Disaster. A nightmare. The unthinkable has happened. The underdogs have won – and good on them. But the bigger news is, the heavyweights have crumbled under the pressure of the big occasion once again.
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Manchester City, the overwhelming favourites for this Champions League quarter-final, have lost. Facing off against Lyon, a side who finished seventh in Ligue 1 this year, the Citizens crumbled, collapsed, caved. Humiliated.A 3-1 loss leaves Pep Guardiola and the Sky Blues still chasing that elusive European trophy, and for many, the Spaniard’s pedigree on the huge nights under the lights will be thrown further into doubt.
Where to start with this one?
If anything, this game encapsulated Man City’s Champions League history in 90 minutes. Expectations high, hopes higher, but ultimately a combination of poor tactics, shocking individual errors and strange decisions end their dreams.
Questions must be asked of Guardiola and his decision-making when it comes to his arguments with Champions League. Man City set up with a five-man defence, with Fernandinho sitting in a back three alongside Eric Garcia and Aymeric Laporte. The Brazilian’s presence at the back allowed Kyle Walker and Joao Cancelo to defend higher up the pitch, while he then pushed into the midfield when they went on the attack.That tactical switch meant that Ilkay Gundogan and Rodrigo were deployed to anchor the midfield, as Guardiola opted for a surprisingly defensive centre to his side. Predictably, no invention or creativity came from that particular hub.
Lyon coach Rudi Garcia set up his soldiers with two in attack, although Memphis Depay’s job was far more instrumental than simply creating chances. The Dutch star, a former flop of City’s rivals United, was tasked with man-marking the metronome Rodri when the Citizens were in possession, preventing them from hitting their stride or finding a rhythm.
Blocking that first entrance into midfield significantly hampered Man City, who instead looked to forcing Raheem Sterling into chase balls down the flank and ending up extremely isolated.
The first half an hour passed, and the favourites didn’t have a sniff at goal – not even a shot out of anger. Guardiola was becoming increasingly edgy on the touchline, and his players were performing in a similar vein. Walker was visibly tense and began a running battle with Karl Toko Ekambi, while Fernandinho brought down the irrepressible Hessoum Aouar to earn himself a yellow card.
