Kevin De Bruyne Fumming After City’s Usual Champions League Exit

Kevin De Bruyne is fed up with Manchester City’s shortcomings in Europe.

Another early exit at the hands of Lyon meant finishing the 2019/20 season with just the Carabao Cup as silverware. The Cityzens captain could not believe how his side repeated their Champions League woes once again this year.

“It’s a different year, same stuff,” De Bruyne – who had equalised after Maxwel Cornet’s opener – told BT Sport. He continued, “The first half wasn’t good enough. In the second half we played well and had them under pressure. We were more offensive. Lyon didn’t really create but we need to learn.”

It was another night where fans were left questioning Pep Guardiola’s tactics. Instead of going with his proven 4-3-3 formation, he tried to match Lyon’s three-man back system and failed. A similar tale where City handed another team a major Champions League upset. Previously, they have lost to AS Monaco in the Round of 16 and then to Liverpool and Tottenham in the quarter-finals under Guardiola.

Another astounding bit of stat is that City have spent close to £700 million on transfers since the 2016/17 campaign and still failed to progress past the Champions League quarter-finals. While they conceded the league title far too easily this term, many have tipped them to make a serious run for the European trophy.