Football news - Sloppy Manchester City beaten at home by Lyon in Champions League opener
/dnl.eurosport.com/sd/img/placeholder/eurosport_logo_1x1.png){kind=logo}
Updated 19/09/2018 at 21:50 GMT
Champions League, Group F, Etihad Stadium – Manchester City 1, Lyon 2
David Silva of Manchester City looks dejected after conceding a second goal during the Group F match of the UEFA Champions League between Manchester City and Olympique Lyonnais at Etihad Stadium on September 19, 2018 in Manchester, United Kingdom
Image credit: Getty Images
Manchester City were stunned at home by Lyon in their Champions League opener as two first-half goals earned the visitors all three points.
Two poor mistakes in possession were clinically punished by the French side, with Maxwell Cornet and Nabil Fekir expertly taking their changes in-front of a sparse Etihad crowd.
The opening Lyon goal featured a catalogue of mistakes, with the ball softly given away in midfield, not closed down efficiently by Kyle Walker, not claimed by either goalkeeper Ederson or covering defender Fabian Delph, and then tucked home by Cornet.
It was a shambolic collection of errors by City, but the second was far more impressive from the visitors. An aggressive press in midfield saw Lyon launch a swift break, and Fekir carried the ball forward with purpose before picking out the bottom corner from outside of the box.
The hosts, who had manager Pep Guardiola in the stands due to a touchline ban, did improve after the break, but they couldn’t add to Bernardo Silva’s second-half goal and will go into the second matchday at the bottom of Group F.
/origin-imgresizer.eurosport.com/2018/09/19/2422396-50346690-2560-1440.jpg)
Pep Guardiola, Manchester City versus Lyon in the Champions League
Image credit: Getty Images
TALKING POINT
What was wrong with City? Mikel Arteta said before the match that City had the best players in Europe, but that certainly wasn't in evidence tonight. They were by turns lethargic and panicky, and Lyon fully deserved their win.
MAN OF THE MATCH
Nabil Fekir (Lyon). Led his young side with aplomb.
/origin-imgresizer.eurosport.com/2018/09/19/2422354-50345850-2560-1440.jpg)
Nabil Fekir a inscrit le deuxième but de Lyon face à Manchester City
Image credit: Getty Images
PLAYER RATINGS
Manchester City - Ederson 6, Walker 5, Stones 5, Laporte 5, Delph 5, Fernandinho 5, Gundogan 5, Silva 6, Bernardo 5, Sterling 5, Jesus 6. Subs: Muric, Kompany, Agüero 7, Sané 7, Mahrez 6, Otamendi, Foden.
Lyon - Lopes 7, Mendy 7, Denayer 7, Marcela 7, Rafael 6, Diop 7, Ndombele 6, Aduar 6, Fekir 8, Cornet 7, Depay 7. Subs - Gorgelin, Dubois 6, Morel, Tousart 6, Ferri, Traoré, Dembele.
KEY MOMENTS
26' GOAL! It's the opener for the visitors - Cornet turning it in at the back post! Delph could have done better with the cross there, but it's a tidy left-foot finish from Cornet.
43' GOAL! Fekir doubles Lyon's advantage with a wonderful finish! An absolute rocket into the bottom corner!
60' CHANCE! Memphis Depay hits the post! Looks like Ederson might have got a touch to keep that out as well.
67' GOAL! City are back in it! Substitute Sane skips through the Lyon defence before putting in a low cross for Bernardo to convert.
KEY STATS
- Manchester City have become the first English side in Champions League history to lose four consecutive matches in the competition.
- Manchester City have now lost three consecutive home Champions League matches, becoming only the second English side to do so after Tottenham Hotspur, who lost three in a row between April 2011 and November 2016.
- French clubs have now won four of their last nine visits to English sides in the Champions League (D2 L3), as many as the previous 27 such matches combined.
- Lyon are now unbeaten in their last four Champions League matches (W2 D2), their best run in the competition since March 2010 (also four).
- Manchester City found themselves 2+ goals down in a match at the Etihad for the first time since they lost 1-3 to Chelsea in December 2016, and were 2+ goals down at half-time in a home game for the first time since November 2015 against Liverpool (1-3 at half-time).
- Six of the last eight instances of Manchester City conceding twice in the first half of a match at the Etihad have been in the Champions League.
- Since the start of last season, Nabil Fekir has been directly involved in 35 goals for Lyon in all competitions (25 goals, 10 assists); only Memphis Depay (43) has had a hand in more for the club.
- Only Sergio Aguero (20) has scored more goals in all competitions for Man City during 2018 than Bernardo Silva (9).
Scan me
Share this article