Aris European journey ends with 3-0 loss at Man City
Aris has been knocked out of the Europa League in the last 32 stage after being beaten 3-0 in England on Thursday by Premier League giant Manchester City.
After holding the Blues to a 0-0 draw in Thessaloniki in the first leg, the Greeks made a disastrous start to their encounter at the City of Manchester Stadium by conceding two goals in the first 12 minutes of the game.
Both goals came from 32-million-euro man Edin Dzeko, who cost more than the whole of the Aris team put together. The striker got his first on seven minutes after a slip from Aris defender Nikos Lazaridis. The Bosnian raced through on goal and finished the chance without any problems.
The former Wolfsburg player made it 2-0 five minutes later when David Silva and Carlos Tevez combined to set him up. Dzeko produced a fine curling shot to almost put the tie beyond doubt.
Aris goalkeeper Michalis Sifakis had to produce a couple of impressive saves in the remainder of the first half to prevent it becoming a rout.
Aris coach Yiannis Michalitsios brought on former Olympiakos midfielder Kostas Mendrinos at half time and the Yellows seemed to become more compact and organized.
Manchester City, however, rounded off the win with a goal from another player who used to play for Olympiakos, Yaya Toure, who pounced in the 76th minute after Mario Balotelli?s shot hit the post.
It was not the end that the Thessaloniki side would have wanted to what has been an impressive European campaign, especially in front of 5,000 traveling fans. But at least Aris bows out knowing that they have retained their four-decade record of not having lost at home to any other team from Europe, despite having faced powerhouses like Atletico Madrid and Manchester City this season.
