Man City’s 7 worst European results ranked after Bodo/Glimt humiliation | OneFootball

Manchester City may be the dominant force in English football over the past 15 years, but they aren’t immune to some embarrassing defeats in Europe.

Despite spending billions of pounds to cure themselves of ‘Cityitis’, they’ve still tripped over their own shadow in many weird and wonderful ways.

We’ve ranked seven of City’s most embarrassing European results since 2010, from least to most.

7. Real Madrid 1-0 Man City (2016)

A narrow semi-final defeat at the Bernabeu shouldn’t carry a modicum of shame, but City’s approach in 2016 was craven and cowardly.

After a goalless draw in the first leg and Fernando’s own goal, Manuel Pellegrini’s side still only needed to score once to go through on away goals (ask your brother).

But their limp-wristed performance suggested UEFA only allowed them to attack after the 80th minute, under the threat of instant liquidation.

6. Barcelona 4-0 Man City (2016)

A proper paddling, administered by hat-trick hero and former transfer target Lionel Messi, on an evening that confirmed Claudio Bravo was no upgrade on Joe Hart.

The goalkeeper was sent-off for handling outside of his area, leaving City naked without a shield in football’s Colosseum.

Pep Guardiola overthought his XI on his Barcelona return, dropping Sergio Aguero and playing Kevin De Bruyne as a false nine. This wouldn’t be his first brainfart.

5. Sporting Lisbon 4-1 Man City (2024)

This humiliation in Portugal’s capital has only got more embarrassing after the travails of the winning manager (Ruben Amorim) and hat-trick scorer (Viktor Gyokeres) in the 15 months since.

To cap a thoroughly depressing night for City, Erling Haaland blasted a second-half penalty against the crossbar. At least the away supporters had access to plentiful amounts of Super Bock afterwards.

4. Man City 1-3 Lyon (2020)

City have partly got away with this quarter-final defeat, coming as it did during the middle of lockdown in an empty stadium in Lisbon.

Guardiola adopted a three-man central defensive system and left many of City’s creators and schemers on the bench.

Lyon were far from their 2000s pomp, but a motley crew led by Memphis Depay gave City a bloody nose.

And Raheem Sterling’s open goal miss was enough to revive the ‘Bloopers’ genre on its own. It really was a thing of beauty.

3. Monaco 3-1 Man City (2017)

Yes, Monaco were the Champions League’s surprise package in 2017; Kylian Mbappe, Bernardo Silva, Fabinho and Radamel Falcao in their ranks.

But City were 5-3 up after a bonkers first leg of this last 16 tie and didn’t need to play as openly as they did in the principality.

Naive and humbling in equal measure.

2. Man City 3-3 Feyenoord (2024)

The nadir of City’s awful late-2024 run, a reversion to the Stuart Pearce era for supporters accustomed to sustained success, came with this collapse against Feyenoord.

A not-so-convincing performance still saw City build up a 3-0 lead, only to squander their advantage in the last 15 minutes as the entire football world rubbernecked in their direction.

Guardiola appeared in his post-match press conference with scratches all over his head and declared that he wanted to ‘harm himself’. Their aura has never truly recovered.

1. Bodo Glimt 3-1 Man City (2026)

Thanks to UEFA and their bloated competition, City’s embarrassment in the Arctic Circle is unlikely to result in Champions League elimination.

But this was a bad night for Guardiola and City, who travelled to Norway on a four-game winless streak in the Premier League.

Played on an artificial surface, a team including Rodri, Haaland and Phil Foden froze in the -9C temperatures as Bodo/Glimt outclassed City in every department.

Their defence was woeful, carved open at will and fortunate to only concede three times. It was all a far cry from Istanbul, less than three years before.