Porto - Manchester City: Manchester City won the UEFA Champions League’s Group C with one match to spare following a scoreless draw at Porto on Tuesday.
Gabriel Jesus briefly gave City a late lead in a match it dominated, but VAR took the goal off the board and City dropped points for the first time in this tournament.
[ MORE: Champions League standings. box scores ]
Porto has already advanced as well, but it cannot catch City even if beats Olympiacos next week and the Premier League side loses to Marseille.
Porto - Manchester City didn’t offer a ton, but City fans won’t care too much.
Three things we learned from Porto - Manchester City
1. Sound City: No, the Premier League powers didn’t light up the scoreboard. In fact, its only goal was taken off the board. Yet there’s little debate about City’s dominance at both ends of the pitch. City had 70 percent of the ball and a 6-1 edge in shots, completing 89 percent of their 348 passes in the first half alone. The second half was barely different, and City looked at home in Portugal.
2. Marchesin shines: Argentine backstop Agustin Marchesin was the latest goalkeeper to stymy Man City with a star show, even making a world-class save on Gabriel Jesus before the City man’s rebound goal was taken off the board. Marchesin won Liga MX with both Santos Laguna and Club America before moving to Porto, and the 2019-20 Portuguese Primera Liga Goalkeeper of the Year delivered the goods on Tuesday.
3. Almost doesn’t count: Gabriel Jesus’ late goal was taken off the board by VAR for offside in the buildup, one of several close calls for the Pep Guardiola’s men. Ferran Torres barely missed an early dink over Marchesin and a disappointed Raheem Sterling missed two goals you’d pick him to finish more times than not.
Man of the Match: Agustin Marchesin
⛔ @ManCity have kept 4 successive clean sheets in major European competition for only the second time in their history. The only previous occasion came during a run of 5 in the Cup-Winners’ Cup between October 1969-March 1970 #UCL pic.twitter.com/0ATpd33eer
— Sky Sports Statto (@SkySportsStatto) December 1, 2020
