Manchester City 1 Bodø/Glimt 3 : City player ratings as City slump to another defeat | OneFootball

Manchester City 1 (Rayan Cherki 60′)

Bodø/Glimt 3 (Høgh 22′, 24′, Jens Petter Haughe 58)

Here are the City player ratings as Manchester City were beaten in convincing fashion 3-1 by Bodø/Glimt at the Aspmyra Stadion tonight. Pep Guardiola made four changes to the starting lineup that lost to Manchester United at Old Trafford. The changes didn’t have the desired effect, as tonight’s performance from Pep Guardiola’s side was arguably worse than the performance they put in at Old Trafford. Tonight’s result means City now have a fight on their hands to secure a crucial top-eight finish in the Champions League league phase.

First half.

The game started brightly as both teams had their moments going forward in the opening five minutes. Bodø/Glimt had a promising attack which came to nothing in the second minute. The hosts pressed Rayan Cherki in midfield, which created a turnover. Kjetil Knutsen’s side broke with pace, but some determined Manchester City defending kept them out.

Rayan Cherki had the game’s first shot on target. Some neat interplay between himself and Rayan Ait-Nouri, who lined up at right-back, set Cherki up for a close-range shot. Bodø/Glimt keeper Nikita Haikin made a smart save to deny the French international. From the resulting corner, Phil Foden picked out an unmarked Max Alleyne at the back post. Alleyne couldn’t make proper contact with the header, and a good chance went begging for Pep Guardiola’s side.

From the 5th until the 20th minute, not a lot happened at the Aspmyra Stadion. Manchester City had plenty of possession, but the hosts were defending deep and resolutely. City had no threat to their play in the build up which had to change.

Bodø/Glimt take the lead, then double it.

The hosts took the lead in the 22nd minute. Max Alleyne made a rash challenge on the halfway line, which allowed Bodø/Glimt to break. Alleyne’s need to make such a challenge came after Erling Haaland failed to hold the ball up sufficiently. The hosts got themselves into a good position on the left, and Ole Didrik Blomberg picked out Kasper Høgh at the back post, with a quality cross, Høgh beat Gianluigi Donnarumma with a simple header. It was a poor goal for City to concede, and it would get a lot worse two minutes later.

Manchester City were stunned when Bodø/Glimt doubled their lead.

Max Alleyne gave away possession from just inside his own half, which set Bødo/Glimt away on another counter-attack. Ole Didrik Blomberg again picked out Kasper Høgh, who beat Gianluigi Donnarumma with an emphatic finish in the 24th minute. Pep Guardiola’s side had it all to do now, and Max Alleyne needed to respond to adversity for the first time in his City first-team career.

Following Bodø/Glimt’s two goals, the game settled down. Kjetil Knutsen’s side was defensively well-organized, and City was toothless in possession. Phil Foden, Erling Haaland, and Tijjani Reijnders were passengers, and Rayan Cherki was trying to get into the game to no effect. It was a poor City performance once again, and there was no creativity in Manchester City’s play at all.

Manchester City finally created a good opening in the 45th minute. Rayan Cherki played a good ball to Nico O’Reilly on the left, and O’Reilly put in a quality low cross that picked out Erling Haaland. Haaland should have scored, but he put his shot wide of the near post, and in truth, that chance summed up Manchester City’s performance. It would be the final significant moment of the first half.

Manchester City were poor once again in the first half. Bodø/Glimt had defended well and hit City on the break when the opportunity arose. In truth, it seemed more likely that Bodø/Glimt would score a third goal rather than Pep Guardiola’s side finding a way back into the game.

Second half.

Following a Tijjani Reijnders shot, which was straight at Bodø/Glimt keeper Nikita Haikin, the hosts almost made it 3-nil. A quick counterattack, which came from Rico Lewis in midfield, allowed the host to break with pace. A ball over the top of the City defence played in Håkon Evjen, and his right-footed shot from close range was well saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma. The more worrying aspect of that chance was that it seemed like Pep Guardiola’s side hadn’t learned anything from the first half.

