The 2022-23 season is about two months old for Manchester City, and since then they have swatted away teams like flies, brushing aside Manchester United, Sevilla, Borussia Dortmund and others with relative ease. Heck, they even beat little FC Copenhagen 5-0 just a week ago. But on Tuesday, in the UEFA Champions League on Paramount+ the daring Danes were up for the task, holding City to a shocking 0-0 draw in the Champions League group stage.
Star striker Erling Haaland (20 goals in 13 games) was on the bench for the entire game, but Pep Guardiola’s team had their chances, recording 14 shots and putting four on frame. But so many things went wrong in this match that put City in a tricky spot to get what was an expected victory, breaking a scoring streak of 26 games. Within a 20-minute span, VAR ruled out a Rodri goal, Riyad Mahrez missed a penalty kick and Sergio Gomez was shown a red card.
The Rodri incident was the big surprise on a handling offense on Mahrez, with the ball falling and hitting the Algerian’s arm. The Paramount+ UCL crew, alongside rules expert Christina Unkel, discussed the call at the half:
But that wasn’t the only tough moment as Gomez was shown red after a potential red VAR check. Gomez, who just joined the club this summer, was sent off for denying an obvious goal scoring opportunity. This one, though, was pretty black and white:
In the grand scheme of things, this City result means next to nothing. City still have a three-point lead atop the group, pending the result of Dortmund vs. Sevilla.
But for FC Copenhagen, the only team yet to score in the competition, it was a night to remember.
