Reaction to the Hamburg game

"The third goal obviously makes it difficult for us, but I have just said to the guys now that we have to think positive. We know we can score goals at home, but it was disappointing after scoring so early.

"Hamburg are a good side, they have had an outstanding season and we can see the reasons why. They were a threat at set-plays, and were a big & athletic side. At the end we had a lot of walking wounded, we didn't even finish with 11 men because it looks like Benji has re-ruptured his thigh muscle. We also had a few that were not at the peak of their powers because of injuries they already had.

"We just have to pick ourselves up, we have another game at the weekend that becomes really important for us, and then we will focus on the second leg. We do certainly do not think that the tie is over."

>>Mark Hughes.

HAMBURG gave City the elbow on the banks of the Elbe last night, but the fast flowing tie is still very much in the balance.

The in-form Germans came from behind to snatch a deserved advantage thanks to a disputed penalty and a late effort from substitute Paolo Guerrero but the Blues have a precious away goal in the vault for what will be a pulsating second meeting at a sold out Eastlands next Thursday.

>>MEN.

Such are the fine margins in European football that a decent result can become a rather poor one in an instant, and so it was in north Germany last night as a late goal from the shin of a Hamburg substitute left Manchester City with everything to do at Eastlands next week.

>>mail online.

The result flattered us. Hamburger were so comfortably the better side that for us still to be in the tie is a good result. Were it not for Shay Given's heroics, and some profligate HSV finishing, we would need much more than 2-0 at home next week. Winning by two clear goals is going to be tough; but it's not insurmountable.

>>tldorc.

It started off so well, our name was already being etched onto the Cup and then it all crumbles, the team, the result and our dreams.

>>we've got robinho.

It is the hope that hurts. For one minute, Manchester City could dream of European glory putting an end to 33 barren years. The remaining 89, though, left their hopes of doing so hanging by a thread.

A confident, composed and devastating comeback from Hamburg produced goals from Joris Mathijsen, Piotr Trachowski and Jose Guerrero to cancel out Stephen Ireland’s early opener and, had Shay Given not repaid a further chunk of his transfer fee, could easily have ended Mark Hughes’s side’s European dream on the banks of the North Sea.

>>telegraph.co.uk.