Manchester City – Sporting 0-0: Qualification in the ‘8’ with the engines switched off for the citizens

What if he couldn’t score and break Sporting’s defence? Wednesday evening (03/09) had a very festive character for the Manchester City players and their fans after carrying the emphatic 5-0 from the first leg at Jose Alvalade and all he had to do was seal qualification for the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the ninth time in a row.

The game was played for the longest without high intensity, with the Citizens managing powers and the Lions looking to capture post-crash impressions at home, with in the final the two teams having some big stages ahead of the two hosts (City mainly) and both going satisfied from the field: the men for the qualification and the men for the proper performance.

The game

Despite Pep Guardiola’s extensive rotation (which changed the 6/11 of the starting line-up who faced United and gave 19-year-old Egan-Riley his Champions League baptism of fire), Manchester City took the field with appetite but opposite her she found a group burned in the porridge who were determined to blow the yoghurt as well.

The 5-0 in Lisbon in the first game between the two teams was a real shock for Sporting and they didn’t want to experience a similar nightmare in England where the Amorim players played under the bar and spent it a couple of times in the first game of 45 minutes . .

As a result, they didn’t have a single attempt at the final in that period, whereas the English champions managed to boast just over 70% possession and circulated it around Adan’s area, but not onerous and so not threatening nouns.

Only four finals were counted for the hosts (2 at home), with the only big phase coming in the first half in the 38th minute when Sterling came out on Adan Foden but couldn’t beat him with his place.

Early in the second half, Guardiola made two substitutions (Mahrez and Makati replacing Bernardo Silva and Fontaine) and this move gave the Citizens breath and quicker movement in the last third of the field.

Evidence of the Jesούςs goal in the 47th minute, thanks to an assist from Mahrez that didn’t count a few centimeters (the VAR showed that the Brazilian’s left side was sticking out), but also the Brazilian’s shot in the 56th minute, which by Adan was blocked, with Sporting on the side to have the first final in 57′ and after 60′ trying to gain meters on the field.

Something she managed after not receiving intense pressure from City for the next ten minutes, whilst having her first notable shot of the game in 73′, from Nuno Reyes in the final of a beautiful counterattack that went wide.

Guardiola even changed his keeper that minute, passing Carson instead of Anderson and the veteran keeper justified him in the 76th minute when he impressively stopped Paulinho with his body in what was either team’s biggest chance per minute up to that point.

Then the pace slowed down significantly, both coaches continued to change, the next good moment came in the 91st minute with Stones’ header (he sent the ball just over the bar after a corner kick) and the last phase, from which Sterling’s shot came an advantageous position that ran out.

MANCHESTER CITY: Anderson (73′ Carson), Egan-Riley, Stones, Laport (84′ Embete-Tatu), Zinchenko, Fernandinho, Guidogan, Bernardo Silva (46′ Mahrez), Sterling, Fontaine (46′)

SPORTY: Adan, Poros (79′ Esgaio), Koates, Inacio, Luis Neto (89′ Virginia), Mateus Reyes, Ugarte, Sarabia (58′ Edwards), Tabata, Paulinho (78′ Nuno Santos), Slimani (89′