Manchester City returned to Champions League duty with an away match against Sporting CP.
Last weekend saw City get beat for the first time this season when Bournemouth beat them 2-1 away from home in the Premier League.
Phil Foden opened the scoring in the fourth minute but couldn’t see out the first half with a clean sheet.
Within the first five minutes of the second half, Pep Guardiola saw his side concede another two goals.
After Erling Haaland missed a penalty in the 69th minute, City conceded a second penalty just over 10 minutes later.
Following this game, let’s take a look at some of the big talking points that have thrown up as a result of this 4-1 defeat.
- Champions League 2024/25: New changes, league phase draw details, who Man City will face, full schedule
Josko Gvardiol delivers nightmare performance against Sporting CP
Having scored City’s consolation goal against the Cherries, Josko Gvardiol followed that up by delivering one of his worst performances for the club against Sporting.
The £200k-a-week defender not only gave away the penalty for the Portuguese club’s third goal but he also lost seven of the 12 duels he was involved in.
This display ultimately earned the Croatian an overall match rating of 6.2/10 from SofaScore, making him one of the lowest-rated City players on the night.
City-linked Sporting duo impress
Recent weeks have seen City get linked with transfer moves for two Sporting stars who featured in the match – Viktor Gyokeres and Geovany Quenda.
With the striker scoring three of Sporting’s four goals, this proved his credentials as a top striker who can deliver against one of the best sides in the world on the European stage.
As for Quenda, he showed how effective he can be on and off the pitch by making one key pass, winning five of the seven duels he was involved in and making two tackles across the 85 minutes of action he played.
Defensive worries still persist
In addition to conceding four goals throughout the match, City saw Sporting rack up five big chances in total, three more than the Blues had.
Taking all of that on board, there can be no denying that this second consecutive defeat was a bad one for the Citizens.
However, with another big Premier League game awaiting them on Saturday away at Brighton & Hove Albion, they will need to end the week on a strong note and avoid dropping points.
