Manchester City
Guardiola and City Realistic After 3-0 Deficit, Points to European Comeback Rarity
Guardiola and Bernardo Silva accept an uphill Champions League task after a 3-0 first-leg loss. soon
Manchester City remain alive in the tie but face long odds after a 3-0 first-leg defeat to Real Madrid. Pep Guardiola acknowledged the scale of the task and refused to pretend the situation is straightforward. “It is a bad result, we cannot deny it,” Guardiola reflected.
City are pursuing a rare feat: to become just the fifth home team to overturn a deficit of at least three goals in the Champions League knockout stages. Guardiola assessed the chances without false optimism. “Now, not much but I’m not a guy to say we’re not going to try.
“Now it is most difficult [moment] to live but our mindset is we will look [at] what to do better, try to be more active in the final third and we will try.”
The competition has delivered a handful of extraordinary reversals. Deportivo La Coruña are the first home team to overturn a three-goal deficit in the knockout rounds, recovering after a 4–1 first-leg defeat to AC Milan. With an away goal from the first leg, Deportivo overturned the tie in the second leg’s first half, moving to a 3–0 lead before Fran González added a late effort to confirm the comeback.
Barcelona produced the most celebrated example when they overturned a 4–0 away defeat at the Parc des Princes by beating Paris Saint-Germain with Sergi Roberto scoring in the fifth minute of stoppage time in a comeback that became known as La Remontada. Twelve months later Barcelona suffered the opposite fate, letting a 4–1 advantage slip against Roma when Kostas Manolas headed in the 82nd minute, prompting Peter Drury to call it: “Roma have risen from their ruins! Manolas, the Greek God in Rome! The unthinkable unfolds before our eyes.”
Barcelona also threw away a 3–0 lead against Liverpool in the 2018–19 semifinals, a tie remembered for a quickly taken corner that allowed Divock Origi to score.
Bernardo Silva also refused to disguise the situation. “At 3–0 it makes it a bit more difficult,” he reflected. “Now it feels really bad, now it feels really dark. But tomorrow is another day and for sure next week we will go to the game thinking we have a chance.”
Liverpool
Panel backs Gravenberch dismissal after City victory swing
The KMI Panel backed Ryan Gravenberch’s red card, despite Liverpool’s complaints after City took control.
The Premier League’s Key Match Incidents Panel has ruled that Ryan Gravenberch’s red card against Manchester City was correctly given earlier this month.
At the moment of the dismissal, the match was level at 0-0. City then made the extra man count almost immediately, with Erling Haaland putting them ahead three minutes later. By the time Liverpool had lost the Dutch midfielder, City had scored three times inside 16 minutes.
There was frustration from a Liverpool point of view, however, because the first yellow card shown to Gravenberch was viewed as severe. It was also described by Andoni Iraola as “not a yellow”.
“[Elliot] Anderson carries on a couple of steps [before falling]. [The referee] wasn’t even going to give a foul. I’ve no idea why he gives a yellow card. We have like nine players behind the ball,” the frustrated Liverpool manager told Sky Sports after the final whistle.
According to BBC Sport, the panel considered both yellow cards when reviewing the dismissal, as required under protocol. The vote was 4:1 in support of the officials. The single dissenting view was that the foul on Anderson should not have produced the first booking. Once that yellow had been awarded, though, the panel was unanimous in backing the VAR decision not to intervene after the second caution brought about the red.
The decision carries no practical punishment beyond confirming the officials were correct. Gravenberch has already completed the one-match suspension attached to the red, missing last weekend’s trip to Brentford. Liverpool won that game without him, helped by two Brentford red cards after falling behind in the first half.
Had the panel reached the opposite conclusion, the only outcome would have been an acknowledgement of the error and a promise to improve. Match officials could also have been left out of duty for a week. That did not happen here.
Aston Villa
Maresca gives Haaland fitness update ahead of Aston Villa trip
Haaland is fit, but City still face injury doubts before their Premier League trip to Villa.
Manchester City head into Saturday’s early Premier League fixture at Aston Villa with Erling Haaland confirmed as fully fit. Enzo Maresca said the striker is “100%” available, easing some of the uncertainty around a team still monitoring a few injury concerns.
Maresca said the status of Nico O’Reilly, Matheus Nunes and Mateo Kovačić remains unresolved. “The injured players] can all be available or not in terms of still doubt,” Maresca revealed. “Yesterday, they were all improving, and we’ll see this afternoon.
“For sure, Erling is the only one 100% available.”
That is a timely boost for a forward who has made an immediate impact this season. Haaland has scored eight goals in seven Premier League appearances and is three clear of Alexander Isak and João Pedro at this stage of the campaign. A fourth Golden Boot, which would match Thierry Henry and Mohamed Salah, is already within reach.
City’s recent setback came with the news that winger Antoine Semenyo will miss two months through injury. His absence means Maresca has already had to shuffle his attacking options. In the AEK Athens match, Allan was used on the wing and 17-year-old Floyd Samba started in Haaland’s place, while Phil Foden produced the standout display with a hat-trick and an assist for Rayan Cherki.
Maresca described Cherki as “one of the best players in Europe” when he is at his best.
Villa now offer a sterner examination for a City side chasing an eighth straight win to begin the new Premier League season. Jérémy Doku is expected to come in on the wing against Unai Emery’s team, who will also be aware of the challenge of containing Haaland. Few sides, though, have a record against the Norway international as strong as Villa’s.
Manchester City
Where Manchester City’s leading players might land if relegation follows
A look at where Manchester City’s biggest names could go if relegation triggers a major summer exit.
Manchester City are living through an unusual moment in Premier League history, suspended between judgment and punishment. The draft suggests there are no relegation clauses in any City player contracts, which would quickly turn any sanction into a series of difficult conversations with agents in the weeks and months ahead.
It is still hard to picture players such as Erling Haaland and Rayan Cherki in the EFL next season. But if the worst outcome arrives, City’s biggest names would already be considering how to get out. That could set up a remarkable summer window, with one of the largest exits of elite talent from a single club since Juventus lost several major figures in the summer of 2006 after Calciopoli.
The possible destinations are varied, and in some cases obvious. Bayern Munich look like a natural fit for an elite goalkeeper, especially with Manuel Neuer’s contract due to expire next summer. Inter Milan are presented as a strong option for an experienced central defender, particularly with Manuel Akanji and John Stones already in the frame. Liverpool are also part of the picture, with Virgil van Dijk’s deal expiring next summer.
Barcelona, meanwhile, are described as being strong in 2026-27 but still in need of more defensive depth, making Gvardiol an attractive solution for both left back and centre back. Chelsea are then linked with another academy graduate, continuing a pattern that the draft treats as almost inevitable.
There is also a case for a midfield enforcer moving to Liverpool, while PSG are singled out as a likely home for Rayan Cherki. Fernández is said to have previously told some YouTubers that he would love to live in Madrid, but the draft notes that Real Madrid publicly ruled out a transfer last summer. A switch to Atlético Madrid is framed as a possible alternative.
Foden stays. Doku is then cast as an ideal attacking fit for Arsenal, while Everton are treated as a familiar destination. Aston Villa are also mentioned as a possible landing spot for wide quality, provided they can handle the wages without creating fresh financial trouble.
