Man City vs Lyon player ratings: Maxwel Cornet shines as Ederson suffers Champions League nightmare
Pep Guardiola’s side suffered an upset in Lisbon as Moussa Dembele’s double helped OL to secure a semi-final place
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Moussa Dembele inflicted more misery on Manchester City in the Champions League as Lyon progressed to the semi-finals with a stunning 3-1 victory.
Maxwel Cornet stunned City after breaking the deadlock with a gorgeous finish, curled around the out-of-position Ederson and inside the near post.
Raheem Sterling was at the heart of everything good about City, almost finishing a stunning Kevin De Bruyne pass, before setting up a glorious chance for Rodri, who couldn’t strike it cleanly enough to trouble Anthony Lopes. City’s two most dangerous players did combine for the equaliser; Sterling’s quick feet enabled him to keep the ball in play and quickly cut the ball back for the onrushing De Bruyne to slam into the corner.
But Dembele, on as a substitute, grabbed a double either side of a horrible Sterling miss. His second saw him capitalise on a rare Ederson mistake to book a date with Bayern Munich in the semi-finals.
Here are the player ratings from the Estadio Jose Alvalade:
Man City
Ederson 4: Caught out of position for the first goal, though only an outrageous finish could have beaten him. A howler for the third goal.
Kyle Walker 5: Started off well, composed at the back post to chest back to Ederson, but played a key role in Lyon taking the lead: firstly sloppy positioning to play on Ekambi and then failure to react as Cornet spun and put away the loose ball.
Eric Garcia 3: Tasked with establishing play, but also made a great challenge to deny Ekambi but Cornet was too quick to follow up for the goal. Jumped in too early for the second Lyon goal.
Aymeric Laporte 6: Typically controlled display, rarely troubled or out of position.
Joao Cancelo 5: Pushed on well but unable to really influence the game.
Fernandinho 5: Lined up on the right side of a back three and did reasonably well until his yellow card saw him vulnerable to OL’s playacting, forcing Pep to remove him.
Rodrigo 4: Missed a glorious chance from Sterling’s cutback before the break. Did well to step up and help City impose themselves, at least initially, in possession after trailing, but his mistake for the third was poor to lose the challenge in midfield.
Ilkay Gundogan 5: Unable to pick the lock in the first half as Lyon maintained a compact shape.
Kevin De Bruyne 8: Slotted in on the right of a front three as Pep matched up with OL, but then roamed free in search of more influence: world class ball for Sterling on stroke of half-time.
Raheem Sterling 7: Lively down the left, perhaps could have picked out a teammate, but also dangerous when switching flanks: his excellent control on the touchline before finding Rodri almost saw City equalise. Guilty of a horrible miss with an open goal.
Gabriel Jesus 5: Starved of much service with Lyon able to monitor him tightly, but came to life after the equaliser and forced a fine save out of Lopes.
Riyad Mahrez 7: Injected life into City’s attacks, should have come on sooner really to give City more edge in the final third.
Lyon
Anthony Lopes 5: Flapped at a cross, putting the ball loose in a dangerous area. Refuses to catch corners or free-kicks delivered with pace, punching dangerous through traffic. And fortunate when spilling Rodri’s tame effort.
Jason Denayer 7: Super aggressive and tight against Sterling.
Marcelo 7: Prepared to break out from the back in search of an interception, judges it well, particularly when City looked to break the lines and feed Gundogan. Defends near post well.
Fernando Marçal 7: Great early clearance. Aggressive at set-pieces, ambitious shot failed to trouble Ederson, carried it forward well.
Leo Dubois 6: A poor cut-back when in an advanced position inside the box during the opening 20 minutes, but coped easily enough with Cancelo always eager to come inside on his right.
Max Caqueret 7: Tenacious and busy in tracing the City movement off the ball.
Bruno Guimaraes 6: Dominant display at the base of the midfield, forced City to do their work out wide.
Houssem Aouar 7: Great instincts and close control to dribble out of trouble.
Maxwel Cornet 9: Took a brave, advanced role on the left to try and push City back. Tremendous finish. Brilliant block to deny Sterling.
Karl Toko Ekambi 7: Works tremendously hard across the line, brilliant run in behind for the goal.
Memphis Depay 6: A disciplined, selfless role dropping in between the lines to deny City an easy out.
Moussa Dembele 9: A double. As a substitute. Earning a Champions League semi-final berth. What an impact.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments