Manchester: Manchester City and Borussia Moenchengladbach built on commanding first-leg advantages to cruise through the Champions League group stage yesterday, while Russian side Rostov thrashed Ajax 4-1 to reach the group stage for the first time.
City will play a sixth straight season in Europe’s elite competition after beating Steaua Bucharest 1-0 thanks to Fabian Delph’s 56th-minute goal and completing a 6-0 win on aggregate. Goalkeeper Joe Hart made what could be his last start for City after losing his regular place under new coach Pep Guardiola.
Raffael and Thorgan Hazard scored hat-tricks as Moenchengladbach routed Young Boys 6-1 for a 9-2 win on aggregate, sealing an immediate return to the group stage.
FC Copenhagen scored an 86th-minute equalizer to draw 1-1 with APOEL and advance 2-1 on aggregate.
Leading 5-0 from last week’s away leg, City will go into today’s group-stage draw in Monaco with room to spare.
But the spotlight at a less than full Etihad Stadium fell squarely on goalkeeper Hart, who was making his first competitive appearance of the season after being frozen out by Guardiola.
With Claudio Bravo poised to complete a £17 million ($22 million) move from Barcelona, this could have been Hart’s 348th and final City appearance.
A veteran of City’s two Premier League title wins, two League Cup successes and 2011 FA Cup triumph, the 29-year-old England goalkeeper had his name chanted by the club’s fans throughout the game.