UEFA Champions League English

UCL: Lyon through to semi-final, Guardiola and Man City fail again

Olympique Lyonnais stunned favourites Manchester City with a 3-1 victory to go through into the semi-finals of the Champions League where they will face Bayern Munich.

Lyon took the lead through winger Maxwel Cornet in 24th minute as the English side struggled to score even after the second half resumed.

Man City finally equalised in 69th minute through Kevin de Bruyne but several chances including a missed in front of goal from Raheem Sterling had cost them dearly.

Moussa Dembele was introduced late into the game but he scored the second goal in 79th minute through a loose defensive line from City and Ederson was completely beaten.

Dembele rounded off his wonderful display by scoring the third goal in 87th minute through a rebound after Ederson parried the ball poorly.

It is the first time that two French teams will compete in the semi-finals of the competition with Paris St Germain facing RB Leipzig in the other Franco-German game in the last four.

The result also means that, for the first time the first since 1991 no team from England, Spain or Italy will compete in the last four of Europe’s premier club competition.

But for City and their manager Pep Guardiola it is the third season in a row that the team has gone out in the quarter-finals of the Champions League and they remain without a place in the last four under their Spanish coach.

“Different year, same stuff. I think the first half wasn’t good enough, I think we know that, we started slow, we had not many options, but the second half we played really well… it’s a shame for us to go out in this way,” said De Bruyne.

“We need to learn. It’s not good enough, and that’s it,” he added.

Guardiola’s methods have propelled City to two Premier League titles but he remains without a Champions League trophy since his 2011 victory with Barcelona.

The Spaniard’s tactical decision to play with an extra defender, in a three-man central defence, failed to work and left City chasing the game in the second half.

There was only one change in the City line-up from the team that had beaten Real Madrid in the last 16 earlier this month with attacking midfielder Phil Foden left out for 19-year-old defender Eric Garcia.

Rudi Garcia’s side had only finished seventh in the curtailed French league season. However, after a lengthy break from action have come back to eliminate Juventus and City to set up a clash with a Bayern team on a high after crushing Barcelona 8-2 in their quarter-final.