Shakhtar Donetsk 2 Man City 1: Pep Guardiola's young side suffers first defeat of the season
Pep Guardiola always knew this moment would come, that a defeat was inevitable when you are trying to win four different competitions, but even if this was a game Manchester City could afford to lose, the timing could not be much worse.
City were already assured of topping their Champions League group, but they were not just beaten by Shakhtar, they were out-played and on Sunday they travel to Manchester United, their neighbours and closest rivals in the title race.
They will walk into Old Trafford shorn of their cloak of invincibility and will find Jose Mourinho’s men waiting, well drilled and rested.
If he had already spotted any weaknesses to exploit, Mourinho will have been delighted how easily Shakhtar sliced through City on the counter attack, even if this was a very different starting XI to the one United will face.
This defeat can be excused, the result did not really matter and Guardiola made seven changes to the team, but it must be viewed in a wider context. City’s early season momentum made them look unstoppable, but there were signs they had started to stutter before this taxing trip across Europe and no defeat can be dismissed as irrelevant.
After the unimpressive performance against Feyenoord, the late winner against Southampton and the laboured victory over West Ham, they go into the busiest period of the season, the bleak mid-winter that has always concerned Guardiola after last year’s barren run, with an unfamiliar losing sensation. They have new questions to answer, a different sort of test to pass.
Average touch positions (0 min)
This was the first time City have been beaten since April, it is by no means a disaster, but it adds another layer of intrigue to this most frantic of footballing months. Lose again at the weekend and City really will appear vulnerable. Guardiola almost sounded relieved this first defeat had been inflicted.
“It is never nice to lose a game,” said Guardiola. “But it’s part of our profession and I think it is good for the club, good for the players, good for everybody because we were always going to lose a game. Now we need to have the right reaction on Sunday.
Shakhtar vs Man City shots on goal
“I always said we would lose a game, I didn’t listen when people said different to that so we are prepared for this. We have not discriminated between competitions, we came here to win, we saw some different players who needed to play and we had a good performance, so now it is about recovery and preparing for the next game.”
Guardiola may have made his senior players travel to Ukraine, but he did not work them, the most eye-catching of the seven changes a first senior start for Phil Foden.
At 17 years and 192 days, he became the youngest Englishman – or should that be boy – to start a Champions League game, although it turned into an experience that will be filed under sobering for the young man from Stockport.
There was also a second Champions League start for another young Englishman, defender Tosin Adarabioyo – another local talent from Greater Manchester – although it was his missed tackle on Bernard that almost gave Shakhtar an early lead, Fernandinho covering for his mistake with a vital block on Facundo Ferreyra.
Shakhtar were brighter and sharper. Taison threatened with his speed over the ground, running clear of Yaya Toure before feeding Marlos, whose shot was comfortably saved by Ederson.
It was a warning of what was to come. Taison once again made the incision from midfield and fed Bernard. His first touch was poor, but no City defender got to him and, spotting the angle was perfect for his right foot, he curled a shot into the top corner.
Shakhtar 1 - 0 Man City (Bernard, 26 min)
He should have had a second moments later, fed again by Taison, but this time he fired straight at the goalkeeper.
City were all over the place at the back and the second goal was a disaster. Taison spotted the early pass over the top of the City backline and Ismaily read it perfectly, poking the ball past Ederson who had sprinted out of his area, and rolling it into the empty net.
Shakhtar 2 - 0 Man City (Ismaily, 32 min)
Taison sent a shot narrowly over the bar before half time, while City’s night was summed up when Jesus dribbled straight into goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov just before the break.
City improved – they had to – and Leroy Sane forced a decent save early in the second half before Fernandinho headed a good opportunity wide.
They did not pull a goal back until Sergio Aguero’s converted a penalty in stoppage time and there was no chance of a second.
Pep Guardiola seems pretty calm about it all
"Congratulations, they do a good game but we did it too. I'm so pleased for Tosin, Brahim and Phil, they did so well. We came here to win.
"We were 2-0 down and we change a little bit, change Fernandinho, I'm pleased and happy for the performances.
"In this kind of situation, always the draw on Monday it depends how the time arrive at that moment. Maybe we are good today but what about in February.
"Now we're going to rest and come back tomorrow and prepare the game."
FULL TIME
Nope! Man City have been beaten for the first time this season! Shakhtar deserved their win tonight - this was a gameplan executed perfectly and a performance full of skill, pace and quality. Man City will be pleased with their youngsters, if not the result.
90 mins +4
Shakhtar players picking up mysterious "injuries" as City chase the game, Guardiola's annoyed about it and surely the referee will add a minute or so to the clock since we've had a goal during it.
GOOOOOOOOAAAAAALLLL!
AGUEROOOOOOOOO powers the penalty into the top right corner.
