Hard to watch for Pep as City sunk at Etihad
Banned boss cuts a tortured figure in the stands as he sees favourites flop at home
MANCHESTER CITY slumped to a shock defeat – with banned boss Pep Guardiola powerless to prevent it.
Guardiola had to watch from the stands as he served a one-match touchline suspension, with his assistant boss Mikel Arteta taking charge.
But the Premier League champions and favourites to win the Champions League made a calamitous start to the competition
PEP GUARDIOLA looked a tortured, helpless soul as he gazed down from his executive box.
Banned from the touchline, the Manchester City boss could not possibly have imagined such a disastrous start to their Champions League campaign. After all, City were the pretournament favourites but appeared a complete shambles without Guardiola to guide them as Lyon tore them apart. They can still do it, of course, but this was far from a message of intent to make the rest of Europe take notice.
It was a listless display, lacking energy and desire. A million miles away from City’s ultimate aim of adding European glory to last season’s Premier League title.
Perhaps it was another indication that they will face a much tougher campaign as they have yet to reach their own remarkable standards while Liverpool and Chelsea have got off to a flyer.
Guardiola, serving a ban for being sent off in the quarterfinal against Liverpool in April, could only watch in despair as his No.2 Mikel Arteta dished out the orders.
The Catalan, looking every inch a Northerner in his flat cap (right), gave his players a rollicking and ordered them in for extra training after they beat Fulham 3-0 on Saturday so you can only imagine what might happen after this.
City certainly did not produce the reaction Guardiola would have been hoping for, as right from the word go there was an unusual clumsiness about their display.
The decision to put Sergio Aguero on the bench was always a gamble and it horribly backfired with only Raheem
Sterling of City’s attackers looking lively.
Sterling’s pace and directness caused Lyon problems as he went close early on, but was denied by keeper Anthony Lopes and stout defending from Jason Denayer.
Huge swathes of seats at the Etihad remained empty as City fans have never taken to the Champions League, but it was almost as if that malaise had spread to the players.
Normally so reliable in midfield, Fernandinho lost possession in the 26th minute, Nabil Fekir escaped down the left then put over a cross.
Inexplicably, Fabian Delph missed an easy clearance and there was Maxwel Cornet at the back post to slot home unchallenged,
City made half-hearted penalty appeals after Gabriel Jesus was sent tumbling by Lyon’s former Manchester United defender Rafael, but there was little improvement.
In fact, the groans became even louder two minutes before the break when Fernandinho was caught in possession again, Fekir raced forward and buried a low shot past Ederson.
City went in at half-time probably thinking it was destined to be yet another disappointing European campaign and it nearly got even worse before matters improved. Another of Lyon’s exManchester United contingent, Memphis Depay, went clean through on the hour and his shot hit the post. If that had gone in to make it 3-0, it would have been game over.
But Arteta had already brought on Leroy Sane and then sent for the cavalry in Aguero. Sure enough, it got City back into the game after 67 minutes as Sane made a terrific run down the left, pulled it back for Bernardo Silva, who fired home.
That gave City hope, but it was not enough to rescue a bad night, which will again raise questions as to whether they have what it takes to rule Europe.