A hell of a feeling. For its first match of the calendar year in the Champions League, Manchester City experienced a nightmarish evening north of the Arctic Circle, on the pitch of Bodo Glimt (3-1).
Placed in fourth position at the start of the 7th day of the regular phase, Pep Guardiola’s men missed out, betrayed by a completely lost defense, offering the Norwegian team the first victory in its history in the most prestigious of European competitions.
On the synthetic turf of the Aspmyra Stadion, the Citizens made a series of defensive errors. Starting with Gianluigi Donnarumma, not flawless on Kasper Hogh’s smashed header (1-0, 22nd). In the process, the inexperienced central hinge composed of Abdukodir Khusanov (21 years old) and Max Alleyne (20 years old) completely pierced a devastating counterattack from the Norwegians, allowing Hogh to close from close range (2-0, 24th).
Rodri overwhelmed and excluded
In great difficulty in the depth, Erling Haaland and his partners gave in a third time after returning from the locker room on a gem by Jens Hauge, author of a clear shot aimed directly towards the top corner (3-0, 58th).
If hope returned to the ranks of City after the reduction of the gap by Rayan Cherki performing well on the attack front (3-1, 60th), the nightmare evening of the English visitors continued with a red card addressed to Rodri, overwhelmed by the intensity of the pressing and transitions of Bodo Glimt (62nd).
Already beaten by Manchester United in the derby last weekend in the Premier League (2-0), the Mancuniens thus missed a great opportunity to secure their place in the top 8 in the league phase rankings. They will try to get back up when they host Galatasaray on Wednesday January 28.