Blocked Pass: Shakhtar 2 - 0 Man City (Taison, 76 min)
Two minutes left. Can they get an unnecessary point?
90 mins+2
Diaz goes on another run inside and is fouled from behind. The young Spaniard has really impressed since coming on. The ball pings around the area, Jesus does a step-over... AND IT'S A PENALTY!
90 mins
The fans are in their Zorro masks. Let's hope Fonseca actually took one with him to the match.
Ferreyra comes off for Khocholava, a defender for a striker.
87 mins
Foden, Gundogan and Diaz still trying to dribble their way into the box. Bernardo has been doing well on the right... but there's still no final ball. Shakhtar have been seriously good tonight.
84 mins
Magic from Bernardo! He works the ball out of an impossible situation and sends a pass into the box for Aguero, who controls and just needs the ball to roll and set up a shot. It never quite comes, Shakhtar recover.
Jesus hits the sidenetting but was offside. City getting closer but it's probably too little too late.
81 mins
Great recovery from Adarabioyo! He shows his pace to stop Taison getting in behind after Diaz's loose pass gave Shakhtar another counter-attack opportunity.
Diaz hits the post! Superb play as he bins Butko, gets into the area and passes along the six yard line. Jesus pokes at goal, not Diaz, and it comes off the post and stays in play. Shakhtar see it out for a goal kick.
Post: Shakhtar 2 - 0 Man City (Gabriel Jesus, 79 min)
Diaz opens up the defence again with a lovely dribble, winning a corner in the process.
Toure tries a shot from 25 yards but can't keep it under the bar off his left foot. Not bad.
78 mins
Rakitskiy bends a free-kick at goal but Ederson can easily catch it.
Shakhtar vs Man City shots on goal
Shakhtar still finding space to exploit in the middle of the pitch - City have not been at it today and their young players have been their best. Adarabioyo has done well to cope with Danilo next to him.
75 mins
Taison goes close again! He's been so impressive tonight and beats Danilo (again!) with a shift of weight onto his right foot, battering the ball at goal. He's off target (again) though and way wide.
Possession: Shakhtar vs Man City
73 mins
Aguero on, Fernandinho off. That's a change in shape - Pep wants to go for it.
Danilo wins a 50/50 but catches his opponent, who rolls on the floor clutching his foot. The referee gives another free-kick and Danilo is visibly extremely frustrated. He's also lucky not to get a second yellow for that, even though it shouldn't have been a free-kick in the first place!
City aren't keeping the ball particularly well. Diaz is a little nervous and loses his balance, Jesus deflects the ball behind for a goal kick.
70 mins
Foden's final ball lets him down again and he gifts possession to Shakhtar. City are very nearly punished as Shakhtar get forward in numbers quickly. Shakhtar enjoying possession at the moment.
Possession: Shakhtar vs Man City
67 mins
Shakhtar vs Man City shots on goal
This is what they need to improve in the final 20 something minutes.
66 mins
Bernard goes above and beyond in doing "ball control" and is in a bit of pain after Bernardo accidentally clears into his nether regions.
Foden and Diaz are real sparks in this team, desperate to get on the ball.
63 mins
Sane comes off for Diaz for the final 30 minutes.
Gundogan goes down 30 yards out and wins a free-kick from the gentlest of connections.
60 mins
Guardiola still doesn't look too annoyed on the sidelines but he has started asking his players to put the ball over the top in behind the Shakhtar defence.
58 mins
The referee has given Shakhtar the benefit of the doubt in every 50/50 so far. Gundogan is booked for attacking the ball in yet another... and the replay shows it's a dreadful decision. He pulls out of the challenge, the player collides with him, and now he has a yellow card.
55 mins
Sane runs ahead of Foden but he'll be offside if Foden makes the pass... and he tucks it inside instead to Jesus - a really clever pass. Jesus is fouled and Sane stands over the free-kick, wide left.
Gundogan lifts it in... Fernandinho is there and gets up to head at goal! But misses from all of 10 yards. He should maybe do better there but had to put a lot of power in the header.
Danilo hits a low cross straight to the goalkeeper. City have way more energy in this half.
53 mins
Toure brings the ball forward, plays in Foden on the left (he's involved constantly!) but his attempted cross/pass into the area is lofted and nobody can get on the end of it.
Taison drives at the defence and is left to do so by Danilo and Adarabioyo, gets to the area and shoots over. Another warning shot.
Foden wins a corner... and gives the ball away shortly after as City try to work the ball around the final third.
50 mins
City are so much sharper already. Foden is causing problems on the left, Bernardo is suddenly working a lot harder and Sane looks switched on.
Danilo is caught out way too easily with a one-two, which sucks Adarabioyo in as well. This time the attack ends as a goal kick and City survive.
Bernardo hits the first man with an attempted cross, with three players waiting in the area to attack it.
