Pep Guardiola must tackle Manchester City’s alarming complacency against Lyon if he is to conquer Europe again

Rather than show their quality in a way Champions League winners should when they are really serious, they acted as if they just had to show up, and that was what was so frustrating

This really wasn’t how it was supposed to go. After immediately picking off where they left off in the Premier League last season, and justifiably being made favourites for the Champions League at the start of this season, Manchester City did not offer an opening statement of their quality. They instead suffered a pretty poor opening defeat, 2-1 to Lyon, of the type that doesn’t really happen any more to clubs of their super resources.

It doesn’t really happen to prospective champions, either. In fact, it hasn’t happened in a long, long time.

You have to go back to the 1968-69 season for the last time a season’s eventual European champions lost their opening game, when Milan were defeated 2-1 away to Malmo. It has also something that has become even more pronounced in the Champions League. Since the launch of the new competition in 1992-93, only four eventual champions have even drawn their opening game – Manchester United 1998-99, Real Madrid 1999-2000, Porto 2003-04 and Internazionale 2009-10.

That is one of those stats that is really a quirk rather than anything more meaningful, and it’s not like anything so ludicrous that such a number will now negate City’s chances, but that isn’t to say there isn’t some relevance; some symbolism.

It used to be the case – especially in the mid-1990s – that Europe’s best side would make a point of that statement opening performance. That was what happened with a young Ajax commandingly beating champions Milan in 1994, or Real Madrid smashing a resolute Rosenborg 4-1 in 1997. They wanted to show they were serious. They were planting a flag.

In more recent years, it’s simply been because of much more wealth. The big clubs are generally too powerful to be taken down in such a way, and it’s really been way too easy for them to just rack up the early wins and cruise through.

Ilkay Gundogan was substituted early in the second half (Getty)

That is why one Mikel Arteta comment after the game was as misplaced as so many bad Fernandinho passes, and City’s general display. “You have zero margin in the Champions League. When you make mistakes, you get punished.”

That might have been the case in this game against an impressively opportunistic and alert Lyon, but isn’t the case in general. City should still cruise through despite this. There’s still too much of a gap. But, even if that does happen, the returning Pep Guardiola now has a few more issues to solve before he can think about winning this competition that he so craves again.

The way a certain complacency came into their game was a worry. That was what so stood out about their woefully flat first-half display. There was no intensity, intent or statement of intent.

Lyon proved the better side on the night (Getty Images)

Arteta dismissed the idea that was because Guardiola was suspended and in the stands, and that is fair and understandable. The coach did it to prevent the creation of any kind of dependence in future, and it’s also entirely possible – maybe even probable – this was just a coincidence. But, if that is the case, that’s actually a greater worry.

It would mean City maybe did really believe all the praise, and played as if their mere presence was enough to win this game.

So, rather than show their quality in a way Champions League winners should when they are really serious, they acted as if they just had to show up. That was what was so frustrating about the night, especially when Arteta revealed that his players “were very keen to start the competition... the way we left the competition last season really hurt”.

It didn’t look like it here. It instead means they have a stat that looks bad, as they have lost five of their last six Champions League games. That may genuinely be a largely meaningless figure since two of those games were when they had already secured qualification to the next round, and one was when they were already out – but it should cause some concern that they were so easily disabused of any notion they just had to show up.

It meant a team renowned for their intense movement and fluidity just dropped off.

“The start wasn’t particularly good, they didn’t feel the flow around the team,” Arteta said. “We missed it. We didn’t find the continuity and that probably lowered the confidence. We felt under threat every time we lost the ball. Sometimes that lowers the confidence and when you try to respond to that it is too late.”

There were admittedly some stirrings later in the game, as Arteta was swift to point out. That was much more like it.

“After that, the reaction of the lads and the team was superb. The second half we did a few things to better control the counters and have an extra man in midfield… I’m sure they’re going to respond the way they responded when they went 2-0 down and the next game will be a completely different story.”

They need it to be, if they are to offer a new stat to this competition and become the first modern Champions League winners to lose their first game.

That is after all what they are aiming for. That is what they should be aiming for. This was well short of the level, and well short of their level. They need to ensure it was just the blip it probably seems, rather than a sign of any greater issue.

They now need the champions’ statement that was so lacking here. It now has to go a different way.