The 2022-23 season is around two months away for Manchester City, and since then they have crushed teams like flies, brushing aside Manchester United, Sevilla, Borussia Dortmund and others with relative ease. Heck, they even beat tiny FC Copenhagen 5-0 just a week ago. But on Tuesday in UEFA Champions League on Paramount+, the bold Danes were up for the challenge, holding City to a shocking 0-0 draw in the Champions League group stage.
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Star striker Erling Haaland (20 goals in 13 games) was on the bench the whole game, but Pep Guardiola’s side had their chances, registering 14 shots and putting four on the frame. But so much went wrong in that game that put City in a tricky position to secure what was an expected win, snapping a streak of 26 games in a row. Within 20 minutes, VAR ruled out a Rodri goal, Riyad Mahrez missed a penalty and Sergio Gomez was shown a red card.
Rodri’s incident was the big surprise on a handling foul on Mahrez, with the ball falling and hitting the Algerian’s arm. The Paramount + UCL team, alongside rules expert Christina Unkel, discussed the half-time call:
But that wasn’t the only difficult moment as Gomez was shown in red after a potential red VAR check. Gomez, who just joined the club in the summer, was sent off for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity. This one, however, was quite black and white:
In the grand scheme of things, this City result means next to nothing. City still have a three-point lead at the top of the group, awaiting Dortmund’s result against Sevilla.
But for FC Copenhagen, the only team yet to score in the competition, it was a night to remember.