Match ends, FC Copenhagen 0, Manchester City 0.
FC CopenhagenFC Copenhagen0Man CityManchester City0
Ten-man Manchester City missed a penalty and had a goal ruled out in a VAR-dominated goalless draw at Copenhagen, but still reached the last 16 of the Champions League.
Pep Guardiola's side qualified for the knockout phase of the competition after Sevilla failed to beat Borussia Dortmund in Tuesday's other Group G fixture.
A dramatic opening saw two contentious decisions set the tone for the evening.
Rodri's superb 25-yard effort for City was ruled out after Riyad Mahrez was penalised for handling, while the visitors benefited by being awarded a penalty when the ball struck home defender Nicolai Boilesen on the arm as he competed for a corner with Manuel Akanji.
But Copenhagen goalkeeper Kamil Grabara brilliantly saved Mahrez's spot-kick to the delight of a raucous Parken Stadium crowd before Guardiola's side had Sergio Gomez sent off for a professional foul on 19-year-old forward Hakon Haraldsson five minutes later.
The decision again came after the Portuguese referee Artur Dias was referred to the pitch-side monitor and left the English champions forced to reshape and play the final hour a man down.
Erling Haaland was left on the bench against opponents that had suffered a 5-0 thrashing in Manchester just under a week ago.
Explaining his decision not to play the Norwegian, Guardiola said: "He finished the game against Southampton so, so tired and didn't recover well.
"Yesterday was not good, today a little better but not perfect so we decided not to take the risk."
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City's winning run comes to an end
While City saw a run of six consecutive victories come to an end with the loss of their 100% record in the competition, Guardiola appeared satisfied by a point in an encounter they dominated early on.
A youthful Copenhagen side featuring six players aged 20 or under initially struggled to deal with the experience and slick passing on show from the visitors, with Julian Alvarez also close to opening the scoring.
And despite the loss of Gomez just before the half hour mark City still managed almost 70% possession before the break, though the dynamic of the game altered thereafter.
With Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden only introduced late on, rested for City's impending trip to Anfield to face Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday (16:30 BST), the visitors were limited to long-range efforts.
Joao Cancelo and Kevin de Bruyne both tested Grabara, while at the other end Lukas Lerager's dipping shot was the closest Jacob Neestrup's side came to registering their first goal in the tournament this term.
Player of the match
HaraldssonHákon Haraldsson
with an average of 7.07
FC Copenhagen
Avg
- Squad number30Player nameHaraldssonAverage rating
7.07
- Squad number12Player nameLeragerAverage rating
7.07
- Squad number1Player nameGrabaraAverage rating
7.05
- Squad number34Player nameKristiansenAverage rating
7.01
- Squad number35Player nameStamenicAverage rating
7.00
- Squad number5Player nameKhocholavaAverage rating
6.96
- Squad number7Player nameClaessonAverage rating
6.95
- Squad number8Player nameJóhannessonAverage rating
6.89
- Squad number20Player nameBoilesenAverage rating
6.88
- Squad number2Player nameDiksAverage rating
6.79
- Squad number17Player nameMukairuAverage rating
6.78
- Squad number19Player nameJelertAverage rating
6.66
- Squad number27Player nameLundAverage rating
6.60
- Squad number15Player nameDaramyAverage rating
6.45
Manchester City
Avg
Squad number17Player nameDe BruyneAverage rating5.97
Squad number16Player nameRodriAverage rating5.76
- Squad number25Player nameAkanjiAverage rating
5.73
- Squad number19Player nameÁlvarezAverage rating
5.66
- Squad number7Player nameJoão CanceloAverage rating
5.66
Squad number31Player nameEdersonAverage rating5.61
Squad number47Player nameFodenAverage rating5.57
Squad number8Player nameGündoganAverage rating5.56
Squad number14Player nameLaporteAverage rating5.53
