Our 4️⃣ points as Pep's bizarre call proves costly and Italy strikes back | OneFootball

In the Champions League on Wednesday night, Manchester City turned in a costly performance of two halves, while Inter continued to restore Serie A’s pride.

This is what we made of it.

City deja vu

Manchester City players would only be human if they’re getting that sinking Champions League feeling again.

This could be in danger of devolving into  a tie they had control of which suddenly spiralled out of control and saw them sent packing prematurely again.

After taking the lead and looking composed throughout the first half, they failed to exert any kind of dominance or assertiveness on the hosts after half-time and by the end were perhaps fortunate not to lose.

Having registered 74% possession in the opening 45 minutes and conceding just one shot on goal, things nosedived after the break, with the second half seeing the Bundesliga outfit beat them for possession with 51% in their favour and managing six efforts at the City goal.

That said, they likely should have been awarded an injury-time penalty when Henrichs handled (with both hands) in the area from a last minute corner kick but any appeals surprisingly fell on deaf ears.

They are still well in control of the tie and remain big favourites to go through but old doubts could soon start to creep in at the Etihad if things start there as they ended here.

Advantage Inter … and Italy

In the other game of the evening, Inter will be much more confident about finishing the job off and making an overdue return to the quarter-final.

It was a night for the goalkeepers as André Onana (when he wasn’t hilariously bickering with team-mate Edin Džeko) and Diogo Costa both pulled off a series of big saves.

And it looked like neither would be breached until Porto’s late collapse when Otávio’s red card (for two bookable offences) was followed up by Romelu Lukaku’s huge winner to send San Siro wild.

The Nerazzurri have been sneakily good this season (they’re the only side to beat runaway Serie A leaders Napoli) and are well placed to finish the job off in Portugal.

And they’re not the only Italian side in a strong position to reach the last eight, with fellow representatives Milan and Napoli also bringing first leg leads into the return fixtures, meaning three teams from the peninsula have done so for the first time ever.

With all of the furore at Juventus and on the back of another World Cup without the Azzurri, could some pride set to be restored on the biggest stage?

Pep’s bizarre decision

There’s no doubt that Pep Guardiola is a genius and like most, he’s frustratingly flawed.

There was no greater example of that from City’s disappointing draw in Leipzig than his bizarre refusal to use any substitutes even as his side toiled in the second half, particularly after Joško Gvardiol’s leveller.

If ever a side was in need of an injection of energy and inventiveness to provide a spark, this was it and while Marco Rose in the opposing dugout made four changes, Guardiola didn’t call upon his bench once.

It was the first time a coach has done so in a game in this competition since José Mourinho finished as he started when in charge of Manchester United against Juventus in 2018 and the first time the Spaniard has ever done so in the Champions League or Premier League for City.

With his side lacking creativity and control and in need of a goal, to leave Phil Foden and Julián Álvarez playing with their laces was a baffling call.

Back to his best?

Romelu Lukaku started Inter’s game against Porto on the bench and the club’s chief executive Beppe Marotta was blunt in addressing why pre-game.

“Romelu has 103kg (227lbs) to carry. He must be physically fit and he isn’t yet 100% fit,” Marotta explained. “He’s getting back to his best form.”

That proved to be both a warning and a prediction as the Chelsea loanee was sprung from the bench to net a crucial winner, showing good reactions after his initial effort came back off the post.

He netted at the weekend in the win over Udinese for his first goal of any description since scoring against Viktoria Plzen in October.

This goal gave him some Belgian bragging rights too, seeing him overtake Dries Mertens for the most goals from that nationality in this competition, with 17.

The signs are encouraging.