UCL: Lyon Shock Manchester City To Make Semifinals

Moussa Dembele came off the bench to score twice as Lyon stunned tournament favourites Manchester City in the Champions League quarterfinals in Lisbon.

Lyon, who finished seventh in Ligue 1, will face Bayern Munich on Wednesday.

The defeat leaves City’s European ambitions in tatters and Pep Guardiola licking his wounds once more after getting dumped by an unfancied side in the knockout stages for the umpteenth time.

After an outlay of nearly a billion pounds in player recruitment, the Spaniard who lifted this trophy twice with Barcelona has now failed to go past the last 8 in each of his four seasons at the Etihad. Indeed, he’s yet make a final since his last victory in 2010.

City were firm favourites to make the last four but Lyon buoyed by their impressive win against Juventus in the last round approached the game without fear denying City time and space to settle into their familiar routine of mesmerizing passes and were dangerous on the counter.

Lyon went ahead in the 24th minute with City nemesis Maxwel Cornet scoring a third goal in as many appearances against the English side curling a loose ball past Ederson, but Kevin de Bruyne levelled for City with a smart finish in the 69th minute.

Substitute Dembele capitalised on City’s high line to latch on to a long ball to put Lyon ahead eleven minutes from time although replays suggested he had committed a foul in the lead up to the goal.

Prior to Dembele’s goal, City striker Gabriel Jesus had missed a chance to put the English side ahead and it proved to be a theme of their night as the scenario repeated itself and they paid dearly for their profligacy.

City poured forward in search of the equaliser and it appeared they had it but Raheem Sterling somehow managed to miss the gaping goal from six yards sending his finish over the top of an open goal from Jesus’ pass.

Sterling’s atrocious miss proved to be hugely expensive as moments later Dembele put the game beyond Guardiola’s side when he tapped home his second and Lyon’s third goal after Ederson fumbled from Houssem Aouar’s routine shot.