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Sport / Football / Champions League

VIDEO: Shakhtar boss dresses as Zorro at press conference after beating Manchester City to seal last-16 place

By Reporter
December 7, 2017, 10:45 am Updated: December 7, 2017, 10:47 am

MANCHESTER City slumped to their first defeat of the season with a 2-1 loss to Shakhtar Donetsk in their final Champions League Group F game.

First-half goals from Brazilian pair Bernard and Ismaily stunned Pep Guardiola’s side on a freezing night at the Metalist Stadium in Kharkiv, with Sergio Aguero’s injury-time penalty too late to affect the outcome.

The result mattered little for City, with top place in the group already assured, but the tame end to their dazzling 20-game winning streak was hardly the ideal preparation for this weekend’s Manchester derby.

Shakhtar boss Paulo Fonseca promised to dress up in the Mask of Zorro if his side made it through and he duly delivered in his post-match press conference.

What they said

Shakhtar coach Paulo Fonseca said: “This is the most joyful press conference of my career! Tonight we played an almost ideal game. We were very disciplined in defence and broke through to attack very effectively. It was very important to close up some particular zones for Manchester City where they are usually very dangerous. I think we did that well and they did not threaten as they normally would.”

City boss Pep Guardiola said: “It hurts. It is never nice to lose a game. But we have said many times we cannot win all the time, we are going to lose games. Today was the first. We needed to lose a game. It will be good for the club, for all of us and the media. People say things when you win a lot and you can forget that now.”

Tweet of the match

Former City player and chairman Francis Lee (@FrannyLee7) takes the positives out of the defeat.

Star Man – Taison

The Shakhtar captain was outstanding in an attacking midfield role, repeatedly pushing City back with his powerful runs or incisive passing over short and long distances. He linked well with the likes of Bernard, Fred and Marlos and his ball for Ismaily that led to Shakhtar’s second goal was exquisitely executed.

View from the touchline

Guardiola has said repeatedly his side would suffer a defeat sooner or later but, in a way, it was something he was looking forward to because he wanted to see how his players would react. He will now get that opportunity in the fiery atmosphere of a Manchester derby. Admittedly a number of likely starters at Old Trafford did not start in Kharkiv and Guardiola will have learnt something about those who did feature. Phil Foden showed good composure although this was a tough test for the 17-year-old in an unfamiliar wing back role.

Data point

The result brought City’s long unbeaten run to an end after 28 matches and ended a sequence of 20 successive wins. Their previous loss came to Arsenal in the FA Cup semi-finals last April while Everton, with a 1-1 draw at the Etihad Stadium in August, were the only other side to have denied City victory this season.

Ratings

Shakhtar Donetsk: Andriy Pyatov 6, Bohdan Butko 6, Ivan Ordets 6, Yaroslav Rakitskiy 6, Ismaily 7, Fred 7, Taras Stepanenko 6, Marlos, 7 Taison 8, Bernard 8, Facundo Ferreyra 6. Subs: Marcio Azevedo (for Ismaily, 64) 6, Viktor Kovalenko (for Marlos, 82), David Khocholava (for Ferreyra, 89) 5.

Manchester City: Ederson 6 (out of 10), Tosin Adarabioyo 5, Fernandinho 6, Eliaquim Mangala 5, Danilo 5, Ilkay Gundogan 6, Yaya Toure 6, Phil Foden 6, Bernardo Silva 6, Gabriel Jesus 6, Leroy Sane 6. Subs: Brahim Diaz (for Sane, 62) 6, Sergio Aguero (for Fernandinho, 70) 6.