Manchester City suffered a shock loss to Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday night as the Portuguese champions came from a goal down to win 4-1 in the Champions League.
It was a bizarre game in bizarre circumstances as City came up against the man who they will face once again in five weeks’ time in a Manchester derby, and Pep Guardiola’s patched-up squad struggled to deal with the opposition’s energetic approach for long spells.
Yet it was City who started the brighter, dominating the first half an hour and were unfortunate to only lead by one, before they simply collapsed after the break.
Against a Sporting side who are unbeaten all season in the Champion League, have won all 10 league and were bidding farewell to Ruben Amorim, City expected a tough game. The Blues won 5-0 on their last trip to the Jose Alvalade Stadium but Guardiola said pre-match he expected a more difficult encounter this time around.
He was ultimately right, but might have been questioning the wisdom of that prediction within four minutes as Phil Foden dispossessed Morten Hjulmand at the edge of the box, drove forward and powered a shot past Sporting goalkeeper Franco Israel.
It could have been more had Erling Haaland brought his shooting boots, with the City striker producing four dangerous shots in the opening 45, included a header from a narrow angle and side-foot volley that were both saved by Israel.
The Uruguay international also palmed over a Matheus Nunes effort on his return to Sporting, as City dominated the early stages with their relentless pressing and quick movement on the ball. By 35 minutes City had amassed 70 percent and Sporting had only threatened with a Viktor Gyokeres effort that was coolly held by Ederson.
Yet within 11 minutes either side of half-time the visitors conceded three as the game was turned on its head. First, Gyokeres powered through the middle of City, held off Jahmai Simpson-Pusey and dinked the ball past Ederson to level the scoreline at the break.
Then within 20 seconds of the restart, Maximiliano Araujo added a second goal following an intricate team move. City looked to start quicker from the second kick-off. They did - this time it took 22 seconds for Sporting to strike. Francisco Trincao was bundled over by Josko Gvardiol in the box giving the referee no choice but to point to the spot. Gyokeres stood up and remarkably handed Sporting a two-goal lead after such a start.
If that spot-kick was clear, the next was debatable at best. Bernardo Silva’s shot deflected off Ousmane Diomande before bouncing up to hit the defender’s hand, but following a VAR check referee Daniel Siebert awarded a penalty.
Having seen one Scandinavian convert from the spot, Haaland couldn’t reciprocate. He went high with his effort and clipped the crossbar.
That wasn’t the last penalty of the night though, as Matheus Nunes pulled back Geny Catamo in the box soon after. No questions this time. Gyokeres was trusted again from the spot and made it 4-1 as he thumped the ball home. The ex-Coventry City man bagged his hat-trick in the process, while City were stunned.
There was no late response despite three Guardiola changes, meaning City fell to a third loss in seven days and saw their record-breaking unbeaten run in the Champions League come to an end. As for Sporting, they moved top of the 36-team league. Here’s how we rated the players...
1. Ederson- 6
Made a superb save early on to deny Gyokeres and wasn't at fault for any of Sporting's goals.
2. Rico Lewis- 6.5
Provided more penetration that most City players in a disastrous second 45. Lewis advanced down the right regularly and linked well with team-mates.
3. Manuel Akanji-
Pulled out of position for Sporting's second goal and, despite the scoreline, didn't make many mistakes.
4. Jahmai Simpson-Pusey- 5.5
Produced a well-timed tackle to thwart Gyokeres midway through the first half but couldn't stop the Swedish striker from scoring in the 38th minute. He was also easily beaten by Gyokeres in second half on a difficult Champions League debut.