It was another tough evening for Manchester City on Tuesday night as Pep Guardiola’s side suffered a third consecutive defeat when Sporting Lisbon saw them off 4-1 in the Champions League.
The Portuguese defeat was the third loss in a week for Guardiola’s men, who saw their Carabao Cup tilt end at the last-16 stage when they lost to Tottenham, before suffering a 2-1 defeat to Bournemouth at the weekend.
This marks the first time City have lost three games in a row since 2018, as the club struggles with an ongoing injury crisis and a grueling fixture list.
Among the City fans to have been left feeling blue by this latest defeat was Oasis star Noel Gallagher, who found himself front and centre of the defeat as he was in the TNT commentary box in Lisbon, offering his occasional insights into the game alongside Darren Fletcher and Ally McCoist.
Noel Gallagher’s early gaffe
All football fans have said something they have quickly been made to regret, but most of us don’t do it live on television.
Noel’s fourth-minute assertion that “I wasn’t expecting it to be so easy” after Phil Foden’s early opener soon came back to haunt him.
The hosts were level before half-time when former Coventry City striker Viktor Gyokeres netted the first goal in what would be a hat-trick for the Swedish international, with Ruben Amorim’s side taking the lead shortly after half-time through Maximiliano Araujo before Gyokeres completed his treble with two penalties.
Sporting fire unsubtle Noel Gallagher dig after seeing off Man City
Sporting have a lively X feed and it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Noel was in their crosshairs following what was a famous, if bittersweet victory for the Portuguese side ahead of Amorim’s departure to Manchester United next week.
The club would put up a picture of players celebrating alongside the caption: ‘And after all, you’re my wonderwall,’ referencing the iconic Oasis hit.
‘Savage’ replied one fan, while a number of Man United fans also weighed in, one another stirred the pot by asking Noel’s brother Liam ‘how do you feel about this?’.
Was Noel Gallagher any good as a commentator?
Noel, who designed City’s Oasis-inspired fourth kit this season, is unlikely to be licking his wounds too long after Sporting’s social media drive-by, but his performance in the commentary box was a largely enjoyable affair.
He was not overawed by the occasion and came across as genuinely knowledgeable and had interesting things to say about his friendship with Guardiola and the manager’s future at the club.
“I personally think he’ll stay,” he said on TNT Sports. “I mean, I don’t know, he’s not saying anything to me, but I personally think he’ll stay for one more year.
“Then it gives everybody a chance to breed and reflect on what he did, you know, and if he could nick another Champions League this year, be great.”
Given Oasis’ upcoming reunion tour, Noel is unlikely to give up the day job and become a regularly in the commentary box, but this was a nice breath of fresh air when it came to match coverage.
