Man City vs. Sporting Lisbon result: Second leg falls flat as Guardiola's side cruise to quarter-finals

Raj Singh Mahil

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Man City vs. Sporting Lisbon result: Second leg falls flat as Guardiola's side cruise to quarter-finals image

Manchester City and Sporting Lisbon played out an extremely dull 0-0 draw in their Champions League round of 16 second leg, with Pep Guardiola's men cruising into the quarter-finals with a 5-0 aggregate victory. 

Goals from Riyad Mahrez, Phil Foden and Raheem Sterling, plus a Bernardo Silva brace, sealed the brilliant victory in Portugal last month, meaning all the pressure was off for City tonight. 

It showed. City played at a pedestrian pace throughout, showing no real ambition. They had the quality on the pitch to raise the level whenever they saw fit, but instead it seemed an exercise in conserving energy ahead of a gruelling battle across three competitions to come. 

Last season's finalists did have three penalty shouts dismissed, and also had the ball in the back of the net shortly after half-time, but it was ruled out by VAR as would-be scorer Gabriel Jesus was adjudged offside. 

MORE: Everything you need to know about the Champions League quarter-final draw

Sporting were spirited at times, and had a good couple of opportunities through Islam Slimani and former Tottenham youngster Marcus Edwards, but ultimately their loud and proud visiting support was left without a goal to celebrate. 

The home fans, meanwhile, had nothing to shout about on what felt a very strange atmosphere here at Etihad Stadium - more like a preseason friendly, and even that is a generous description. 

Guardiola won't care, though. His side join the mighty trio of Real Madrid, Liverpool and Bayern Munich in next week's draw for the final eight. 

MORE: Real Madrid vs. PSG as-it-happened

Man City vs. Sporting Lisbon result

Man City 0 (5)

Sporting 0 (0)

Man City vs. Sporting Lisbon as-it-happened

FULL-TIME: It's over. It's finally over. Job done in the first leg for City, who sit on their comfortable 5-0 lead to progress to the quarter-finals.  

93rd min: Sterling hits the side netting but should do better! After a lovely little ball from McAtee in a crowded area, Sterling's quick first touch shifts the ball onto his left, then right, but he spurns the opportunity. 

91st min: Sterling goes down in the box but no penalty despite the appeals, before Mahrez's magic feet fashion a shot. The resulting corner sees Stones head onto the roof of the net, as City finally wake up. 

87th min: Mahrez has a free-kick on target, but easily saved, in the most interesting thing that's happened in the last 10 minutes. Two more changes for Sporting, with Slimani and Luis Neto off for Rodrigo Ribeiro and Zouhair Feddal. 

84th min: City's Luke Mbete, at just 18, is now the youngest player on the pitch. He makes his Champions League debut, on for Laporte. 

78th min: Double change for Sporting - Paulinho, hurt in a collision with Carson on the last effort, is off along with Pedro Porro. Ricardo Esgaio and Nuno Santos replace them. 

76th min: Best chance of the game for Sporting! Edwards has been a real livewire since coming on, and that continues with a dynamic dribble through the centre of the field and playing in Paulinho very well for a one-on-one, but Carson saves! 

73rd min: Guardiola has made a change in goal! Fan-favorite Scott Carson is on for a Champions League knockout-stage appearance - not something he would've expected at the start of the campaign. He gets a warm welcome, with the home supporters singing "England's No.1". 

71st min: Sporting have a cross swung in from either side and near-misses with any attacking connection, but it's enough to get the visiting faithful on their feet. City respond by going up the other end and winning a free-kick on the edge of the area. 

66th min: Guardiola is not a happy man on the touchline. He drops his head in disbelief after screaming at Stones and Zinchenko, and is now out of his technical area trying to change something, as Mahrez sees an increasingly-rare ball into the box deflected out of play. 

59th min: Edwards nearly has an immediate impact, twisting and getting past Zinchenko well on the right, before his very tame effort goes into Ederson's grateful grasp. 

58th min: Marcus Edwards - who graduated from the Tottenham academy - is back on a field in his home country, coming off the Sporting bench in place of Sarabia. 

56th min: Again McAtee comes close to an assist, this time playing the ball to Jesus on the edge of the area, but the striker's effort is not venomous enough to truly trouble the goalkeeper. 

