Manchester City as the clear favorite and Lyon's calm

Of all the quarterfinal pairs, perhaps the least intrigue was in the confrontation between Manchester City and Lyon. Most of the fans did not believe that the French team would perform another miracle and, after Juventus, would knock out another grandee from the tournament.

Moreover, the townspeople are in the mood for the first victory in the main European Cup more seriously than ever. Josep Guardiola's men have won six wins and two draws in eight UCL matches. And in the 1/8 finals they beat the 13-time winner of the Real Madrid trophy twice with the same score (2: 1).

However, in France they believed in the success of their team. Lyon head coach Rudy Garcia said ahead of the match that appetite comes with eating.

“Of course, Manchester City are the favorite of the pair, but the Champions League quarterfinals have shown that favorites can be beaten. Hopefully this happens Saturday night. Judging by the first two matches, the outsiders have all the chances, ”the UEFA official website quoted the specialist as saying. 

Added hope to French football fans and the successful confrontation between Lyon and Manchester City last season. Then the teams got into the same Champions League group, and the English team scored only one point in two meetings with an opponent. And the townspeople lost at home - 1: 2. 

The possible success of the "children" should have caused some pride in St. Petersburg as well, because in that case, both teams, who had outstripped Zenit in the Champions League group, would have made it to the semifinals.

This time Lyon had three key players in question at once: Maxwell Cornet, Kenny Tete and Jason Denaier. As a result, two of them were in the starting lineup, and only Tete remained in reserve. But in the center of Lyon's midfield, as in Turin, 20-year-old Maxance Kakeru appeared.

Manchester City lost only Sergio Aguero, who underwent knee surgery. The only change from the return match against Real Madrid: instead of midfielder Philip Foden, a young center-back, Eric Garcia, appeared on the pitch.

The total advantage of the townspeople and the unexpected goal of Cornet

Manchester City, as expected from the first minutes, took the ball under their control and laid siege to the opponent's penalty area. During one of the first attacks, Gabriel Jesus almost opened the score, but Marcelo interrupted the cross at the last moment. 

However, Lyon was not going to play the whole game in their own half of the field and organized counter-attacks at the first opportunity. At times, Garcia's charges have made good use of standard provisions. So, in the tenth minute, Fernando Marsal, after a corner kick from outside the penalty area, struck into the hands of Ederson.

Manchester City continued to attack, but barely passed the opponent's defensive ranks. Lyon defended themselves as reliably and selflessly as possible. It was not possible to break into someone else's penalty area in the center. The right flank of the British team also did not work. All that remained was to put pressure on the opposite edge, where Raheem Sterling operated for the townspeople. 

However, it finally became clear that things were not going according to Guardiola's plan in the middle of the first half, when Lyon unexpectedly opened the scoring. The footballer of the French team from the left edge brought the ball to the turn of Karl Toko Ekambi, who threw it to Maxwell Cornet. The Ivorian calmly sent a shell into the near corner to bypass Ederson. 

It took a couple of minutes for the referee panel to watch the replay. In the end, the referee did not determine Ekambi's offside position. And Cornet has already scored the fourth goal against Manchester City. Last season in the Champions League, he upset the townspeople three times, twice at home and once on the road.

Having missed, Guardiola's wards pressed the opponent to the goal even more and, finally, began to strike. However, they still did not create one hundred percent chances, although they were marked with four shots on target. 

In general, Antoni Lopes confidently coped with the threat. In particular, already in stoppage time, he managed, not without difficulty, to fix the ball in his hands after Sterling hit from outside the penalty area.

De Bruyne's heavy ball and Garcia's fateful substitutions

After the break, Manchester City finally took control of the ball. Moreover, "Lyon" completely stopped moving the center of the field. If in the first half the team had counterattacks at least occasionally, in the second they disappeared altogether. 

However, Garcia's wards continued to defend themselves calmly enough and without panic. The French team played tightly near their own penalty area. The safety net also worked perfectly. And in the actions of Guardiola's team, nervousness has already begun to slip. For example, Fernandinho stepped on Cornet's foot and almost got a second yellow card.

To avoid unnecessary risk, Guardiola removed the experienced Brazilian from the field and released Riyad Marez instead, filling the attacking line to the limit. 

And in the 69th minute, Manchester City managed to level the score. Raheem Sterling got the ball near the front in someone else's penalty area, easily turned the tired Denayer around and made the transfer under the attack of De Bruyne. No one had time to prevent the Dutchman from sending a shell to the far corner. 

It seemed that Guardiola's wards, having finally achieved their goal, would squeeze the weakened opponent out of their emotions. But the coaching staff of Lyon, as in the second game with Juventus, made very timely substitutions. Midfielder Thiago Mendez, defender Tete and striker Moussa Dembele entered the field one after another. Thus, Garcia refreshed each of the lines except the goalkeeper. 

It paid off instantly. The French team not only pushed the game away from their gates, but also started counter-attacks again. And just ten minutes after the goal of De Bruyne, Lyon again unexpectedly took the lead, although everyone was waiting for the favorite's second goal.

A productive attack in the center of the field with a selection began 20-year-old Kakere, and Usssem Auar, who picked up the ball, made a forward pass to Ekambi and Dembele. The first was offside and, sensing this, missed a shell between his legs on Dembele. 

Moussa realized a one-on-one exit and scored his debut goal in the current Champions League season. True, it was not clear whether the judges would count him. However, after watching the replay of the effective episode from several angles, they still came to the conclusion that Ekambi did not touch the ball, and, therefore, the goal should be counted.

Manchester City had no choice but to start all over again and go forward. And in the 86th minute, the team had an amazing opportunity to restore the status quo. Sterling, after a perfect cross from a partner, hit the empty goal from a few meters, but sent the ball higher.

Then the famous football principle "if you don't score, they score for you" worked. Ederson, who had an extremely unsuccessful match, after hitting Awara, reflected the ball straight to Dembele, who calmly scored a double.

By the main time of the match, the judging added five minutes, but Manchester City had no energy left to turn the tide of the meeting. Thus, the townspeople took off from the main European Cup sensationally. 

Lyon, following Juventus, knocked out another European grand and for the second time in history reached the Champions League semi-finals. Ten years ago, the “children” also got into the top four teams in the main European Cup, but could not oppose anything to “Bavaria” (0: 1, 0: 3). Now they again have to meet with the Munich.

Zenit fans can be pleased that both opponents of St. Petersburg in the group stage made it to the Champions League semi-finals, which no one expected before the start of the playoffs. In addition, Lyon became the second French team in the Champions League semi-finals after PSG.