Manchester City qualified for the quarter-finals of the Champions League on Wednesday evening. The Premier League leader was almost certain after the 0-5 victory over Sporting Portugal three weeks ago and drew 0-0 in the return on Wednesday. In terms of possession, Manchester City had the upper hand, but great opportunities were few. Seventeen minutes from time, a remarkable moment occurred: Guardiola replaced goalkeeper Ederson for 36-year-old Scott Carson, who played his second Champions League game.
Manchester City struggled with personnel problems, especially in the defence. Josep Guardiola’s team already had to do without Nathan Ake, Rúben Días, Zack Steffen and Cole Palmer on Sunday against Manchester United (4-1 win). The list of absentees was expanded for the return against Sporting with the names of João Cancelo (ill) and Kyle Walker (suspended). As a result, 19-year-old CJ Egan-Riley, who had just one EFL Cup first-team experience, had a starting right-back.
Three weeks ago, Manchester City led 0-4 at halftime, but this time the difference in power was less great. The first half passed quietly. There were half chances on both sides to open the score, but it was not surprising that the halftime score was 0-0. Sporting’s defensive compact and sporadic attacks; Manchester City struggled to create chances. The best opportunity came six minutes before half time for Raheem Sterling, who was launched by Phil Foden and tried a marker. Goalkeeper Antonio Adán stayed upright and parried the bet.
Shortly after the break, Manchester City thought they would break the spell. A cross pass from Oleksandr Zinchenko reached Riyad Mahrez, who was lucky enough to keep the ball in the penalty area. He enabled Gabriel Jesus to score from a difficult angle, but the goal was disallowed due to offside. Moments later, Gabriel Jesus bumped into Adán at another chance. Seventeen minutes from time Scott Carson came in. The keeper made his return to the Champions League after 17 years: he last played in the billion-dollar ball for Liverpool against Juventus in April 2005. Carson had yet to get into action as Sporting got bolder in the closing stages. He prevented Paulinho from scoring in a one-on-one situation. In stoppage time, John Stones headed just over the goal.