Squad number20Player nameBernardo SilvaAverage rating5.36
- Squad number6Player nameAkéAverage rating
5.29
- Squad number10Player nameGrealishAverage rating
5.27
- Squad number3Player nameRúben DiasAverage rating
5.25
Squad number26Player nameMahrezAverage rating4.58
- Squad number21Player nameGómezAverage rating
4.08
Line-ups
FC Copenhagen
Formation 3-4-3
- 1Grabara
- 5KhocholavaSubstituted forDiksat 80'minutes
- 20Boilesen
- 27LundBooked at 35mins
- 19Jelert
- 35StamenicBooked at 82minsSubstituted forMukairuat 90+3'minutes
- 12Lerager
- 34Kristiansen
- 30HaraldssonSubstituted forJóhannessonat 59'minutes
- 7Claesson
- 15Daramy
Substitutes
- 2Diks
- 6Sørensen
- 8Jóhannesson
- 17Mukairu
- 21Johnsson
- 22Ankersen
- 36Clem
- 40Bardghji
- 51Ryan
Man City
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 31Ederson
- 7Cancelo
- 25Akanji
- 14LaporteSubstituted forAkéat 88'minutes
- 21GómezBooked at 30mins
- 16Rodri
- 8Gündogan
- 26MahrezSubstituted forRúben Diasat 32'minutesBooked at 90mins
- 17De BruyneSubstituted forBernardo Silvaat 77'minutes
- 10GrealishSubstituted forFodenat 77'minutes
- 19Álvarez
Substitutes
- 3Rúben Dias
- 6Aké
- 9Haaland
- 18Ortega
- 20Bernardo Silva
- 33Carson
- 47Foden
- 80Palmer
- 82Lewis
- 97Wilson-Esbrand
- Referee:
- Artur Manuel Soares Dias
- Attendance:
- 35,447
Match Stats
Home TeamFC CopenhagenAway TeamMan City
- Possession
- Home41%
- Away59%
- Shots
- Home6
- Away14
- Shots on Target
- Home1
- Away4
- Corners
- Home4
- Away8
- Fouls
- Home13
- Away6
Live Text
Post update
Full Time
Second Half ends, FC Copenhagen 0, Manchester City 0.
Substitution
Substitution, FC Copenhagen. Paul Mukairu replaces Marko Stamenic.
Booking
Rúben Dias (Manchester City) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Post update
Foul by Rúben Dias (Manchester City).
Post update
Lukas Lerager (FC Copenhagen) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Post update
Attempt saved. Ilkay Gündogan (Manchester City) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Bernardo Silva.
Post update
Attempt missed. Marko Stamenic (FC Copenhagen) left footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right.
Substitution
Substitution, Manchester City. Nathan Aké replaces Aymeric Laporte.
Post update
Offside, Manchester City. Rúben Dias tries a through ball, but Julián Álvarez is caught offside.
Post update
Attempt missed. Julián Álvarez (Manchester City) header from the centre of the box is just a bit too high. Assisted by Phil Foden with a cross following a corner.
Post update
Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Kamil Grabara.
Post update
Attempt saved. João Cancelo (Manchester City) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
Post update
Attempt blocked. Manuel Akanji (Manchester City) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Booking
Marko Stamenic (FC Copenhagen) is shown the yellow card.
Post update
Ilkay Gündogan (Manchester City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Post update
Foul by Marko Stamenic (FC Copenhagen).
Substitution
Substitution, FC Copenhagen. Kevin Diks replaces Davit Khocholava.
Post update
Offside, FC Copenhagen. Valdemar Lund tries a through ball, but Mohamed Daramy is caught offside.
Substitution
Substitution, Manchester City. Phil Foden replaces Jack Grealish.
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Comments
Join the conversation
City were always in control of the game, even when down to 10 players. Great atmosphere created by the Copenhagen fans even though they were second best in both games.
Do it for the nation 🙏
What a 1st Half: City missed Pen, City Disallowed Goal, Gomez (City LB) Sent Off
Clean Sheet, no damage done, still 3 Pts clear at Top of Group after tonight's Results.
Win 1 of our final 2 Group games & City Win Group
Problems ?
The only ones with problems are the well Jel Nay Sayers - Music to our manC Blue Ears 💯🏐🏆's 🤣🤫
Happy & proud manC
Dominated the game from start to finish - unheard of from a team playing with 10 men for around 70 minutes.
Had a goal disallowed for no reason and we also missed a penalty.
Proud Blue.