Manchester City’s routine looking Champions League group suddenly looked a lot more interesting after they went down to a 2-1 defeat at home to Olympique Lyon.
Aymeric Laporte and Memphis Depay both hit the woodwork but Lyon took their chances as City fell to two counter attacks from the French side with goals by Maxwel Cornet and Nabil Fekir netting in the first half.
Bernardo Silva pulled one back for City after Leroy Sane came on but City could not find the equaliser on a frustrating night with Mikel Arteta in temporary charge.
Sergio Aguero, Leroy Sane, and Nicolas Otamendi were on the bench as Gabriel Jesus, Ilkay Gundogan, and John Stones returned to action.
Lyon fielded some familiar faces, with ex-City defender Jason Denayer lining up alongside former Manchester United players Rafael and Memphis Depay. Former Liverpool target Nabil Fekir was playing while recently signed Celtic striker Moussa Dembele was on the bench.
It was the French side who looked the hungrier though while the home side looked sluggish and slow on a night to forget for the English champions as they went down to their first defeat of the season.
MATCH RATINGS – Manchester City 1, Olympique Lyon 2
Ederson. 6. Left exposed for Lyon goals and having to make late interventions won’t have amused him.
Kyle Walker. 5. Loose passes and too little time in attack, and few crosses in vital areas.
John Stones. 6. Tried to start the build-up but too many poor performances around him. His tackle started the move that ended with Bernardo Silva’s goal.
Aymeric Laporte. 5. Rattled by French counter attacks from his side with Maxwel Cornet particularly troubling.
Fabian Delph. 5. Made a crucial mistake to allow Maxwel Cornet to score. His deflected shot almost crept in as a means to redeem himself in the first half.
Fernandinho. 5. Lacked the fizz from Saturday’s game against Fulham, caught out for the second goal in particular when be was robbed by Nabil Fekir. Second half rocket went wide to underline his poor fortune.
Ilkay Gundogan. 5. Lack of sharpness in midfield, poor contribution outside of set pieces and slow.
David Silva. 6. Quiet night for the Spanish midfielder – like many of his team mates his passing was under par.
Bernardo Silva. 7. Good balls into the area and took his deserved goal well after moving more central.
Raheem Sterling. 6. Got into great shooting positions but inevitably wasted them with more sloppy play.
Gabriel Jesus. 6. Good movement but little end product.
Leroy Sane (on for Gundogan 55): 7. Introduced more pace and width and created Bernardo Silva’s goal with a cut back.
Sergio Aguero (on for Gabriel Jesus 62): 6. Cheered by the City crowd when introduced into the fray. Forced a late save from Anthony Lopes.
Riyad Mahrez (on for Raheem Sterling 76): 6. Anonymous.
GOALS
26. Maxwel Cornet finished off a great left wing cross by Nabil Fekir after Fabian Delph air-kicked his attempt to clear the ball. Cornet had one ruled out earlier when Tanguy NDombele’s through ball found him in an offside position.
43. Fernandinho robbed in midfield, leaving Nabil Fekir to race towards goal, surrounded by City players, and slot past Ederson
67 Leroy Sane skips past Rafael and cuts the ball back for Bernardo Silva to pull one back with a low shot from 14 yards through a forest of legs to put City back in the game.
MATCH STATS – Manchester City 1, Olympique Lyon 2
Man City: Ederson, Walker, Stones, Laporte, Delph, Fernandinho, Gundogan (Sane 55), David Silva, Bernardo Silva, Sterling (Mahrez 76), Jesus (Aguero 62)
Man City Subs not used: Muric, Kompany, Otamendi, Foden
Booked: Aguero 90+2
Goal: Bernardo Silva 67
Lyon: Lopes, Rafael (Dubois 76), Marcelo, Denayer, Mendy, Ndombele, Diop, Cornet (Traore 90+2), Fekir (Tousart 79), Aquar, Depay
Lyon Subs not used: Gorgelin, Dembele, Ferri, Morel
Booked: Fekir 77, Traore 90+3
Goals: Cornet 26, Fekir 43