Man City 0-0 Sporting (5-0 on aggregate)
Pep Guardiola saw Manchester City coast into the Champions League quarter-finals with the minimum of effort although the nostalgic manager made sure it was an evening Scott Carson will never forget.
The 36-year-old keeper was thrown on as a late substitute for Ederson for his first taste of Champions League football in 17 years, since appearing for Liverpool in a quarter-final against Juventus.
It marked an astonishing 6,182-day gap between the only two Champions League appearances of Carson’s career.
More from Football
Benzema steals Mbappe's thunder as Real Madrid stun PSG - player ratings and analysis09 March, 2022
Joelinton: 'I want to win titles and do great things with Newcastle - I love it here'09 March, 2022
Liverpool reach Champions League quarter-finals despite Inter defeat - ratings and analysis08 March, 2022But at least his current club already knew they were destined for many more, even if last night represented just the second goalless draw at the Etihad in nearly four years.
With the outcome decided after City’s 5-0 win in Lisbon, it was a predictably uninspiring second leg.
Raheem Sterling came closest to breaking the first half deadlock, played through by Phil Foden and denied by Antonio Adan who saved his attempted chip.
There had also been a strong shot by Foden, from the edge of the area after Ilkay Gundogan’s pass reached him, that Adan punched to safety.
But it was a pedestrian affair as City went through to motions in readiness for the business end of the competition, when they take their place once more in the last eight.
One other positive of the evening for Guardiola was that it spent another of Kyle Walker’s current UEFA suspension for his red card in the group stages.
And, with the England full-back still banned for one more game in Europe, the City manager was able to hand a European debut to teenage full-back Conrad Egan-Riley.
He came through the evening completely unscathed while Guardiola also made the popular call to hand Ukrainian national team captain Oleksandr Zinchenko a full game in place of Joao Cancelo who was ill.
Zinchenko it was who almost helped City race into the lead early in the second half when his brilliant cross-field pass found substitute Riyad Mahrez in full flight.
The winger’s persistence saw the ball end up with Gabriel Jesus who beat Adan at his near-post only for the effort to be ruled out for offside.
The decision summed up a night that, thanks to City’s first leg dominance, presented nothing in the way of drama.
At least the introduction of another teenage debutant, James McAtee, at half-time, added some energy to proceedings.
McAtee’s intelligent 56th minute pass created a small opening for Jesus whose shot was stopped, unconvincingly, by Adan.
Sporting also seemed more energised as they headed towards the exit, with Bruno Tabata producing their first on-target shot of the night just before the hour, one comfortably gathered by Alisson.
And Tottenham academy product Marcus Edwards seemed to add a spark off the bench on Sporting’s right wing although that was never likely to bother City unduly.
Matheus Reis hurried a shot over for Sporting but the pre-season friendly air of proceedings continued when Guardiola threw on Carson whose first save, from Paulinho, saw him pick up an. Injury and require treatment in the process.
Man City (4-3-3)
- Ederson 6
- Egan-Riley 6
- Stones 7
- Laporte 6
- Zinchenko 6
- Fernandinho 7
- Gundogan 7
- Bernardo 7
- Sterling 6
- Foden 6
- Jesus 7
Subs:
- Carson 7
- Mahrez 7
- McAtee 8
- Mbete N/A
Sporting (3-4-3)
- Adan 7
- Porro 7
- Coates 6
- Inacio 7
- Neto 6
- Reis 6
- Ugarte 5
- Sarabia 6
- Tabata 5
- Paulinho 7
- Slimani 6
Subs:
- Edwards 5
- Esgaio 5
- Santos 5
- Feddal N/A
- Ribeiro N/A
from Football | News and analysis from the Premier League and beyond | iNews https://ift.tt/OImdiLw
Post a Comment