Manchester City were left stunned as they lost 4-1 away to Sporting Lisbon in Ruben Amorim’s final home game before he becomes Manchester United head coach later this month.
City started well and were in front after just four minutes, Phil Foden continuing his run of only scoring in Champions League games this season. The visitors then toyed with Amorim’s side for much of the half, but their recent inability to keep a clean sheet reared its head once more. Viktor Gyokeres, who fluffed an early one-on-one, made amends seven minutes before half-time, bouncing a shot past Ederson to make it 1-1 at the interval.
And City had plenty of reason to regret their profligacy in the opening moments of the second half as Max Araujo put Sporting ahead with a delightful effort, before a thunderous Gyokeres penalty following a Josko Gvardiol foul made it 3-1 three minutes later.
A fairly generous handball decision gave Erling Haaland a chance to score from the spot with 20 minutes of the 90 remaining but his attempt sailed high into the Lisbon night after striking the crossbar. Instead, the third penalty of the game — Sporting’s second — saw Gyokeres complete his hat-trick on 80 minutes and City concede four goals in a Champions League game for the first time since 2016.
Sam Lee analyses the game below.
Where does this result leave City’s season?
Objectives can change pretty quickly in football. Most people would have presumed that City and Real Madrid would finish first and second in the Champions League’s new 36-team league-phase format, and maybe they still will, but the safety net afforded to both of them is that top-eight and direct qualification for the round of 16 will suffice.
How many times have Madrid looked out of sorts when the last 16 draw has been made, only to thrive by the time the matches themselves are played? City, as we know, often have these spells but usually find their top gear in the spring.
(Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
But the immediate focus for Pep Guardiola’s men has to be beating Brighton away on Saturday evening to get things back on track before the November international break. In truth, dropping points again is probably not going to be fatal, given how many games are left, and the potential for another strong finish, but they look vulnerable at the moment and simply need to put that right as quickly as possible.
City look weaker in every department right now
Is there any consolation in saying that City were actually pretty good for the most part here but completely undone by a few forays forward from Sporting? Probably not, because what seems to be the recurring theme in recent weeks is that City look somewhat like themselves just… weaker in every department.
Like an AI-generated imitation, everything looks just fine, until you take a closer look. City should have been well clear after a largely impressive first half where they played good football, but they were too easily outdone by quick movement for the equaliser, and that is exactly how the two goals at the start of the second half came, too.
4 – Tonight was only the third time a team managed by Pep Guardiola has conceded four goals in a UEFA Champions League match, along with a 4-0 defeat against Real Madrid with Bayern Munich in April 2014 and 4-0 defeat to Barcelona with Man City in October 2016. Stunned. pic.twitter.com/bYYx79WiK4
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 5, 2024
They even steadied themselves after that and looked solid enough, only to concede a second penalty. If they look weaker in every department, it is because injuries have taken key players from every outfield area, and what is left, in midfield anyway, are players capable of knocking the ball around nicely but not so capable of winning duels and running back to stop counter-attacks.
(Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP via Getty Images)
That leaves the defence exposed too often and it means that matches like this can happen.
What’s up with Haaland?
One thing about Haaland’s recent form is that, usually, if he has not scored, it has hardly been his fault — in many matches, teams put three men on him, and City barely even try to find him to give him a chance.
It was only a couple of weeks ago when he wowed the world with a remarkable strike in this competition against Sparta Prague, before finishing off a beautiful City break for his second goal of the night, so there are more than a few signs of life there.
Haaland squanders his second-half penalty (Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP via Getty Images)
It just seemed on Tuesday as if he was caught up in the cycle that affected City as a whole — if it could go wrong, it would do. City were playing some good stuff in the first half and threatening to blow Sporting away, and they created some good chances for Haaland, but he almost seemed to rush them. He is their biggest goal threat by a mile and simply has to make them count.
By the time he took that second-half penalty, after City had been rocked by the two quick-fire goals to make it 3-1, it just felt like one of *those* nights. And it was, for all concerned.
What did Guardiola say?
Speaking to TNT Sports, the game’s UK broadcaster, the City manager pointed out his side had started well in Lisbon: “We had a fantastic first half but we are struggling to score when we create. They (Sporting) can run and they punished us a little bit.”
Guardiola was less impressed by the second half, however: “Emotionally we were not stable enough. In this competition you have to be stable. With the third and fourth goals, we have to be emotionally more stable.”
He also reacted to the fact City have lost three matches in a row in the space of seven days, with this result following the away defeats against Tottenham in the Carabao Cup and Bournemouth in the Premier League: “Now is a difficult moment in terms of results but I’m here. I want to be here and I want to fight and not give up. I like this challenge.”
What next for Manchester City?
Saturday, November 9: Brighton & Hove Albion (A), Premier League, 5.30pm GMT, 12.30pm ET
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(Top photo: Getty Images)
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