were dented last weekend by a 2-1 loss away to Hull City. Hull’s first win in 10 games came courtesy of goals either side of half-time as Phil Brown’s struggling team dominated the first hour and Man City, not for the first time this season and to the bemusement of manager Roberto Mancini, performed poorly away from Eastlands. “The pitch is the same when we play at home or away and if we want to succeed we must win away and we must fight always,” said an unimpressed Mancini. Emmanuel Adebayour scored what was essentially a consolation goal for the Blues and although both new signings Adam Johnson and Patrick Viera impressed on their debuts as second half substitutes, they could do nothing to change the scoreline.

Al Wahda clinch ACL qualification
Al Wahda secured their place in this year’s Asian Champions League with a 5-2 victory over Indian champions Churchill Brothers. Despite conceding an early goal, Wahda proved to have too much class for the team from Goa and goals from Fernando Baiano (2), Mahmoud Khamis, Abdulraheem Juma and Ismail Matar ensured qualification for the group stages of the competition. Al Wahda enter Group B along with two-time ACL winners Al Ittihad, 2008 semi-finalists Bunyodkor of Uzbekistan and Iranian outfit Zob Ahan. Al Ahli, Al Jazira and Al Ain had already qualified directly for the group stages of this tournament.

Baniyas stadium completed in record time
The new Baniyas Sports Club Stadium in Al Shamkha opened its doors this week with an inaugural match on Monday between the Baniyas Club team and Jordanian side Al Wahada. Designed by internationally acclaimed architect Roger Tallibert, responsible for some of the best stadiums in the world (such as the Parc des Princes in Paris and the Olympic Stadium in Montreal), the stadium was built in just six months. The state-of-the-art 10,000-spectator facility meets world-class standards set by FIFA and the UAE Football League.