Despite enduring a one-man disadvantage for more than 70 minutes, City u19s recovered from a one goal deficit to draw 1-1 with Borussia Monchengladbach in their final group game and secured automatic qualification for the Round of 16.
William Ndenge Tsiy converted the resulting spot-kick after Ashley Smith-Brown was sent off in controversial circumstances on 18 minutes before substitute Brahim Diaz climbed off the bench to level the match with an excellent solo strike deep in first-half stoppage time.
Although City soaked up a great deal of pressure in the second half they had the better chances on the counter-attack and they were good value for a point, giving Vieira a fitting send-off for his two and a half years in the role.
The 39-year old, who takes charge at New York City FC in the New Year, now hands over the reins to Simon Davies bringing to an end to a remarkable five years at the club which has seen him lift the FA Cup as a player, the International Premier League Cup as Head of City EDS, as well as playing a pivotal role in a number of his players earning senior debuts for the first-team.
Vieira had already steered City through to the knockout stages of Europe’s premier youth competition for the third successive year but there was still plenty at stake for the final game of his tenure.
To ensure top spot and to avoid a Round of 16 play-off against one of eight national champions, City had to at least draw with a Borussia side already out of the competition but looking to climb off the bottom of Group D.
There were a number of firsts to observe on Patrick’s last team sheet as Thierry Ambrose was named captain for the first time, Jacob Davenport made his first UEFA Youth League start and a number of u18 regulars earned places on the bench.
City got off to a bright start in front of their departing Head Coach and almost took the lead after two minutes when Ash Smith-Brown made the overlapping run and unleashed a curling outside of the foot effort which had goalkeeper Moritz Nicolas scrambling but whistled past the near post.
The game’s defining moment came on 18 minutes when Smith-Brown was shown a straight red card and a penalty was awarded to Borussia.
On first glance, it appeared as though any impediment to Ba-Muaka Simaka’s run through on goal came after Angus Gunn has both hands on the ball and so it seemed harsh that Smith-Brown was given his marching orders for denying a goalscoring opportunity.
However, referee Sergejus Slyva’s decision was final and William Ndenge Tsiy sent Gunn the wrong way with his spot kick to give the visitors the lead.
After losing his left-back, Vieira immediately switched to a 3-5-1 formation utilizing Charlie Oliver, Cameron Humphreys and Demeaco Duhaney as a back three with Aaron Nemane and Lukas Nmecha as wing-backs.
City recovered from the set-back impressively and they were almost level courtesy of an outrageous effort from Ambrose – the Frenchman chesting the ball with his back to goal, spinning and nearly finding the top corner with the subsequent volley.
In Germany, Vieira’s side recovered from an early concession and battled back to win 2-1 and they managed to draw level again in first-half stoppage time through substitute Brahim Diaz.
The 16-year old latched onto a short corner and exchanged passes with Nmecha via an inspired flick from Garcia to spring the Borussia defence and then produced a beautiful dinked finish over the onrushing goalkeeper to give the scoreline a fair reflection at the break.
As expected, Borussia came on strong thanks to their man advantage in the early minutes of the second half and they would have retaken the lead through Simakala but for a tremendous one-on-one save from Gunn on the hour mark.
With Sevilla leading from the 57th minute against Juventus in Spain, City knew they could not afford to go behind again if they wanted to keep top spot and avoid the play-off, so the home side closed ranks and prioritised defensive solidity over attacking intent for the remaining minutes.
In many ways, this discipline and organisation was every bit as impressive as a free-flowing display of attacking football as City’s young starlets belied their years and demonstrated their maturity to hold out and win Group D despite the one-man disadvantage they endured for more than 70 minutes.
Will Patching actually nearly won the game for City with 15 minutes remaining courtesy of an arcing free-kick which drew a great diving save from Nicolas and Oliver hit the post with a header seven minutes from time but 1-1 was how it stayed.
City have never made it past the last eight of the competition having had promising runs ended by Benfica and AS Roma in the last two seasons.
Simon Davies will now take charge of City u19s and will be hoping to guide them into unchartered territory.
Bonne chance, Patrick!
