Manchester City’s miserable week continued after they were defeated 2-1 on the night and 5-1 on aggregate by commanding Liverpool to exit the Champions League at the quarter-final stage.
Pep Guardiola’s Premier League champions-elect gained valuable hope almost from kick-off when Gabriel Jesus tapped in following feisty work from ex-Red Raheem Sterling. This narrowed the aggregate advantage to 3-1.
But after Leroy Sane had a goal incorrectly flagged for offside close to the interval, the Blues imploded. As the dismissed Guardiola watched from the stands, Mohamed Salah dinked in and Roberto Firmino slotted into the bottom corner after Nicolas Otamendi’s mistake.
Here are our City player ratings:
MANCHESTER CITY (3-4-3)
Ederson – 6: Could have received worse than a yellow after repeatedly jabbing at Mane. Left exposed for Salah’s goal.
Kyle Walker – 6: Utilised in same role he now occupies for England. This negated his usual attacking influence from deep.
Nicolas Otamendi – 3: Lost head as Salah stood him up for crucial Liverpool opener. Even worse followed when he gifted second to Firmino.
Aymeric Laporte – 5: Record buy was burned off by Mane’s pace and trickery for opener. At present, looks short of standard expected.
Fernandinho – 4: The Brazil dynamo looks to be running on fumes. Pass accuracy was way down at 82.1 per cent.
Kevin De Bruyne – 5: Drifted between centre and wide right. But delivered only two key passes and five harmless shots.
David Silva – 5: Similar story for Spain international. Tried to work overload on wings from his position in diamond. But no telling moment followed.
Raheem Sterling – 6: Helped give City perfect start when he, questionably, barged over much-bigger Van Dijk. Couldn’t build on this.
Bernardo Silva – 6: Began excellently and then faded. Hit post, but was hooked as influence diminished after the break.
Gabriel Jesus – 5: Comeback looked on when he found bottom corner for 13th goal of 2017/18. But no more shots from him followed.
Leroy Sane – 6: Overload on wings was designed to get best of him. Incorrectly flagged for offside for what would have been critical second goal.
SUBS
Sergio Aguero – 5: Given more than 20 minutes to salvage something. Had one attempt which was off-target.
Ilkay Gundogan – 5: The ill-fitting tactical piece from first leg couldn’t deliver any redemption as City were well beaten at that stage.
