Lyon stun Man City after Sterling and Ederson howlers in crazy late passage of play
Champions League quarter-final, Estádio José Alvalade – Manchester City 1 (De Bruyne 69’), Olympique Lyonnais 3 (Cornet 24’, Dembele 79’ 87’)
Manchester City suffered more Champions League woe as Lyon claimed a shock 3-1 victory to dump Pep Guardiola's side out of the competition at the quarter final stage in Lisbon.
The French outfit stole in front on 24 minutes when Maxwel Cornet curved a superb finish beyond the stranded Ederson after City were caught out by a long ball over the top.
Guardiola had tinkered with his system coming into this clash and it backfired as his team struggled to create chances throughout the first half.
The Spaniard eventually reverted to a more familiar formation when he brought on Riyad Mahrez and it paid dividends as the Citizens levelled when Raheem Sterling cut back for Kevin De Bruyne to slot home.
City were looking the more likely but were stunned 11 minutes from time when substitute Moussa Dembele raced through to fire Lyon back in front.
Sterling then blazed a glorious chance over from close range before Dembele added another just seconds later to send the Citizens crashing out.
Rudi Garcia's men will now meet Bayern Munich in the last four on Wednesday night.
TALKING POINT
Guardiola's CL tinkering bewilders once again. Much has been made of the fact Guardiola has not won the Champions League since 2011 and that he has made some strange tactical decisions in just under a decade of trying to lead both Bayern Munich and Manchester City to Europe's biggest title. This will sit right alongside some of those other bizarre choices. There was no real reason to opt for a back three and not start with the likes of David Silva, Bernardo Silva or Phil Foden in the middle. He complicated tactics in a contest where his team were clear favourites. The defensive deficiencies were there to see once again, and he may well query a possible free kick for his side in the build up to the second Lyon goal, but some tough questions will be asked of Guardiola after this and rightly so.
MAN OF THE MATCH
Jason Denayer (Lyon). Dembele and Cornet will get some headlines, but it was Lyon's super rearguard action that frustrated City throughout. Denayer was at the heart of this as part of a defiant collective effort at the back.
PLAYER RATINGS
MAN CITY: Ederson 5, Walker 6, Garcia 6, Laporte 6, Cancelo 6, Fernandinho 6, Rodri 6, Gundogan 6, De Bruyne 7, Sterling 7, Jesus 7. Subs: Mahrez 7, D.Silva n/a.
LYON: Lopes 7, Denayer 8, Marcelo 7, Marcal 8, Dubois 7, Cornet 8, Caqueret 7, Guimaraes 7, Aouar 8, Ekambi 7, Depay 7. Subs: Mendes 6, Tete 6, Dembele 8, Reine-Adelaide n/a.
KEY MOMENTS
24' - GOAL! Man City 0-1 Lyon. Cornet flashes a clever, low shot beyond Ederson to give Lyon a shock lead. It came after Ederson was caught in no man's land trying to close down Ekambi as the forward chased a long ball over the top before being thwarted by Garcia.
24' - GOAL! Man City 0-1 Lyon. Cornet flashes a clever, low shot beyond Ederson to give Lyon a shock lead. It came after Ederson was caught in no man's land trying to close down Ekambi as the forward chased a long ball over the top before being thwarted by Garcia.
45+1' - MAN CITY CHANCE! Sterling latches on to De Bruyne's sensational outside of the foot pass in-behind, but can't squeeze his shot in from a tight angle.
69' - GOAL! Man City 1-1 Lyon. De Bruyne arrives on cue to side foot Sterling's delightful cut back from the left into the far corner.
77' - MAN CITY CHANCE! Frustration for Jesus as he miscues a volley into the turf and over the top after a lovely pick-out from Sterling.
77' - MAN CITY CHANCE! Frustration for Jesus as he miscues a volley into the turf and over the top after a lovely pick-out from Sterling.
79' - GOAL! Man City 1-2 Lyon. Dembele restores Lyon's lead as he evades the offside trap with a late run from deep before just about slotting under Ederson
86' - MAN CITY CHANCE! What a miss! Jesus engineers space on the right of the area and drills it across for Sterling, who somehow blazes over the bar from close range. There was no one near him and that was a tap in.
87' - GOAL! Man City 1-3 Lyon. Ederson spills a weak shot into the path of Dembele, who taps in his second of the night to surely dump City out. It comes right after Sterling should have made it 2-2!
KEY STATS
Maxwel Cornet has scored four goals against Manchester City in the Champions League - since Pep Guardiola took charge of the club, only Lionel Messi (4) has scored as many against them in the competition.
Since progressing from his first seven Champions League quarter-finals as a manager with Barcelona and FC Bayern München, Pep Guardiola has been eliminated in each of his three appearances at this stage of the competition with Man City (17-18, 18-19 & 19-20).
Moussa Dembele has scored four goals in three appearances against Manchester City in the Champions League, with both of his braces in the competition coming against the Citizens.
De Bruyne has been directly involved in more goals in all competitions this season than any other Premier League player (38 – 16 goals, 22 assists).
Share this article