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Vincent Kompany enjoys emotional Man City testimonial from sidelines in Premier League All-Stars clash


Manchester City Legends drew 2-2 with a Premier League All-Stars side thanks to a last minute equaliser from Benjani on an emotional night at the Etihad Stadium for Vincent Kompany’s testimonial.

The legendary Belgian centre-back, who was unable to play due to injury, was honoured by over 50,000 fans at Eastlands following his decision to depart the club in the summer after 11 hugely successful seasons.

Kompany won 10 major honours during his time at City, including four Premier League titles and two FA Cups, and he was visibly emotional before kick-off.

“Thank you so much,” he told the crowd. “Thank you for turning out on a Wednesday night in such great numbers.

Vincent Kompany spoke to fans before the game

Man City Legends celebrate taking the lead

“Of course I’m injured in my own testimonial, but I’m getting ready to return for David Silva’s!”

The two star-studded teams then took to the field and City took an early lead when Gary Neville appeared to be at fault by not following Martin Petrov’s run, and the Bulgarian made no mistake to smash home from close range.

The All-Stars equalised just after the half-an-hour mark when Robin van Persie set up Robbie Keane for a tidy first-time finish from close-range.

Neville pulled a hamstring shortly afterwards to round off his nightmare evening, but his team took the lead just after half-time when van Persie beautifully curled home from just outside the box.

Gary Neville’s evening came to an unfortunate early end

Paul Scholes and Robin van Persie celebrate with Robbie Keane

The crowd were entertained with further fancy flicks from the likes of Paul Scholes and Mikel Arteta for the All-Stars, but City grabbed a draw right at the death when Benjani headed home from a deep free-kick.

After the match there were further emotional scenes when Kompany spoke to Sky Sports .

“I was imagining my Dad up there, he would have been so proud,” he said.

“This is such a big club now, a global club, and I never thought it was possible. For a minute I just stood still and thought ‘this is nice.’

Benjani and Micah Richards celebrate City’s last minute equaliser

Kompany salutes the fans one more time after the match

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“It was awesome to watch, and in the end we got a draw and that was fine.

“It’s been a perfect evening and I couldn’t ask for more.”

The event has raised thousands for Kompany’s charity Tackle4MCR, which helps homeless people in the city of Manchester.





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