Qyadruple-chasing Manchester City will have to do it the hard way if they are to win four trophies this season following a 1-0 defeat to Tottenham in the first-leg of their quarter-final Champions League tie.
City had the perfect chance to open the scoring when referee Bjorn Kuipers consulted VAR and awarded a penalty following a raised Danny Rose arm. But Sergio Aguero’s weak spot kick was saved by Hugo Lloris.
Thereafter it was an open yet cagey affair with City offering little in the way of clear-cut chances. They have it all to do as they host the second leg at the Etihad next week.
Here are our Man City player ratings:
FULL-TIME | Down but not out.
— Manchester City (@ManCity) 9 April 2019
Recover, regroup and go again in the second leg.
⚪️ 1-0 🔵 #thfcvcity #mancity pic.twitter.com/LLhK1oWD0o
MANCHESTER CITY (4-2-3-1)
Ederson – 6: Made solid stop from Kane. Confidently came for crosses, significantly injuring himself but recovered. Didn’t cover himself in glory for Son strike.
Kyle Walker – 5: Contributed sparingly in defence. Hardly put a foot wrong but didn’t see enough of him either going back or forwards.
Nicolas Otamendi – 5: Lived on the edge as usual, committed three fouls. Busy at the back with seven clearances.
Aymeric Laporte – 5: Struggled to keep a lid on roaming Alli, booked for fouling him. Led side with nine clearances.
Fabian Delph – 6: Committed outing, adding steel to City’s left side. Allowed Son to saunter past him too easy for goal though.
Fernandinho – 5: Put himself about, with Kane in-particular feeling his force. Three fouls. Wasteful when he had the ball.
Ilkay Gundogan – 6: Distribution predictably excellent and got over a subdued start. Not helped by ineffective Fernandinho.
Riyad Mahrez – 5: Worked hard going backwards but got little joy in attack. Two key passes but not enough penetration.
David Silva – 6: Carried the creative burden in absence of namesake Bernardo and De Bruyne. Interestingly led side with four tackles.
Raheem Sterling – 8: Slaloming run bamboozled Spurs defence and – with the help of VAR – led to a penalty. Always looked their best threat – five key passes.
Sergio Aguero – 4: Terrible penalty, nice height for Lloris. On the periphery for large parts as Spurs were solid. Taken off after below-par outing.
SUBS:
Gabriel Jesus – 6: Replaced silent Aguero but couldn’t pierce rigid Spurs defence.
Kevin De Bruyne N/A: Looked sharp, firing in a cross that Lloris just got to ahead of Jesus.
Leroy Sane N/A: Offered a few tricks but introduction was too little, too late.
