Manchester City 1-2 Lyon
It’s been a decade since the Abu Dhabi bankrolled takeover of Manchester City changed the landscape of English football.
Ten years on and the promise is only of more to come.
Yet, while their place at the top of the domestic tree is confirmed after a record-breaking season in which they picked up a staggering 100 points and notched more than 100 league goals, they have drastically underachieved in Europe.
Despite their huge outlay, only in 2016 have they ever progressed beyond the last eight when they went out meekly at the hands of eventual winners Real Madrid.
In words of assistant coach Mikel Arteta, ‘for me, we have the best players in the world’ so little excuse now not to put that record straight.
Indeed, many Champions League 2018 odds and SBOBET punters understandably have them as favourites to lift the biggest prize of all.
This Champions League opener was a good place to show they are going to underachieve no more.
Highlights of the game
They were up against a side containing Memphis Depay, who had a season and a half across town in the red of United, and Nabil Fekir who was strongly tipped with a move to Liverpool this summer.
Lyon have made a poor start to the season in Ligue 1, winning only two of their first five games, so this result proved to be the big Champions League 2018 news story of the night.
The other story is it’s a third successive European home defeat for City, a first in the club’s history. To make matters worse, the game was played out in front of a stadium in which there were huge gaps in the crowd.
If City can’t fill their stadium at this moment in their history, will they ever?
That debate is for another day, however, because this was Lyon’s night.
After Aymeric Laporte headed against the post and visiting goalkeeper Anthony Lopes denied Gabriel Jesus, Lyon grabbed the incentive they would not relinquish.
Maxwel Cornet and Fekir scored the goals to seal a famous 2-1 win, with the former converting from close range and the latter adding a rasping drive from the edge of the box.
Both goals came following home mistakes.
Depay hit the post to spare the home side from further embarrassment, and while German winger substitute Leroy Sane showed trickery to set up Bernardo Silva to pull one back, there was to be no revival.
Although Ilkay Gundogan had a goal disallowed for offside and Lopes denied substitute Sergio Aguero late on, sloppy and slapdash City went down to a home defeat which was as much deserved as it was surprising.
It also proved to be City’s fourth consecutive defeat in European competition, the first time an English side has lost four Champions League matches in a row.
There haven’t been many nights like this for the modern day City, and there is unlikely to be many more this season either.
And with the other sides in Group F, Shakhtar Donetsk and Hoffenheim, drawing 2-2, it’s hard to see City struggling in what should be a straightforward passage.
But this was a special evening for Lyon and their players and fans enjoyed every single moment.
Food for thought for Pep!
Key statistics
This was the first ever competitive game between City and Lyon.
In three attempts, no French club had previously ever won away at City.
Lyon have now won two of their nine Champions League games against English opposition (D4 L3). Their other victory came against Liverpool at Anfield in October 2009.
None of Manchester City’s 42 Champions League group games have ended goalless.
Pep Guardiola had to watch this game from the stands as a result of his sending-off in his side’s quarter-final defeat to Liverpool last season.
Only Aguero (20) has scored more goals for City in 2018 than Portugal midfielder Silva (9).
As well as former United men Depay and Rafael da Silva, Lyon also fielded former City defender Jason Denayer. He was on the club’s books for five years until leaving for Lyon this summer, having never made a first-team appearance.
What’s next?
City have back-to-back away trips to Cardiff in the Premier League and Oxford in the League Cup before returning to the Etihad Stadium to entertain Brighton.
It’s back to domestic combat for Lyon who welcome Marseille for an exciting Ligue 1 clash this weekend followed by a visit to Dijon and another home game against Nantes.
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