Bodø/Glimt make it 3-nil as Manchester City were wilting in Norway.

Kjetil Knutsen’s side would make it 3-nil in the 58th minute. Rodri was dispossessed in midfield, which allowed Bodø/Glimt to run at the City defence. Jens Petter Hauge drove at the Manchester City defence who stood off him. Petter Hauge unleashed an unstoppable shot from 25 yards out which flew into the top corner to give the hosts a 3-nil lead.

Rayan Cherki gives City a lifeline.

Manchester City would pull a goal back two minutes later. City pushed to find a goal and a ball into a dangerous area was cleared by the Bodø/Glimt defence. The ball came out to the edge of the Bodø/Glimt area and the ball was worked to Rayan Cherki. Cherki unleashed a stinging low drive with made the score 3-1.

But just as you sensed that Pep Guardiola’s side could find a way back into the match, Rodri inexplicably received two yellow cards within a minute and was sent off in the 62nd minute. He could have no complaints and a bad night for Pep Guardiola’s side had just gotten worse.

Following Rodri’s red card, the game entered a holding pattern. The hosts were pushing the pace but it did seem that the sting had been taken out of the game. City were trying to find a way back into the game but it did seem that their efforts would be futile against a resolute Bodø/Glimt defence as the game entered the 80th minute.

Outside of a Tijjani Reijnders shot that was blocked and a Nico O’Reilly header that was straight at Bodø/Glimt keeper Nikita Haikin in the 86th minute, the sting had well and truly gone out of the game. The hosts were happy to enjoy the final moments of the match which was going to be a famous night for their club.

When the final whistle blew, Bodø/Glimt had picked up a famous victory over Pep Guardiola’s side. From a Manchester City point of view, tonight’s performance was as bad, if not worse than the performance City put in at Old Trafford. Pep Guardiola’s tactics didn’t work, and you did have to question the thinking behind some of his selection decisions.

January has been a bad month for Manchester City. Yes, injuries and fatigue have hit hard, but there is no excuse for the lack of effort and application shown by Pep Guardiola’s side tonight and against Manchester United. The result also means that Manchester City’s bid to secure a top-eight finish in the Champions League league phase has gotten a whole lot more difficult entering Manchester City’s clash with Galatasaray next week at the Etihad.

City player ratings

Gianluigi Donnarumma-5/10: Could do very little about any of Bodø/Glimt’s goals but I thought his decision to come for Kasper Hughes header wasn’t the best.

Rico Lewis-4/10: I thought Lewis was poor. He played in midfield and didn’t offer a lot.

Abdukodir Khusanov-5/10: Not at his best like so many of his teammates. The Manchester City defence was all over the place all night.

Max Alleyne-3/10: Alleyne made two errors which led to Bodø/Glimt’s first two goals. He tried hard after that but tonight is a learning experience for Alleyne.

Rayan Ait-Nouri-6/10: Lined up at right-back and was an attacking outlet for City. Not Manchester City’s worst player on the night.

Rodri-4/10: Sent off after 61 minutes after picking up two yellow cards in a minute. I thought Rodri was well below his best throughout the night.

Tijjani Reijnders-4.5/10: Reijnders didn’t do enough in the first half and he tried harder in the second to no avail

Nico O’Reilly-6/10: He wasn’t at his best but he did all he could playing at left-back. 

Phil Foden-4/10: Foden’s first half was poor but he got better in the second half. He was replaced by Omar Marmoush in the 70th minute as his poor run of form continued. 

Rayan Cherki-6/10: Cherki scored a goal and I thought he never gave up the fight although he did give away possession at times.

Erling Haaland-3/10: A deplorable display from Haaland. He missed his only good chance of the match and his body language was poor throughout the night. As a leader, he must do better.

Substitutes

Omar Marmoush- 6/10: He should have come on sooner in my opinion.