JAKARTA - Manchester City must forget their ambition to win the Champions League after being defeated by Olympique Lyon 1-3 at the Jose Alvalade Stadium, Lisbon, Portugal. There are a number of notes that can be lifted from the match.
First is the continuation of the supersub trend. The presence of a supersub, aka the right change of players, is a trend that has colored the Champions League quarter-finals this season.
Kylian Mbappe reversed Paris Saint-Germain's fortunes against Atalanta. Tyler Adams scored RB Leipzig's winning goal over Atletico Madrid.
In fact, Philippe Coutinho sent one assist and two goals when Bayern Munich crushed his hometown club, Barcelona. Rudi Garcia clearly studied that well.
His decision to enter Moussa Dembele was right. The forward scored two goals to win Lyon's win over City.
Another note is that Cornet and Dembele are equal to Messi. A Maxwell Cornet goal and two goals from Moussa Dembele in Jose Alvalade put them level with Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi when it comes to breaking into City's goal in European competition.
All three have scored four goals against City since Pep Guardiola took over the coaching chair at the Etihad Stadium. Cornet's three goals were scored when Lyon beat and matched City in the Group F stage of last season's Champions League.
Meanwhile, Dembele scored two goals against City while still defending Celtic. Beautiful memory of Dembele in the 2016-2017 season.
🔴🔵 Two-goal Lyon hero Moussa Dembélé takes the prize after his incredible cameo 🎖️⚽️⚽️ # UCLMOTM | #UCL pic.twitter.com/4dwuCDc6wC
- UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) August 15, 2020
On the third note, with City, Guardiola forgot how to reach the semifinals. In his first seven years competing in the Champions League - four years with Barcelona and three years at Bayern Munich, Guardiola never failed to get his team to the semifinals.
However, that has changed since he took charge of City in 2016. Four seasons have passed, Guardiola has been supported by large funds, and his longest streak with City is only the quarter-finals.
The 1-3 defeat against Lyon also marked the failure of Guardiola's City to record a zero break record in the Champions League quarter-finals. City have conceded three or more goals in the last three seasons after 0-3 against Liverpool (2017/18) and 4-3 against Tottenham Hotspur (2018/19).
The last very important note is that City may be very rich and can buy all the players they want while still being able to protect themselves from the threat of financial propriety regulations. However, the Champions League is never just about money.
The flow of money from the Middle East that turned Elland Road into Etihad Stadium cannot buy the mentality of competing in Europe. Since being bought by the United Arab Emirates consortium, City can only reach the semifinals of the Champions League the furthest.
City are also often knocked out by magical moments. For Champions League fans, this superstition is a belief. That there is a European mentality that cannot be removed from luck in the Champions League.
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