Shak attack spoils Pep’s perfect run
GUARDIOLA FINALLY TASTES DEFEAT
PEP GUARDIOLA was waiting to see how his players would respond to defeat. Now he will find out in Sunday’s Manchester derby.
It has taken 29 games and seven and a half months, but the Premier League leaders finally lost on a freezing night in Ukraine, also ending their 20- game winning streak.
Manchester City’s imperious run at home and abroad came to an end here at the hands of Shakhtar Donetsk and a Brazilian contingent led by the gifted Taison, who ripped them to shreds before half-time.
A first defeat since the FA Cup semi- final against Arsenal on April 23 was not a total surprise in a dead rubber for City.
They had already qualified for the last-16 stage as winners of Group F, and Guardiola, facing a very capable Shakhtar side still fighting for their Champions League lives, rested players to avoid injuries ahead of Sunday’s trip to Old Trafford.
Phil Foden, 17, was handed his full debut and played out of position at left wing-back. Tosin Adarabioyo made his second Champions League start in an unfamiliar back- three and an equally unfamiliar line-up.
But the manner of the defeat will concern Guardiola, who will not have enjoyed seeing his team so comprehensively outplayed for 45 minutes. So too will the fact that it precedes such an important game against United following three unconvincing Premier League wins over Huddersfield, Southampton and West Ham.
Will this result knock City out of their stride? It is unlikely. But United boss Jose Mourinho will be relishing the opportunity to test their mettle.
Guardiola stood solemnly on the touchline last night, his breath visible in the cold air as he screamed instructions, but to little avail.
City were 2-0 down by half-time and well on the way to a rare defeat after winning 21 of their 22 games this season. Sergio Aguero’s late penalty mattered little.
It meant they failed to become the sixth club in Champions League history to finish the group stage with a 100 per cent record. Not even Guardiola’s great Barcelona side, Lionel Messi and all, managed to win all their group games.
Afterwards, the City boss claimed it may be a good thing for the club in the long run.
‘It hurts,’ said Guardiola. ‘It’s never nice to lose a game but it’s part of our profession. But we needed to lose, for the players and for the club.
‘We said we cannot win all the time. This was the first game and now we have to recover and get ready for the Premier League.
‘I saw how we reacted when we went 2-0 down. We came here when our job was done, now we’re going to see on Sunday. Football is how you recover in the good moments and the bad moments. The world will not finish on Sunday, no matter what happens.’
Bizarrely, Shakhtar coach Paulo Fonseca followed Guardiola into the post-match interview room dressed as Zorro, fulfilling a promise he had made if the Ukrainian champions reached the knockout stage.
To be sure of that, they needed at least a draw last night, even though Napoli’s defeat by Feyenoord would have sent Shakhtar through anyway.
They played like a team determined to take three points, not one, and remain unbeaten in their seven games at home against English clubs even though they are currently playing in Kharkiv, 150 miles from troubled Donetsk.
City simply couldn’t live with the pace of Taison, Bernard and Marlos, and went behind in the 26th minute.
Taison made the initial break and the ball was fed to Bernard on the left- hand side of the box. He weighed up his options for a moment and spotted Ederson slightly off his line and vulnerable.
The execution still had to be perfect, though, and it was. Bernard curled his shot over the outstretched fingertips of the City keeper and under the bar.
Ederson rushed out to block from the same player moments later after Taison had created another chance, but he was guilty of the error that handed Shakhtar a second goal in the 32nd minute.
Ismaily galloped into space to reach Taison’s pass swung down the left channel, and the Brazilian raced off his line to try to intercept.
One of the reasons City signed Ederson was his ability as a sweeper keeper, but he got it badly wrong this time. Ismaily beat him to the ball, took it round him and slotted it into an empty net.
City were rocking. Shakhtar keeper Andriy Pyatov came out to claim the ball and send Gabriel Jesus sprawling after he had been put through by Foden, but that was City’s only real chance of the first half and it ended with Taison wriggling through to swing another shot inches over the bar.
City improved in the second half but they still struggled to stem Shakhtar’s free-flowing football and Taison went close again with another effort just off target.
City’s best attempts came from Fernandinho, who placed a free header wide before making way for Aguero, while Jesus clipped the outside of the post after great work by young substitute Brahim Diaz.
Guardiola’s side did manage to pull a goal back in added time when Jesus was tripped in the box and Aguero converted from the penalty spot.
It was the fifth game in a row that City have snatched a late goal. But after those dramatic winners, this one made little difference.
Both clubs advance to the last-16 stage in February when Guardiola’s approach and line-up will be altogether different.
For now, he will switch his sights to the Manchester derby and ensuring this remains an unfortunate blip.