UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE::MANCHESTER CITY WAIBANJUA VICTORIA PLZEN GOLI 4 KWA 2

A goal from Sergio Aguero is just about taken as read these days, but few could have expected to see Joe Hart retrieving the ball from the back of his net on his Manchester City recall. Even fewer to see him doing it twice.
Much as Hart would have welcomed a return to the starting line-up, he could hardly have foreseen being beaten once, never mind twice, by a misfiring attack that had previously managed just two goals in four Group D beatings.
That was the indignity that befell the troubled England keeper, though, as Plzen defied their lowly standing by answering Aguero's 33rd-minute opener and then repeating the trick after Samir Nasri put City in front again.
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Opener: Manchester City's Sergio Aguero scores the first goal from the penalty spot

Strike: Horava's equaliser flew in from 25 yards, an unstoppable shot Joe Hart could do nothing about

Turns up: Nasri scores to put City 2-1 up at the Etihad in a topsy-turvy encounter

Super sub: Alvaro Negredo (second right) celebrates scoring the third goal with Jesus Navas

Arise: Dzeko put his case forward for preferential treatment with a superb header late on

There was little Hart could do about either goal, though England manager Roy Hodgson will hardly have been encouraged to see that all-too-familiar scowl back on the City keeper's face each time he forlornly returned the ball to the centre circle.
Some semblance of order at last seemed to be restored in the 78th minute, when substitute Alvaro Negredo tapped home at the far post from Jesus Navas' low cross.
Manuel Pellegrini once more made full use of the riches at his disposal, resting the bulk of the starting line-up that humbled Tottenham and retaining only Aguero, Nasri, Fernandinho and Martin Demichelis.
As revealed in advance by Pellegrini, England keeper Hart was handed a recall and it proved a popular choice. Cheers greeted every City name when the teams were read out shortly before kick-off, but none was louder than the reception for 'number one, Joe Hart.'
After warming the bench as an unused substitute for the past five games, Hart would have welcomed an early touch, but must have questioned whether one would be forthcoming against a team who had scored just twice during the course of four Group D defeats.
He needn't have fretted in the opening exchanges. A clumsy challenge by Aleksandar Kolarov inside two minutes gifted Plzen a free-kick on the right of the area and ensured Hart would be put to the test.

Leveller: Tomas Horava wheels away after equalising for Plzen just before half-time

It was the sort that has often found him out, at that, an inswinging delivery whipped in to a crowded area by skipper Pavel Horvath. It took two attempts to gather the ball safely, but he eventually clung on and must have let out a sigh of relief at coming through it unscathed.
Unsurprisingly, given City's rampant form at home of late, the spotlight soon switched to the other end, with Pellegrini's array of attacking talent clicking through the gears and piling on the pressure.
Javi Garcia was one of those with a point to prove, after slipping down the pecking order among City's midfield anchor men, and he wasn't far from adding a smart finish to his more recognisable defensive attributes after meeting Nasri's sixth-minute free-kick with a near-post flick that went just wide.
Edin Dzeko finds himself in the same category as Garcia, after being marginalised by Aguero's flourishing partnership with Negredo but if he was hoping to deliver a message to Pellegrini, he fluffed his lines with a weak finish in the eighth minute.
After breaking clear from the halfway line, Fernandinho rolled a pass into the path of Dzeko, who should have done better than sidefoot a first-time shot straight at the keeper.

Tucked home: The Argentinian slotted home the penalty after a handball in the area, but Plzen soon equalised

Stretch: Manchester City's Sergio Aguero (left) and Plzen's Vaclav Prochazka battle for the ball

At least City were getting into their stride, and they were unlucky not to go ahead after another example of Nasri's renaissance under Pellegrini. Seizing possession 30 yards out, the City midfielder advanced a coupled of paces and unleashed a swerving drive that wrong-footed Matus Kozacik and smacked against the bar.
If Nasri was out of luck on that occasion, he had only himself to blame three minutes later after carelessly directing a sidefoot volley wide from Aguero's cross.
The chances were flying thick and fast, but worryingly for Pellegrini, they weren't all at the same end.
Defensive fallibility has been the one bugbear for the former Malaga coach during his brief City tenure, and it was glaringly apparent again, as Plzen threatened to embarrass his side twice in quick succession, just before the half-hour mark.
First, Frantisek Rajtoral burst through a gap on the right and fired narrowly wide of the far post, then Michal Duris swept a glaring opportunity wastefully wide from a low cross by Daniel Kolar.

It's mine: Defender Joleon Lescott vies with Czech forward Stanislav Tecl

His chance: As confirmed by Manuel Pellegrini on Sunday, Joe Hart started in goal for Manchester City

Get in front: Javi Garcia (right) and Joleon Lescott (left) attempt to block a shot from Milan Petrzela

It made little difference, as Navas promptly instigated a 46th-minute move that almost led to City's lead being restored. The winger's pass to Nasri was fed through to Dzeko, who might have done better than hesitate just long enough for his shot to be blocked.
Plzen were proving anything but pushovers, but while they were defending resolutely, Pellegrini may well have been perturbed at the way some of his fringe players were struggling to make an impact.
Navas at least looked eager to make his mark, and after taking a Nasri pass in his stride in the 56th minute, he hammered a rising drive that just cleared the bar.
This wasn't the free-flowing, free-scoring City we've become used to in recent weeks, though, and Pellegrini had seen enough by the 64th minute, sending on Yaya Toure for Fernandinho in an attempt to inject some urgency into his side's ponderous approach play.

Battle: Milner can't get to the ball ahead of Matus Kozacik and Vaclav Prochazka

It paid immediate dividends, as Toure held the ball up near the bye-line and set up Navas for a cross that Nasri steered home with his left foot.
Still Plzen were not finished, and it took a flying save from Hart to deny Kolar just two minutes later.
Stanislav Tecl hauled Plzen level for a second time with an angled drive in the 69th minute, but substitute Negredo was on hand to apply a simple finish to Navas' low cross nine minutes later.
Dzeko finally found his range in the 89th minute, rising to meet a left-wing Milner cross and steering a header past the keeper.

 

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