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Be honest, you were not that bothered about this game were you? Set against the narrative smorgasbord that was Real Madrid against Paris Saint-Germain, it is hard to imagine many who do not have skin in the game opting for Manchester City’s Champions League trip to Lisbon. Even fewer late arrivals would have been switching on to this.
After all, by halftime the game and almost certainly the tie had become a dead rubber. City had done their hard work, racing to a four-goal lead within 44 minutes. They could have had many more had they not been determined to find the most artisanal, elegant of shots. There were nine of them in the first half, worth an average of 0.26 expected goals (xG). For the less stats-inclined of you, a standard effort for City early on on Tuesday night was the sort that would have fans oohing and aahing if it was missed, punters and pundits saying “he should have done better there”.
Not that there was much cause to say that about anything City did. This was attacking football at its most precise. Every player in blue was at the peak of their powers, Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling flying down the flanks (with able support from a repurposed John Stones at right back) as Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden dragged the Sporting defense across the field. Ruben Amorim’s side never stood a chance. When Srdjan Jovanović blew the whistle for halftime, it was an act of mercy.
The question hanging over this game, as it has been often in recent weeks, is whether it is actually any fun? After all, even former Benfica playmaker Bernardo did not seem all that impressed with a 5-0 thrashing of his one-time rivals.
“We weren’t that good to be winning 4-0, we were a bit sloppy, lost some easy goals that gave them opportunities to counter attack,” he said. “Sometimes we play better than we played in this first half and go to halftime at 0-0. We can still improve We…
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Source : cbssports
