City were forced to play with 10 men for most of the affair after Sergio Gomez was shown a red card after 30 minutes. The Premier League champions struggled to dominate their opponents as a result and failed to score for the first time this season, with in-form striker Erling Haaland on the bench for the entire game.
“A lot of players didn’t start today because they were exhausted, tired and tired and [had] lies”, said the coach of City, Pep Guardiola. “Erling didn’t feel very well after the game against Southampton, Phil [Foden] there were some troubling issues, Bernardo [Silva] he told us yesterday that he was very tired. We have adapted very well [to the red card]. They are very good. We are close [to qualifying]. It’s a good point.”
An eventful first half was marred by VAR controversy, first after Rodri’s piledriver was ruled out for a handball in the build-up of Riyad Mahrez. The Spanish midfielder looked to have given City the lead 11 minutes later when he slotted past Kamil Grabara from 25 yards – but a VAR review revealed the ball took a light touch on Mahrez’s hand.
And Mahrez was at the center of drama again in the 25th minute as he saw his penalty saved by Grabara after Nicolai Boilesen was booked for handball following a VAR review. Mahrez has now missed two of his last three penalties.
Just five minutes later, Gomez, 22, halted a Copenhagen attack by committing a foul on the edge of the area and, after a virtual check, was given a straight red card for his challenge – forcing Guardiola to bring defense reinforcement Ruben Dias. instead of Mahrez.
With Haaland on the pitch, having not started for City for the first time this season in all competitions, the visitors failed to finish off several good chances in the second half. Kevin De Bruyne twice drilled wide from good positions, while Joao Cancelo was denied by a smart save from Grabara.
Juventus on the verge of elimination from CL
In Haifa, Juventus plunged further into crisis and were left on the brink of Champions League elimination after a 2-0 defeat at Maccabi Haifa that also included an injury to key winger Ángel Di María.
Omer Atzili scored twice in the first half as Haifa claimed their first Champions League win in two decades. Juventus remained third in Group H with two games to play. It is the first time that Juventus, two-time European champions, have lost three of their first four group games.
An early exit from the Champions League would be particularly painful for Juventus’ finances as the club recently posted a record loss.
Juventus were eliminated by Villarreal in the first round of direct elimination in the Champions League last season. This was Haifa’s first Champions League win since beating Manchester United 3-0 in 2002.
Atzili put Haifa ahead seven minutes in, using his back to keep out a cross from the center of the box amid a crowd of defenders.
His second was a pinpoint shot into the near corner after faking a shot to the other side of the net. Tjaronn Chery also hit the crossbar in Haifa’s first-half attack.
Things then went from bad to worse for Juventus when Di María went off clutching the back of his right leg – prompting the Argentine to leave immediately. Di María provided all three assists as Juventus beat Haifa 3-1 last week.
Juventus were defeated 2-1 by PSG and Benfica in the first two matches.
Other CL results:
PSG 1 vs Benfica 1
Chelsea 2 vs AC Milan 0
Dortmund 1 vs Sevilla 1
Real Madrid 1 vs Shakhtar Donetsk 1
Leipzig 2 vs Celtic 0
Salzburg 1 vs Dinamo Zagreb 1
