Champions League: Are Manchester City the real “bottlers” of European football

Olympique Lyon astonishingly pipped Manchester City out of the UEFA Champions League in dramatic fashion in Lisbon.

Moussa Dembele‘s twin strikes in the fourth quarter of the game left Manchester City reeling out of the Champions League. Lyon demolished Pep Guardiola’s hope of advancing in the Champions League.

There are no doubts regarding Olympique Lyon’s quality on the pitch. The tactical setup by Rudi Garcia outwitted Pep Guardiola out of the quarterfinals of Champions League. The French team started as underdogs against Manchester City but were able to take the lead through Maxwell Cornet’s 24th-minute strike.

Lyon went with a solitary goal lead at the half time but Kevin de Bruyne leveled for Manchester City in the 69th minute. Once City were back on level terms, fans expected the CItizens to turn the result around in their favor. But, Lyon struck in the 79th minute through Moussa Dembele. Raheem Sterling missed a sitter in the 86th minute which led to a counter-attack goal.

The defeat against Lyon has raised several questions over Man City and Guardiola. There is neither the dearth of talent nor the dearth of signings for the Sky Blues. City had the likes of Bernardo Silva, David Silva, and Phil Fodden as attacking reinforcements on the bench. The side started with Gabriel Jesus, Raheem Sterling, and Kevin de Bruyne upfront. But, none of them were able to register a goal until the 69th minute.

Pep Guardiola finished the season in second place in the Premier League along with a single trophy. The Carabao Cup doesn’t seem to be a great achievement as they had only one strong opposition throughout their cup run. Jurgen Klopp won the league with an 18 points difference, spending very little compared to that of Pep Guardiola.

The fans might be of the opinion that the absence of Aymeric Laporte costed the Premier League title. But, that cannot be the reason for Champions League loss as the defender was on the pitch.