Manchester City’s hopes of getting their Champions League campaign off to a positive start were dealt a major blow on Tuesday evening when Juventus came from behind to win 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium.
City opened the scoring when Giorgio Chiellini scored an own goal under pressure from Vincent Kompany, but a Mario Mandzukic finish and a superb Alvaro Morata strike handed the Old Lady her first win of the season.
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Is there any reason for optimism from City? Was there evidence enough to suggest that they could yet go far in this tournament?
Here are our player ratings from the Etihad Stadium.
Joe Hart: 7 – A handful of fine stops, and managed his defence well. Could do little about the two goals.
Bacary Sagna: 6.5 – A competent and solid display from the former Arsenal man, without truly offering enough going forward.
Vincent Kompany: 7 – City were far inferior once he was replaced, and it was the Belgian’s persistence and endeavour that ensured Manuel Pellegrini’s side broke the deadlock.
Eliaquim Mangala: 6 – While no one can doubt that Mangala is a physically imposing player who truly looks the part, the lapses of concentration remain and the Frenchman was directly responsible for Mandzukic’s equaliser.
Aleksandar Kolarov: 7 – Continued his encouraging start to the season with a few excellent forays forward.
Fernandinho: 7.5 – Possibly City’s key man. Dynamism, power, even invention…and he was unlucky to be on the losing side.
Yaya Toure: 6.5 – Not one of his truly dominant displays, but there were still a few moments of inspiration from the Ivorian powerhouse, who arguably outshone Pogba. Would have equalised late on but for a superb Gigi Buffon save.
David Silva: 7 – One of City’s classiest performers; delivered a series of excellent touches and fine passes, but could—and possibly should—have scored.
Raheem Sterling: 6.5 – Caused endless problems with his movement and dribbling, but his pair of second-half misses—with City 1-0 up—proved very costly.
Samir Nasri: 6– Earned a start, but didn’t really justify his selection. Will find minutes harder to come by following the additions of Fabien Delph, Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling.
Wilfried Bony: 6 – Wholly failed to replace Sergio Aguero, and did little to convince Manuel Pellegrini to give him an extended stay in attack.
Subs
Kevin De Bruyne: 6 – A low-key introduction, and the Belgian appeared a little overawed by the occasion.
Nicolas Otamendi 6 – At fault for Morata’s effort, but in fairness, appeared keen to cover for the edgy Mangala.
Sergio Aguero: 6 – Short of fitness, and came on too little to truly make an impact, particularly as Juventus closed up.