Manchester City-Lyon player ratings: Pep Guardiola gets it wrong, Dembele clutch in Champions League shocker
Man City's European dream ended with a horrible performance and a weird formation change
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4 min read
Lyon are through to the Champions League semifinals after knocking out one of the tournament favorites in Manchester City on Saturday, winning 3-1. Lyon will play Bayern Munich in the semifinals, and the winner will meet the winner of RB Leipzig and PSG in the final next week (check out the full bracket here). Without any Spanish or English representation, it's safe to say we have an unusual last four in Lisbon.
But how did each player from City-Lyon perform in this one? Here are our player ratings for the match for every starter, substitute and manager. All ratings are out of 10, and the higher the number the better. A zero would be a first-minute red card. A 10 would be like a dominant hat trick.
Manchester City ratings
| Name | POSITION | How did they do? | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
(GK) Ederson | GK | Boy does he like to come out, and it costs his team at times. Though the first goal wasn't his fault, he probably could have done a little better on the second. His defense let him down though. | 4 |
(DEF) Aymeric Laporte | DEF | Didn't follow his attacker on the first goal, and his turnover led to the second goal. When your best defender plays like that, nothing good will happen. | 3 |
(DEF) Eric Garcia | DEF | Reacted well at times but was brought down by the poor showings of his teammates that left him in tough spots. | 4 |
Fernandinho | DEF | Not very sharp. Caught watching on the opener. Taken off early in the second half. | 4 |
Kyle Walker | DEF | More bad than good. He kept Lyon on for the opening goal and just was a liability. Did have a couple decent stops. | 4 |
Joao Cancelo | DEF | He cannot defend. He's a speedy winger with no defensive qualities. Just look at how he was caught watching on the last goal. Shocking. | 2 |
Rodrigo | MID | The Spanish midfielder didn't control the game deep in the middle like he would have liked. His positioning also wasn't very good. | 4 |
Kevin De Bruyne ⚽ | MID | Took his goal brilliantly and was the best player for City. He would like some of those free kicks back though. | 6 |
Ilkay Gundogan | MID | Partially at fault for the first goal. His passing wasn't crisp and was hardly noticeable at times. | 4 |
Raheem Sterling | FWD | A great run and assist on the opener but missed an absolute sitter in the dying minutes to draw level. The worst miss of his career. | 4 |
Gabriel Jesus | FWD | He didn't have a lot of opportunities but did miss one decent shot at the back post. He'll not want to see the replay. Should have had an assist to Sterling. | 4 |
Riyad Mahrez (SUB 1) | FWD | Made a huge impact off the bench with a brilliant ball to Sterling to set up De Bruyne's goal. Didn't get a lot of looks himself. | 7 |
David Silva (SUB 2) | MID | Came off the bench in his final game for City but never really got a chance to make an impact. | N/A |
Pep Guardiola | MANAGER | Really confusing. He goes with a formation where it was hard to tell if it was five at the back or three, and he used just two substitutes. Why didn't he put Phil Foden in the match? | 2 |
Lyon ratings
| Name | POSITION | How did they do? | Ratings |
|---|---|---|---|
Anthony Lopes | GK | One of the more underrated goalkeepers in the world. He made some fantastic saves, but more than anything, he was a sure thing on routine balls. | 8 |
Marcelo | DEF | Really, really good. Led the backline, was strong in the air and provided some crunching tackles. | 8 |
Marcal | DEF | Great energy, kept Gabriel Jesus at bay and was able to frustrate City. | 7 |
Jason Denayer | DEF | The former Manchester City man was a rock. Strong, confident and bruising. City could have used him. | 8 |
Maxwel Cornet ⚽ | MID | His hustle got him the opening goal with an exquisite finish around Ederson. He loves playing City with four goals against them. What an impact. | 8 |
Houssem Aouar | MID | One of the very best young players in the world. He assisted the winner, was elegant on the ball and just looked comfortable on the big stage. | 8 |
Bruno Guimaraes | MID | Put in a good shift in the middle but looked fatigue late on. Was substituted in the second half. | 7 |
Maxence Caqueret | MID | An absolutely crucial interception to kickstart the counter on the winning goal. His passing wasn't all that great at times, but he did his job. | 7 |
Leo Dubois | MID | Not all that impressive. Gave up a big too much space behind himself at times. Denayer helped him out though. | 5 |
Karl Toko Ekambi | FWD | An absolutely fantastic run to help create the first goal, and then he was aware to let the ball go by on the second goal. Didn't do a lot on the ball but was as key as any. | 8 |
Memphis Depay | FWD | He surely would have liked to have played the entire game, but his exit was key to the team's success. Not a lot of good looks in this one. | 5 |
Thiago Mendes (SUB 1) | MID | Was brought in with 20 minutes to go to help out a bit more in the middle defensively, and it worked. Had a couple decent stops. | 6 |
Kenny Tete (SUB 2) | DEF | Came on in defense but didn't have to do a whole lot as the attack went off. | 6 |
Moussa Dembele (SUB 3) ⚽⚽ | FWD | Comes on and puts City away with two goals. Took his chances in the biggest game of his life and is entering club hero status. | 9 |
| Jeff Reine-Adelaide (SUB 4) | MID | A little time-wasting substitute. | N/A |
Rudi Garcia | MANAGER | Well, that was something. Bringing on Dembele proved to be key, and he had his team ready to play defensively. Absolutely impressive. | 9 |