54th min: Nice interplay between Jesus and McAtee, with a backheel inside the box that very nearly sets up the Brazilian. McAtee has given the crowd something to care about in this second half, if nothing else. 

48th min: VAR! The goal doesn't count - it's ruled offside. 

47th min: GOAL! Instant impact from Mahrez! The Algerian superstar cuts in from the right after a great first touch which got the crowd drooling, before eventually playing in Jesus on the left, who tucked it away at the near post with his left foot. 

46th min: We're back. Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden have been substituted at the break. On come Riyad Mahrez and 19-year-old local lad James McAtee. 

HALF-TIME: To no surprise, that was as dull a first half as we've seen all season.

39th min: Jesus is booked after challenging for a ball on the right touchline, seemingly hurting Rias as he jumped. The Brazilian is already frustrated with the officials to say the least, after being denied two penalty shouts. 

38th min: "Come on City" briefly rings around the Etihad for the first time, and the hosts immediately respond by playing in Sterling one-on-one. The England international tries to chip the goalkeeper, but a strong left hand denies him. 

36th min: The visitors have shown a little more invention the last couple of minutes, swinging in two teasing balls from the right which the front three failed to make contact with. 

34th min: This is, understandably, completely drifting away now. No meaningful attacks, no pressure, no dynamism. The hardest working man in the building is the drummer in the Sporting section. 

29th min: Sporting have enjoyed their best spell of the game - a couple of minutes of pretty much unbroken passing. After one City counter, it eventually leads to a half-chance for Paulinho, whose first touch looks to be good in picking the ball out of the air, but it's a little too close to Ederson, who sniffs out the danger.

23rd min: Jesus goes down again in the box, and again the referee waves the appeals away. Foden follows up with a long-range effort, which is saved. 

21st min: Ex-Leicester striker Slimani has Sporting's first attack of the game. He bursts forward past a couple of City men, but is eventually guided away from goal by Laporte. 

17th min: The connection of Foden and Sterling looks to be key so far. They're the two linking up, trying, and injecting a slight bit of urgency into the play. 

14th min: Laporte caught with a loose arm from Paulinho, who picks up the first booking of the game. City not offering a massive amount at the other end of the field right now, but it seems through choice - they can take this up several notches whenever they please. 

9th min: Just as he's about to shoot, Jesus is kicked from behind in the penalty area, but the referee waves play on. The Brazilian is fuming at the decision. 

7th min: Reis slips and is quickly dispossessed by Foden in a very dangerous position on the edge of the Sporting box, but it comes to nothing. The players are not providing much entertainment at the moment, but the travelling fans are definitely enjoying themselves in their corner behind the Sporting goal, making all the noise here. 

2nd min: This game is very quickly into the rhythm we'd expect: City are camped out in the Sporting third, with two searching balls into the box. It could be a very long night for the Portuguese giants. 

1st min: We're underway! 

2:58pm: As the teams are being read out by the stadium announcer, the biggest cheer by a long way goes to Oleksandr Zinchenko of Ukraine. It may well be the loudest this place gets all night. 

2:50pm: Captain Fernandinho has been hailed by teammate Ederson ahead of tonight's tie, with the midfielder's future still uncertain: "He has very strong leadership, he is a very important player, very experienced. He's been at City the longest. He is more than a captain. He guides young players and helps us every day with our day-to-day work. He is a fundamental figure for our team."

2:40pm: Strange atmosphere during the buildup in Manchester tonight - certainly not that of a knockout game, but more a friendly. Guardiola has tried his best to ensure there's no complacency, though: "We will be in trouble if they are not [fully focused]. It's our job and our duty. We have to do it. Once we are there we can try to do well or do it wrong, it’s the same price, no discounts." 

2:25pm: For Sporting, a couple of former Premier League men make the starting XI, in the form of Islam Slimani and Sebastian Coates. 

2:20pm: Guardiola has named a strong starting XI overall, though there is a big chance for 19-year-old right-back Conrad Egan-Riley. 

2:15pm: Welcome to Sporting News' coverage of Man City vs. Sporting Lisbon, live from Etihad Stadium.

All Times Eastern

Raj Singh Mahil

Raj Singh Mahil Photo

Raj Singh Mahil joined The Sporting News as Chief Editor in 2021, leading the UK editorial team. He was previously North America and Global Chief Editor at DAZN.