47 mins
Immediate response from City. The ball is chipped into the middle from the right, Sane attacks it on the volley and draws a save. That is City's first shot on target!
KICK-OFF 2
We're back! That was quick!
HALF TIME
Possession: Shakhtar vs Man City
Shakhtar deserve to be ahead here. They've been clinical, organised and a level above City in every department, working harder and enjoying more of the pitch. City's shape hasn't helped at all and it wouldn't be a surprise if Guardiola changed to something more like their usual formation.
Average touch positions (half time)
45 mins
So close Taison! This guy is decent! He easily dribbles past Danilo, who has been poor tonight, cuts onto his right and bends a powerful shot at goal. It's just over the bar. Shakhtar are so dangerous on the counter-attack.
Miss: Shakhtar 2 - 0 Man City (Taison, 43 min)
And they're nearly in again! What has happened to City's midfield and defence?! Fred pulls them all over the place, Ferreyra sneaks in behind Fernandinho and only has Ederson to beat. His low shot is well saved by the goalie.
42 mins
FRED! A rapid counter-attack with Ismaily speeding his way on the overlap ends as the ball drops to Fred inside the penalty area, near the penalty spot, and his shot is blocked for a corner.
Attempt Saved: Shakhtar 2 - 0 Man City (Fred, 40 min)
Adarabioyo clears with a header, Fred shoots over the bar.
JESUS IS CLEAN THROUGH! Foden threads an absolutely brilliant pass through to Jesus, the goalkeeper comes off his line and Jesus tries to go round him but guesses wrong and is tackled.
39 mins
Foden miscues a volley just inside the penalty area. Not to worry, Owen Hargreaves said he worked with him at under-14 level and that, "he's going to make it happen - no question. He's very special."
City have their hosts pinned back now and are starting to create chances. Gundogan has a shot blocked, Pyatov smothers a cross to Jesus.
37 mins
Danilo is wiped out by a slide tackle but it's no foul, Foden slips Sane in down the left and he tries to return the favour... but his pass is a little quick and Foden can't adjust his body in time to get a proper shot away.
GOOOOOOOOOAAAAAALLLL!
IT'S TWO! What a performance this is by Shakhtar!
Shakhtar 2 - 0 Man City (Ismaily, 32 min)
City have really taken their foot off the gas here and are being punished for poor mistakes. Danilo and Adarabioyo play Ismaily onside, Ederson comes off his line and pulls out of the surely red card deserving foul he could make. Ismaily pokes it around him and taps into an empty net. Guardiola needs to change something here.
32 mins
City go up a gear and get into the final third. Foden links well with Bernardo, who is drifting all over the area around Shakhtar's box at the moment.
Mangala redeems himself with a nice turn and pass in that final third but Shakhtar are finding space to run into and are using the ball well. City aren't playing with any kind of intensity.
30 mins
Horrible mistake by Mangala. He turns under no pressure, looks up and passes the ball directly to Shakhtar's front three, who break at speed and force Ederson into another save. So close for Shakhtar again!
GOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLLLL!
Wow! What a finish! Top bins by the Brazilian!
Shakhtar 1 - 0 Man City (Bernard, 26 min)
Danilo is distracted by the overlapping run and gives Bernard an inch of space, which he uses to basically lob Ederson and plant the ball in the top corner. Brilliant strike.
26 mins
Urgh that is disgusting. Marlos runs onto a pass into the area, Toure gets across him to block the run and some part of his body touches a bit of Marlos', who then crumbles like a beaten rock monster clutching his face. Here's the twist - and there is a twist: he's not actually injured. It was a ruse all along!
Possession: Shakhtar vs Man City
City still not really making use of their possession. Shakhtar look the more likely to score.
24 mins
Danilo is booked and it's harsh. He's slightly late to the tackle, Ismaily sees him coming and then makes sure there's contact. Danilo knows exactly what he's up to and isn't happy about it.
21 mins
Fernandinho is late to a tackle through the back of a Shakhtar player and the referee pulls play back. The hosts just aren't able to keep the ball past the halfway line, City are happy to keep it and wait for a chance to pass. Foden goes on another run from left inside the pitch but is pushed and falls to ground... trying to stay up as he goes. The referee doesn't seem to think it's a foul, even though it definitely was. That's why footballers dive.
18 mins
City's back three is protected by a midfield two of Toure and Gundogan, which is allowing Foden and Danilo space waaaaaaaay up the pitch.
Average touch positions (15 min)
City have a lot of coverage in defence this way, which gives a bit of a safety net for Foden and means Adarabioyo can't be picked on either.
15 mins
City win a corner through some excellent work by Bernardo on the right but it comes to nothing.
Possession: Shakhtar vs Man City
12 mins
Smart play by Foden. He pulls wide left, takes the ball past two players with a turn of pace and nearly gets into the box after a one-two, and would have had the ball not knocked off his knee.
