Manchester City qualified for the knockout stages of the Champions League with a 2 – 2 draw in Lyon Tuesday night.
It was a rematch for Manchester City against the only team to have defeated them this season. It seems despite their utter dominance of the Premier League, Europe remains a big challenge for them.
It has been a hallmark of Pep Guardiola’s City side, as it was of his previous teams. Bayern Munich and Barcelona also appeared unbeatable domestically while faltering in the Champions League.
Manchester City twice came from behind on the night to salvage a point, with two set piece goals.
Read: Arsenal Fans Still Adapting to Pragmatic Unai Emery
Lyon ought to have been ahead before halftime. They had the better of the first half chances, which they squandered. Their hard work paid off at the start of the second half though, when they took the lead.
Maxwel Cornet curled an unstoppable drive past Emerson from the edge of the box to make it 1 – 0 on 55 minutes. Their lead would only last for 7 minutes though. Aymeric Laporte headed home powerfully from a free kick to equalize.
Still, Lyon gave City as good as they got, and retook the lead on 81 minutes through Cornet again. The lead would last even less this time, with only 2 minutes between that goal and City’s second.
Sergio Aguero flicked a header in at the near post from a corner to save City.
Although they got away with it, this is a worrying result for City as it showed their vulnerability. Their Premier League and Champions League rivals will be watching both games against Lyon and licking their lips.
Lyon are the only team to score two against Manchester City, and now they’ve done it twice. They came so close to beating them for a second time and limited their scoring chances to set pieces.
For all of Lyon’s good play, City are by far the better side and shouldn’t have struggled. Can the French giants show the way forward for the likes of Liverpool and Chelsea?After Tuesday’s game, City are still 7/2 favourites to win the Champions League, ahead of Barcelona and Juventus
