Manchester City 1 Steaua Bucharest 0 [City win 6-0 on aggregate]
Joe Hart played his first - and probably last - game of the season for Manchester City on Wednesday night in the Champions League qualifier against Steaua Bucharest.
Having thrashed the Romanian outfit 5-0 in last week's first leg there was never going to be any anxiety at the Etihad, which allowed the City faithful to indulge their love for their goalkeeper, an affection not shared by new manager Pep Guardiola.
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Hart has been with City for a decade, helping them with two Premier League titles and both domestic Cups, but Guardiola has decided he's not the man he wants between the sticks this season.
That's come as a shock, not just to Hart, but also the fans, who, like England football supporters in general, rarely question whether their boys are technically up to scratch.
Guardiola clearly doesn't think Hart is a world-class keeper and has grave reservations about his ability with the ball at his feet. And for that reason he is prepared to let him move on as he brings in Claudio Bravo from Barcelona.
"I know he's a legend for this club," said Guardiola after seeing Fabian Delph score the only goal of the night. "It was a good night for everybody and Joe is included in that."
Guardiola wants a ball-playing goalkeeper, which is why Hart is now surplus to requirements at City, and the Spaniard showed an admirable lack of sentiment when asked how he could dare release a 'legend' like Hart.
"I'm here to take decisions," he responded. "I can't deny what I feel. I was honest with Joe, the club and myself and that's what I try to do. He knows what I think about the position."
Choosing to play Hart did allow the fans to say goodbye. And, as the Daily Mail points out, there is no impact on Hart's resale value because he will not be cup tied for the Champions League as the match was only a qualifier.
Hart's world has been turned upside down in a matter of weeks, first with his error-strewn performances in England's humiliating defeat at the hands of Iceland in the European Championships, and now with his imminent departure from a club he joined as a teenager in 2006.
To his credit, however, the 29-year-old brushed off attempts by the media to get him to wallow in self-pity following Wednesday night's win.
Asked about the Guardiola's decision to dump him, Hart said: “We all know there's a situation going on, but I feel that inside and outside of all the circus we're handling it well as a good team with a good management staff... we have a top manager that the club has wanted for a long long time and he'll have his opinion on things. Outside of the charade and all the rubbish that's being talked, we're dealing with it like men inside and we'll come up with a solution."
Describing the win as a "really special night for me", Hart, who was captain for the evening, applauded the fans at the end of the game.
