Manchester City reverses Sporting / C1 / 8th / Sporting-City (0-5) / SOFOOT.com – SO FOOT

Sporting CP 0-5 Manchester City

Goals: Mahrez (7^and), Bernardo Silva (17^and44^and), Foden (32^and) and Sterling (58^and) for Citizens

Judging by the repeated gesticulations and bleating of a fiery Pep Guardiola at the edge of the lawn, one would think that the Gallagher brothers’ favorite club had a bitter and frustrating evening in Portugal. Nay, in a short half-time, the undisputed Premier League leader chased the Sporting lions from the Alvalade savannah to reduce them to the rank of timid alley cats. A good thing done, accompanied by a message between the lines: after tasting the final last season, Manchester City will only be satisfied this time with the Grail.

Chainsaw Massacre

The first rousing seconds of Leoes will evaporate in the blink of an eye. Time canceled for an offside whistle against Kevin De Bruyne, City’s first pawn was finally granted by the Serbian referee of the game. And who else than the untenable Riyad Mahrez, mentally recovered from his failure with the Fennecs at the CAN, to hit the mark on the Belgian’s return, on the lookout after a first strike from Phil Foden on Antonio Adán (0-1, 7^and) ? Under the eyes of Islam Slimani, who entered late in the game, the tornado could rage. The incessant stalls of Foden – cleverly positioned in false nine – put down the axial of the SCP, the calls of Raheem Sterling in the depth abound, the construction site of Mahrez is indecent. So Bernardo Silva gets on their level and slams a golden half-volley (0-2, 17^and). The Lisbon public has already understood, and applauds the instinctive gesture of the former Monegasque, yet trained with rival Benfica.

For sometimes very long minutes, Sporting no longer sees the leather, as the conjurers dressed in navy blue confiscate it. Confused, the flock of Rúben Amorim also put on the defensive blunders. Because before the errors of placement of the doorman Adán, there are the slips and the dubious covers of Matheus Reis. First close to being the decisive passer for John Stones, he misses the sphere sent by Mahrez and lets Foden worsen the mark in front of Coates (0-3, 32^and). The Citizens do not calculate, and even go to fold the case before the break: served by Sterling, Bernardo Silva sees his shot deflected by Inácio again hole the nets of poor Adán (0-4, 44^and). A double, to sign his first two successes of the season in the Champions League.

Unsurprisingly, Sporting will sink one last time after the break. If Bernardo’s hat-trick is logically canceled, Sterling returns inside and triggers a surreal rolled praline, which comes to lodge in the opposite skylight (0-5, 58^and). A perfect evening to puff out your chest and show off your muscles, but also sign your first clean sheet in C1 version 2021-2022. Manchester City pulled it all off, the fervent crowd sportinguista, he will not have had a shot on target to put in his mouth, but he hoarse himself until the final whistle. Love has no price, no tariff, but it still dances the fado.

Sporting CP (3-4-2-1): Adán – Inácio, Coates, Reis – Porro (Neto, 82^and), Palhinha, M. Nunes, Esgaio – Sarabia (Tabata, 75^and), P. Gonçalves (Ugarte, 50^and) – Paulinho (Slimani, 75^and). Trainer: Ruben Amorim.

Manchester City (4-3-3): Ederson-Stones (Zinchenko, 61^and), R. Dias, Laporte (N. Aké, 84^and), Cancelo – De Bruyne, Rodri (Fernandinho, 73^and), B. Silva (Delap, 85^and) – Mahrez, Foden (Gündoğan, 61^and), Sterling. Trainer: Pep Guardiola.