Home Football Mikel Arteta says Guardiola’s absence is no excuse for Lyon defeat

Mikel Arteta says Guardiola’s absence is no excuse for Lyon defeat

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Manchester City assistant manager Mikel Arteta has said that Pep Guardiola’s absence is no excuse for the club’s shock defeat to Lyon. Manchester City started their Champions League campaign in bizarre fashion by losing 1-2 to Lyon at home. Guardiola watched the match from the stands because of a touchline ban he received in last season’s Champions League in a match against Liverpool.

It took just 26 minutes for Lyon to open the scoring thanks to a goal from Maxwel Cornet. Then, two minutes before half-time, Lyon skipper Nabil Fekir doubled their lead.

Bernardo Silva scored in the 67th minute to give some hope to Man City. However, his goal turned out to be a mere consolation as City could not find an equaliser. This is Manchester City’s fourth successive defeat in the Champions League.

Following the match, Mikel Arteta said that Guardiola’s absence had nothing to do with the result. He said, “I have no idea. That’s something
hypothetical. The reality is that Pep wasn’t here and we lost the game. If he would have been on the touchline I couldn’t say if we would have won 5-0 or lost 3-0.”

We were very aware of Lyon’s strengths and weaknesses. We were well prepared. We weren’t prepared to be 2-0 down at the break, but you have to react. There is zero margin for errors in the Champions League, you make a mistake and you are punished. If you don’t win duels, play simple balls, you will suffer – today was another example of that.

Arteta added, “We didn’t feel the flow around the team. We missed the right pass and didn’t find consistency. We felt under threat every time we lost the ball, that can bring the confidence lower. We were ready for the game, keen to start Champions League because the way we ended it last season really hurt. The players are not perfect, sometimes they have bad days, sometimes better. I can’t fault the effort. I won’t judge them because we lost.”

Manchester City are currently 3rd in the Premier League behind Liverpool and Chelsea. Their next Premier League fixture is against Cardiff City on Saturday.

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