CITY TAMED BY LYON BUT POGBA LIFTS UNITED

MANCHESTER’S clubs had contrasting fortunes in their first Champions League games last night. City looked rudderless without the suspended Pep Guardiola in the technical area as they fell to a shock 2-1 home defeat by Lyon. But Jose Mourinho’s United got into their stride with a 3-0 victory at the Swiss side Young Boys, with Paul Pogba contributing a brace in the first half. Guardiola watched from the stands as his side got off to the worst possible start in Group F under his assistant Mikel Arteta. Goals by Maxwel Cornet and Nabil Fekir leave City bottom of the group but Arteta refused to make excuses. ‘At this level, it’s not good enough,’ Arteta said. ‘We lost many duels and you pay the price. We gave the ball away in the build-up in difficult circumstances and they took advantage. ‘It was (surprising) but they’re not perfect. We felt under threat every time we lost the ball. ‘I won’t judge the players just because we lost. You have to judge many other things during the game and they know that already.’ Arteta rejected suggestions City failed because of Guardiola’s absence: ‘I have no idea. That’s something

hypothetical. The reality is that Pep wasn’t here and we lost the game. I have no idea if we’d have won the game 5-0 if he was. ‘I wouldn’t like to use the (small) crowd as an excuse. We had this type of crowd before and played well. I’d like it full and everyone supporting the team like crazy. It didn’t happen but it isn’t an excuse.’ Bernardo Silva got a goal back after half-time and Arteta argued that City should have been awarded a penalty for a trip on Gabriel Jesus. ‘I can’t criticise the effort that everyone put in,’ Arteta added. ‘The reaction of the lads and the team (in the second half) was superb. ‘We were very aware of Lyon’s strengths and weaknesses. They kept trying until the end of the game. The style wasn’t particularly good. We didn’t feel that flow. We missed the right pass. We didn’t find that continuity. ‘The way we left the competition last year really hurt. We will be back. I want to look at it in a positive way. If you’re not at the races you get punished. The next game will be a completely different story.’ Meanwhile, Mourinho said his Manchester United players had struggled to adapt to Young Boys’ plastic pitch in Switzerland. ‘They created some problems for us but the goal changed everything and after that w we were totally in control. It is so i important for us to start w with a victory,’ he said. Asked about Pogba’s contribution, Mourinho said it was the team’s stability in midfield that allowed the Frenchman to get forward. ‘I don’t think he can sc score goals every match, b but if he starts arriving in po possible scoring po positions that can be a pl plus for the team. ‘I’ ‘I’m happy with the good pe performance of the team mo more than any individual.’