How many times, Pep, how many times? On a thrilling, frantic night in Lisbon Pep Guardiola picked a Manchester City team to play an entirely un-Manchester City game, straightjacketing this pass-and-move machine into a strangely muted shape, apparently with the aim of mirroring the three-man defence of Lyon, the seventh best team in France. Riyad Mahrez, Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden and David Silva had touched the ball zero times. It came from a knot in that City backline, as Walker lingered in an empty space, playing Karl Toko Ekambi onside. The great shame is that City exited without having ever quite been themselves, and without ever expressing their finer qualities.

Source: The Guardian August 15, 2020 23:06 UTC