GONE IN 60 Guardiola flops
Man City........1 Lyon............3
MANCHESTER CITY crashed out of the Champions League after Moussa Dembele came off the bench to stun Pep Guardiola’s men with two late goals.
The former Fulham and Celtic striker sent Guardiola tumbling from the competition he covets most of all – just as the Blues looked like they would go on to win it.
City looked as if they would steamroll the French underdogs in the closing stages after Kevin De Bruyne had fired home a brilliant 69th-minute equaliser. They had trailed to Maxwel Cornet’s first-half effort but grew into the game after Guardiola changed his tactical plan.
But Dembele got a huge break to put Lyon back in front 11 minutes from time.
He appeared to trip City defender Aymeric Laporte before bursting clear and sending a shot into the net off keeper Ederson.
Lyon had been unhappy with the appointment of Dutch referee Danny Makkelle – but the goal was allowed to stand. Raheem Sterling then sent a close-range effort over the bar when he should have equalised.
And seconds later, Dembele sealed the deal by shooting home after Ederson had spilled Houssem Aouar’s weak shot.
Lyon now face Bayern Munich in the semi-finals.
Guardiola must now address another Champions League failure – and the Catalan must shoulder most of the blame. The City boss has often been accused to overthinking the occasion in the latter stages of the competition.
So it should have come as no surprise when he threw another curve
ball by putting his faith in a line-up he had never picked before.
Teenage defender Eric Garcia started – despite telling the club last week that he won’t be signing a new contract because he wants to go back to Barcelona.
The Spaniard was in the centre of a back three that also included Laporte and Fernandinho.
Right-back Joao Cancelo was chosen on the left, while Rodri and and Ilkay Gundogan anchored the midfield. That gave De Bruyne the freedom to attack alongside Sterling and Gabriel Jesus.
It seemed Guardiola was taking no chances on City being countered by the pace of Memphis Depay.
City have never gone beyond the last four – and Guardiola has failed to take them beyond the quarter-finals in four attempts. It was clear their spark was missing.
Cancelo’s smart pass found Sterling escaping down the left but his cross was cut out by Fernando Marcal with Jesus waiting to pounce.
Marcal showed he’s handy at both ends with a snap shot that forced Ederson into a smart save.
It was a cagey opening from both teams, with City struggling to get their usual grip on possession.
Then, after 24 minutes, Marcal’s long ball showed why Guardiola was right to be concerned about Lyon’s speed on the break.
Garcia got in a last-ditch challenge to halt Karl Toko Ekambi but the ball broke to Cornet. Twenty five yards from goal, he spotted that Ederson had advanced to the edge of his box and produced a wonderful curling finish.
It isn’t as though City weren’t aware of Cornet’s quality – the young Ivorian scored three goals in two group games against them last season.
Even the shock of falling behind failed to stir the Blues. It took them 41 minutes to genuinely threaten Anthony Lopes’ goal, the Lyon keeper saving Rodri’s shot with some ease.
Sterling was then denied by a sliding block by a timely Cornet block after Cancelo had fed him with a nice pass with the outside of his foot.
With City still struggling to get a foothold in the game, Guardiola made a change 10 minutes after the break. Riyad Mahrez replaced Fernandinho and the Blues reverted to a back four.
De Bruyne immediately forced Lopes into a flying save with a whipped free-kick. And he then sent another set-piece effort too high.
But City were finally starting to look like the team that had won back-to-back titles in the two previous seasons. And it needed a fine block by former City defender Jason Denayer to thwart De Bruyne after the Belgian had finally found some space to burst towards the Lyon back line.
When De Bruyne did find his range, he delivered a sweet drive into the bottom corner after Mahrez and Sterling had combined brilliantly.
It seemed City would go on to win – yet it was Lyon who found the courage to win it.