Bernardo tries to do a little too much, Bernard steals it back and turns, then jumps over Danilo's slide tackle. Well, he does, but then decides to throw himself to the ground to win a free-kick. His team were on a dangerous break, why even do that?
Guardiola grabs him as he walks past to ruffle his hair.
9 mins
The cold has had an effect on Taison, who is nursing his hamstring a bit and may well have to come off early on. Sane makes another error and gives Shakhtar the chance to attack quickly! They move the ball forward, come in off the left and Bernard tries to square a pass in the box, it's stabbed at goal and Fernandinho and Bravo get in the way of it. Sloppy from Sane so far.
Save: Shakhtar 0 - 0 Man City (Fernandinho, 7 min)
6 mins
Great pass by Adarabioyo, who waits for Shahktar players to attack him and then fires a pass to the halfway line. Fernandinho is dropping into a back three when City lose the ball tonight, it's a slightly different team shape from Guardiola. Foden is wide left, Sane and Bernardo are playing just behind the striker.
3 mins
As you'd expect, it's a fairly quiet start to the match. Shakhtar want to get the ball forward quickly, City want to pass it around. Foden takes a throw, Sane can't control it.. but the shot is way over the bar from 25 yards.
KICK-OFF
We're underway in the Metalist stadium, all eyes on Phil Foden. If Shakhtar win tonight, manager Paulo Fonseca has said he'll dress like Zooro to celebrate. I'm not entirely sure why it's Zorro, but that's the running joke of this evening. Didn't want you to feel left out.
Here come the players
It's time for (what should be) the official Champions League song.
It's cold in Ukraine
You might not be able to tell but that's Leroy Sane in arctic ninja dress. The temperature is expected to be around -1 or -2 degrees celsius this evening, which is pretty cold, but still not as bad as what I used to kick a ball around in Scotland every single winter. They can't moan, is what I'm saying.
Phil Foden's first start
The player of the Under-17 World Cup tournament, Phil Foden makes his full debut for Manchester City tonight, tucking into midfield alongside Ilkay Gundogan. It's so exciting seeing these bright prospects being introduced into the first team, as I'm sure my fellow Football Manager addicts will agree.
17 - Phil Foden is the youngest player to start a Champions League match for Manchester City (17y 191d). Promise. pic.twitter.com/gLujaXkIW3
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 6, 2017
Man City dressing up as Steve Jobs tonight
Shakhtar starting XI
⚒ Our line-up for the @ChampionsLeague super match #ShakhtarManCity. Taison and Butko in the starting XI!
⏰ 20:45 CET
�� Match centre: https://t.co/HmGqaU5Qo8pic.twitter.com/gNQbzr5vB4— FC SHAKHTAR ENGLISH (@FCShakhtar_eng) December 6, 2017
Starting lineups
Phil Foden starts! And Tosin Adarabioyo! Exciting times for City's youth players.
Your starting lineup for #fcsdvcity! pic.twitter.com/gmY3LDFiX9
— Manchester City (@ManCity) December 6, 2017
Man City
Ederson, Danilo, Mangala, Adarabioyo, Fernandinho (c), Foden, Yaya Toure, Gundogan, Bernardo, Sane, G Jesus
Subs: Bravo, Walker, Sterling, Aguero, Otamendi, Duhaney, Diaz
Some light analytical reading
You might enjoy this break down of the things Pep Guardiola has done to make Man City quite so entertaining. Here are at least eight of them:
The genius of Pep Guardiola: Eight things he has done to make Man City so frighteningly good
Preview
Manchester City have already finished first in their group but have taken a full strength squad for the last game of this stage of the Champions League, all the way to Ukraine. To be more specific, they've flown to Kharkiv, which is where Shakhtar actually play their games nowadays due to unfortunate circumstances.
Kevin De Bruyne is suspended and David Silva is "injured", which may well mean that one of Brahim Diaz or Phil Foden are given a chance to start. Foden is the more likely of the two but Yaya Toure and Ilkay Gundogan might have dibs on that position, with Pep Guardiola keen to ensure he doesn't allow his players' mentality to creep into the realm of complacency.
Shakhtar are second in the group on nine points and need to avoid losing, besides that being their responsibility, since Napoli can leapfrog them into second if they beat Feyenoord and Man City win. This isn't a dead rubber by any means but Man City will be wary of the busy time they'll surely have on Sunday against Man Utd and don't have as much to play for as Shakhtar.
#WednesdayWisdompic.twitter.com/W1c7hYAUHB
— Manchester City (@ManCity) December 6, 2017
“David [Silva] had a little bit problem in the last minutes against West Ham,” Guardiola explained. “We made a test after the game and I don't know if he is able to play on Sunday. That's why he stayed there, to recover in Manchester.”
