Man City won the first leg of the encounter 5-0 in Portugal, making the encounter at the Etihad a dead rubber game
By Kehinde Okeowo
Man City were held at home by Sporting Lisbon but a stunning 5-0 win in last month’s first leg in Lisbon had already settled this tie.
The Citizens dominated ball possession in the first half but there was little or no goalmouth action in the first half, with the visitors unable to muster a shot on goal.
The home side named a weakened squad but Sporting Lisbon played like a side whose intention was to come to the Etihad and attempt damage control.
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The visitors packed their defence, perhaps wary of suffering another damaging defeat, leaving City in total control of possession but they failed to break Sporting down.
Raheem Sterling wasted Citys’ best chance before the break when he ran on to Phil Foden’s pass and tried to dink the ball over Antonio Adan but did not get enough height on his shot.
Gabriel Jesus eventually put the ball into the net at the beginning of the second half but he was ruled offside after a VAR review.
Despite the absence of some of their players, City remained in complete control, though their third-choice keeper Scott Carson, was called into action towards the end of the game after he replaced Ederson.
Man City are through to the quarter-finals of Champions League for the fifth successive season and will find out their opponents in the last eight on 18 March